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Article published In: International Journal of Language and Culture
Vol. 11:2 (2024) ► pp.153–179

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The analysis of orientational metaphor of ‘Zhōng’ (中) in Chinese traditional classic The Doctrine of the Mean

 | Beijing Foreign Studies University
 | Beijing Foreign Studies University
Published online: 28 October 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.00062.sha
Abstract
This paper studies the orientational metaphor of zhōng (中, ‘middle’) and its cultural values behind this metaphor in Chinese Traditional Classic The Doctrine of Mean. It is found that there are three metaphorical meanings for the orientational metaphor of zhōng (中, ‘middle’), including “an emotion of calm.”; “a moderate degree” and “an ethical standard”. The ethical standard of zhōng is the judge criteria for the Chinese traditional role schemas jūnzǐ (君子, ‘a person of noble character’) and xiǎorén (小人,‘a person of petty character’). In addition, the cultural values of Chinese society revealed by the ethical standard of zhōng (中, ‘middle’) are concluded systematically from the levels of individual, family and state.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
  • 3.Methodology and data
  • 4.The analysis of the orientational metaphor of zhōng (中,middle) in The Doctrine of the Mean
    • 4.1Zhōng (中, ‘middle’) is an emotion
    • 4.2Zhōng (中, ‘middle’) is a degree
    • 4.3Zhōng (中, ‘middle’) is an ethical standard
    • 4.4Summary and reflection
  • 5.Classic role schemas in The Doctrine of the Mean
  • 6.Cultural values of Chinese society revealed by The Doctrine of Mean
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (34)
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