A Study of Metaphors in Su Shi’s Ci From the Perspective of Cognitive Linguistics

【Abstract】Song ci， as a precious cultural treasure of China and even the world， has attracted many scholars at home and abroad. This paper attempts to analyze the metaphors in Su Shi’s poems from the perspective of cognitive linguistics， categorize their definitions， and analyze the cultural and cognitive characteristics of these metaphors. The author believes that this kind of attempt is of great significance for the appreciation and translation of Chinese classical poetry.

【key words】Cognitive perspective; metaphor; Su Shi’s Ci

【作者簡介】梁思雨（1993.10-），女，汉族，河北保定安新人，河北大学，硕士研究生，研究方向：英语笔译。

【基金项目】项目来源：河北大学研究生创新资助项目，项目编号：hbu2018ss54。

The rhetorical study of metaphor started from Aristotle， whose basic idea is that metaphor is a rhetorical phenomenon and a substitution between words. As a replacement， metaphor is an optional tool. It is only a tool to increase the power of language expression. The traditional study of metaphor only regards metaphor as a linguistic phenomenon which is limited to the study of rhetoric and literature. With the rise and development of cognitive linguistics in recent years， the nature of metaphor is no longer just a linguistic phenomenon， but an important cognitive model. Especially with the emergence of the conceptual metaphor theory proposed by lakoff and Johnson， metaphor is clearly regarded as an indispensable cognitive tool for human beings to organize their conceptual systems. As a means to understand another thing through one thing， metaphor is ubiquitous in human language and thinking. It is a systematic way of human thinking， behavior and expression.

Among various linguistic phenomena， the author chose Chinese Song as the object of study， because poetry and metaphor have inextricably linked， it is the ocean of metaphor. C. Lewis once said： Metaphor is the life principle of poetry， the main text and glory of poets. The Song Ci is a brilliant diamond in the crown of ancient Chinese literature. Among the many lyrics， Su Shi’s words “Let’s not like the cut to the rhythm”， the subject matter is rich， the artistic concept is broad， and it has broken through the late Tang and Five Dynasties and since the early Song Dynasty. The traditional fence of the word “Yanke”， with poetry as the word， to create a bold and clear-cut school， has a huge impact on later generations.

Over the years， many scholars and researchers have focused on three aspects of metaphor research in Su Shi’s poems： The modification of Su Shi’s words， such as anthropomorphism， simile， metaphor， association， etc.; The image of Su Shi’s words; Translation of Su Shi’s words. In short， the study of Su Shi’s words mainly focuses on the content of words， and few people analyze them from the perspective of cognitive linguistics.

The metaphors listed by Lakoff in “The Metaphors People Survive” are roughly divided into three categories： 1. Structural Metaphor： Constructing a concept with a conceptual structure， superimposing the two concepts， will talk about The various aspects of the concept are used to talk about another concept. 2. Orientation metaphor： A series of metaphorical concepts formed by reference to space. 3. Entity metaphor： In this kind of metaphorical concept， people regard abstract and vague intangible concepts such as thoughts， feelings， psychological activities， events， and states as concrete and tangible entities， so they can talk about them. Quantify， identify its characteristics and causes.

In a word， Metaphor is not a simple replacement or transformation of words. It is a means of knowing the unknown， familiar with the unfamiliarity， simple metaphor， concrete metaphor， and common science， thus forming abstract thinking. Although the mapping of metaphor is universal， it is deeply influenced by culture. Metaphorical imagery is a major problem in the translation and dissemination of Chinese poetry. However， through the mapping between the source domain and the target domain， the author believes that the creation of “faithfulness” and “rebelliousness” is indispensable. The authors put forward higher requirements for the understanding of Chinese culture.

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