An Analysis Of Conceptual Metaphors And Metonymies In Li Yu’s Ci-poems

Metaphor and metonymy are treated as methods of modifying language from the perspective of traditional linguistics. With the advent and development of cognitive linguistics, essences of metaphor and metonymy have been recognized. Metaphor and metonymy are not only language forms, but also important cognitive methods. According to Metaphors We Live By written by Lakoff and Johnson, conceptual metaphor and metonymy are everywhere and are powerful tools for perceiving and understanding the world.Poems and ci-poems are full of conceptual metaphors and metonymies. In the history of Chinese classical works, ci-poems of Song Dynasty is another peak compared with poems of Tang Dynasty. Li Yu, the emperor of Nantang, was a unique ci-poet in his time. He inherited the tradition of Huajian faction in late Tang Dynasty and at the same time expressed some artistic conception of realistic life through the detailed and vivid description of people’s personalities. Li Yu has greatly pushed forward the step of creating ci-poems.As a result, this thesis will give an analysis and explanation of the conceptual metaphors and metonymies through methods of qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis. The research questions of this thesis are:(1) What are the types of conceptual metaphors in Li Yu’s ci-poems and how do they come into being? (2) What are the types of conceptual metonymies in Li Yu’s ci-poems and how do they come into being?This thesis has reached the following conclusions after the detailed analysis of Li Yu’s 52 ci-poems:1) According to the content of Li Yu’s ci-poems, conceptual metaphors can be divided into two main parts: ANIMATE THINGS metaphors and INANIMATE THINGS metaphors. ANIMATE THINGS metaphors conclude ANIMAL metaphors, PLANT metaphors, PART OF BODY metaphors and HUMAN metaphors. INANIMATE THINGS metaphors contain NATURAL PHENOMENON metaphors, EMOTION metaphors, DREAM metaphors and LIFE metaphors. In terms of conceptual metaphor, this thesis has analyzed and explained conceptual metaphors in Li Yu’s 52 ci-poems based on the similarity of the source domain and the target domain.2) Conceptual metonymies in Li Yu’s ci-poems can be put into two main types according to Radden & Kovecses (1999):THE PART & WHOLE relation and PART & PART WITHIN A WHOLE relation. THE PART & WHOLE relation can be further subdivided into THINGS’PART for WHOLE relation, PROPERTY for CATEGORY relation, and PROTOTYPE for CATEGORY relation. PART & PART WITHIN A WHOLE relation includes CONTAINMENT relation and CAUSATION relation. CONTAINMENT relation contains CONTAINER for THINGS CONTAINED and THINGS CONTAINED for CONTAINER. In terms of conceptual metonymy, the contiguity between the vehicle concept and the target concept is the key factor.This thesis applies theories of conceptual metaphor and metonymy to the explanation of language phenomena in Li Yu’s ci-poems, which proves that conceptual metaphor and metonymy are important representing methods for ci-poems and are also basic tools for understanding the world and the culture around us.