An Analysis On Poetic Metaphors In Science Fiction The Three Body Problem Ⅰ From The Perspective Of Conceptual Blending Theory

As the first science fiction which wins the Hugo Award in China,The Three-Body Problem trilogy stands out as one of the notable landmarks of Chinese science fiction.In this novel,survival struggles of the natural world and profound reflections on time and history are expressed in an accurate and implied way.The Three-Body Problem trilogy is not only a best-seller but also a keynote in the field of academic research.Studies on The Three-Body Problem trilogy are mainly from three perspectives,namely,literature,medio-translatology and social philosophy.To provide a fresh research approach to the literary work,this thesis will analyze partial poetic metaphors of The Three-Body Problem I on the language level.Metaphor has been an important issue in the research of literary works since Aristotle.As a kind of unconventional metaphors,the poetic metaphor with its creativity and freshness becomes a flourishing branch of metaphor study.With the growth of cognitive linguistics,applying theories of cognitive linguistics to analyze literary works becomes a new tendency.Among which,conceptual blending theory can serve as a powerful theoretical support in explaining the meaning construction of metaphors.In accordance with conceptual blending theory,the thesis displays the concrete meaning construction process of poetic metaphors in The Three-Body Problem I,from which functions of poetic metaphors are also presented.Through the research,the researcher finds that:(1)poetic metaphors widely distribute in The Three-Body Problem I,which contribute a lot to express various abstract concepts and fictitious terms;(2)Conceptual blending and subjective cognition both involve in the meaning construction of poetic metaphors.On the one hand,the concrete meaning construction mechanism can be effectively presented in four networks,including simple network,mirror network,single-scope network,and double-scope network.On the other hand,the diversity of individual cognition leads to different perceptions in the process of meaning construction;(3)The main functions of poetic metaphors are concluded as explanatory function,affective function,and aesthetic function.