A cognitive semantics analysis of the directional motion verbs wang 往 and lai 来 in the YiChing

Yang, Yancheng and Sinha, Chris (2023) A cognitive semantics analysis of the directional motion verbs wang 往 and lai 来 in the YiChing. Circulo de Linguistica Aplicada a la Comunicacion, 94. pp. 303-316. ISSN 1576-4737

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Abstract

The Chinese directional motion verbs wang 往 and lai 来 can be glossed in English as ‘go’ and ‘come’, and the distinction between ‘go’ and ‘come’ in English is comparable to that between wang and lai in Chinese. Their usage in the YiChing is described and analyzed in this article. In the YiChing, wang and lai frequently co-occur in the same sentence, as well as occurring singly elsewhere. Based on a corpus analysis of the YiChing, combined with qualitative interpretive analysis, this article proposes that the majority of co-occurring usages of wang and lai are metaphorical. Metaphorical uses can also be found in the single usages of the two verbs. These metaphors are informed by the cultural practices and values that form the context for the YiChing as a cultural artifact as well as a classical text. Further, these directional motion verbs are based on metaphorical extensions that lead to their semantic changes (metaphors are based on the motion). Thus, the article further analyzes the role of metaphor and cultural context in the semantic changes to the directional motion verbs wang and lai.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: This research was financially supported by the major project of Applied Research on Philosophy and Social Sciences in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province in 2022 (Grant No. 2022-YYZD-13); The Annual Research Project of Henan Federation of Social Sciences in 2022 (Grant No. SKL-2022-1476); The Support plan for innovative talents in philosophy and Social Sciences in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province in 2024; Doctoral research startup fund of Henan University of science and technology in 2022; Humanity and Social Science General Foundation of Ministry Education of China (Grant No.18YJA740037). The authors wish to extend their heartfelt gratitude to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, to Professors Xu Dan and Peyraube of the Centre de Recherches Linguistiques sur l’Asie Orientale (CRLAO) and the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), and to Professors Liu Zhengguang, Yu Xiaoqiang and others at the School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University for their valuable comments and suggestions, and for many deep discussions of the issues reported in this article. Funding Information: This research was financially supported by the major project of Applied Research on Philosophy and Social Sciences in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province in 2022 (Grant No. 2022-YYZD-13); The Annual Research Project of Henan Federation of Social Sciences in 2022 (Grant No. SKL-2022-1476); The Support plan for innovative talents in philosophy and Social Sciences in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province in 2024; Doctoral research startup fund of Henan University of science and technology in 2022; Humanity and Social Science General Foundation of Ministry Education of China (Grant No.18YJA740037). The authors wish to extend their heartfelt gratitude to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, to Professors Xu Dan and Peyraube of the Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Universidad Complutense de Madrid. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords: deixis,metaphor,semantic change,the yiching,wang 往 and lai 来,language and linguistics,linguistics and language ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1200/1203
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > UEA Experimental Philosophy Group
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 12 Dec 2023 01:21
Last Modified: 24 Apr 2024 14:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93951
DOI: 10.5209/clac.71496

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