Emotion, Metaphor, and Culture: Love-Related Idiomatic Expressions in Chinese

This study investigates the cognitive mechanisms and cultural significance underlying Chinese idioms related to love. Theoretically, it adopts the Conceptual Metaphor Theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson, along with their Great Chain of Being framework proposed by Lakoff and Turner (2009), to classify and analyse various metaphorical expressions of love. Methodologically, the primary data sources include a major online dictionary of Chinese idioms and a printed dictionary on love and marriage expressions. A qualitative approach is employed to examine the metaphorical meanings embedded in these idioms, complemented by limited quantitative analysis to explore patterns in metaphor distribution. The findings reveal a rich variety of love-related metaphors within the Chinese language community. Influenced by Confucian traditions and the aesthetics of tragedy in Chinese culture, these metaphors exhibit distinctive features: metaphors related to post-marital love are more prevalent than those concerning pre-marital relationships, and nearly half of all love metaphors express negative emotions such as separation, betrayal, or obstruction. This study not only sheds light on the unique cognitive models of love in Chinese discourse but also contributes to a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese cultural values.