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Multimodal metaphors in Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape

ORCiD logo with link | ELTE Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest
Published online: 10 March 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.00216.zha
Abstract
Folk art, serving as a condensed manifestation of indigenous folk culture, is potentially embedded with rich multimodal metaphors. This paper contributes to the exploration of interpreting various modalities in folk art, focusing on the Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). Through qualitative analysis, this study delves into the metaphorical connotations present in the visuals, material carriers, and genre of Huashan Rock Art. The results highlight that the relationships among different modes in interpreting the target domain are both complementary and mutually exclusive. Each multimodal metaphorical interpretation appears uniquely attached to a specific mode, which cannot be substituted by another. The coordinated interplay of various modes facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the multi-layered target domain. It demonstrates that folk arts are not limited to merely artistic pursuits but also serve to manifest abstract meanings through the combination of different modalities. This study integrates cognitive linguistic and anthropological perspectives into the interpretation of multimodal metaphors, providing a thorough understanding of the motivations behind the creation of Huashan Rock Art.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous interpretations and literature review
  • 3.Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and multimodality studies
  • 4.Methodology
  • 5.The cosmological beliefs in Zhuang culture
    • 5.1Thunder (Duzbyaj) and frog
    • 5.2Water (Duzngieg)
    • 5.3Earth (Baeuqloegdoz) and flower goddess
  • 6.Multimodal metaphor analysis
    • 6.1Analysis of modes
      • 6.1.1Visuals: Two-dimensional visual modality
        • A.Shapes: Anthropomorphs and decorations
        • B.Colors: Red figures and yellow canvases
      • 6.1.2Visuals: Three-dimensional visual modality
    • 6.2Analysis of material carriers
      • 6.2.1Mountain
      • 6.2.2Stone
      • 6.2.3Water
    • 6.3Analysis of Genre
  • 7.Findings
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (81)
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