A Cultural Cognitive Study Of Tao In Tao Te Ching

After Lakoff and Johnson published the book Metaphors We Live by,people began to realize that metaphor is not only a rhetorical device,but also a tool to help us understand and perceive the world.Since then,metaphor has been widely studied.Tao Te Ching is a treasure of Chinese culture that has influenced the thinking and behavior of later generations for thousands of years and has made outstanding contributions to human development.Therefore,it is particularly important to analyze metaphor in Tao Te Ching.Although there have been many studies in this area,most of them are not systematic.The present study intends to grasp the keyword “Tao” in the book,and take the “schematicity hierarchy” as the analytical framework to study the hierarchy of the metaphorical system of Tao,and explore its embodiment on Chinese culture.This study aims to answer the following three questions:1.What are the main conceptual metaphors of Tao?2.What is the hierarchy of the conceptual metaphorical system of Tao?3.How does this system reflect the unique world view and core concepts of Chinese culture?Regarding the method of metaphor identification,many previous studies have used a top-down approach,which has the disadvantage that not all metaphors can be exhausted.Therefore,this thesis chooses a bottom-up approach,which is to start by judging whether each lexical unit is metaphorical.First of all,this study chooses MIPVU(the further refinement of MIP)to identify the metaphor of Tao in language.Next,according to the different source domains,the metaphorical sentences involving Tao are summarized into corresponding conceptual metaphors.Then,on this basis,the distribution of these conceptual metaphors at different levels will be specifically discussed in this thesis.Finally,the present study will also explore how they are reflected in the unique world view and core concepts of Chinese culture.The findings can be concluded below.Firstly,there are 12 main conceptual metaphors of Tao.Secondly,these metaphors together constitute a metaphorical system and show a certain hierarchy.Among them,TAO IS A CONTANMENT,TAO IS A CYCLE and TAO IS A FORCE are image-schema metaphors.TAO IS MOTHER,TAO IS WATER,TAO IS ONE,TAO IS NON-BEING,TAO IS A THING and TAO IS THE MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE are domain metaphors.TAO IS TE is frame metaphor.TAO IS SIMPLICITY and TAO IS HUMBLENESS are mental-space metaphors.Moreover,the metaphorical system of Tao is not only vertically hierarchical but also horizontally interrelated,forming an organic whole.Thirdly,it embodies the unique world view and core concepts of Chinese culture,such as The Unity of Opposites,Harmony Between Man and Nature,Self-discipline and Social Commitment,and Great Unity.Specifically,the idea of The Unity of Opposites is reflected in TAO IS ONE and TAO IS NON-BEING under the CYCLE schema;the idea of Harmony Between Man and Nature is embodied in TAO IS TE and its subordinate level TAO IS SIMPLICITY;the idea of Self-discipline and Social Commitment is incarnated by TAO IS WATER and its subordinate level TAO IS TE and TAO IS HUMBLENESS;the idea of Great Unity is manifested through TAO IS ONE.This study clarifies the hierarchy of the conceptual metaphorical system of Tao,and helps readers understand traditional Chinese culture through Tao Te Ching.However,since the MIPVU method itself is subjective,there are limitations that need to be improved in future studies.