Хорижий филология
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27
THE METAPHOR OF “A LIFETIME IS A DAY”
IN
ENGLISH AND CHINESE POETIC WORKS
Li Didi,
Translation Theory and Practice Faculty
Tashkent State University of the Uzbek language and literature
Key words:
metaphor; life; lifetime; poetic works.
Introduction
The experience of being human is
intangible. As a result, descriptions of human
experience rely heavily on metaphor to
convey something of that whole lived
experience (Phil.B, 2000). From it’s inception
with the publication of Metaphors We Live
By, (Lakoff and Johnson,1980) conceptual
metaphor theory has been influential in
linguistics,
psychology,
communication
studies, and a host of other disciplines
(Kovecses, 2002; Lakoff, 1993). According to
the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) of
cognitive linguistics (see, e. g., Fusaroli and
Morgagni 2013; Gibbs 1994, 2008; Gibbs and
Steen 1999; Johnson 1987; Kövecses 2005,
2010, 2015; Lakoff 1987, 1993; Lakoff and
Johnson, 1980) alternative conceptualizations
can be achieved via different source concepts
mapped metaphorically onto the same target
concept. Cognitive linguists argue that
conceptual
structure
is
derived
from
embodiment, i.e. that “the nature of our
embodiment determines and delimits the
range and nature of concepts that can be
represented” (Evans and Green 2006: 176).
Life is an eternal topic in literary texts in
many languages. The concept life has many
facets to it: a particular living being or living
beings in general, the active force that makes
living beings alive, the state or period of
living, a way or manner of living, the activity
or spirit that constitutes the living existence,
the living existence as social life and
relationships, and so on. Its applicability
ranges from the micro level of individual
plants, animals or humans to the macro level
of organizations, nations or societies. For this
reason, life is understood metaphorically via a
variety
of
source
concepts:
precious
possession, fire, light,day,etc.
The article focuses on the metaphor of “a
lifetime is a day” in English and Chinese.
Although English and Chinese are radically
different languages and cultures, as Kövecses
(2010) stated that some kinds of conceptual
metaphors can be and are found in many
languages. If some kinds of conceptual
metaphors are based on embodied experience
that is universal, these metaphors should
occur- at least potentially - in many languages
and cultures around the world. Different
cultures may use the same source domain to
express the same target domain. The data of
expressions are extracted from English and
Chinese poem works. It is considered that
poets commonly use metaphors because
literature is a part of culture, metaphor and
culture can be seen as intimately linked.
Discussions
A lifetime is the length of time that
someone is alive. A person’s lifetime consists
of birth, youth, middle age, and old age. A
day can be divided into morning, noon and
evening. The cycles of day and night are
considered as the symbols of different stages
of life. Kövecses (2005) states that universal
human experiences produce universal primary
metaphors, and these metaphors embodied in
universal experience must be found in many
languages. The metaphors do not exist in
English, they also have a wide influence on
Chinese conventional metaphors.
1. Morning/ sunrise is youth
Morning is called “
早晨
”, “
晨
” and “
朝
”
in Chinese, it refers to the time between
sunrise and two hours after sunrise. As the
beginning of a day, morning is often seen as a
youthful moment, hence the old Chinese
saying "the whole day's work depends on a
good start in the morning." Sunrise (
朝
/
日出
)
refers to the time in the morning when the sun
Хорижий филология
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appears of full daylight arrives. Seeing the
sunrise, which always make people think of
hope and energy.
(a). Now therefore, while the youthful
hue Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
Thus, though we cannot make our
sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.
(To His Coy Mistress Andrew Marvell)
(b). The sun rises with its golden hues
Making everything bright and new.
The green becomes golden and
warm.
And new life on Earth will grow
and form
Until the sun goes down the last day
of your life.
There will be no more tears, no
more hardships, and no more strife.
The sun slowly sinks to the other
side of the Earth.
And you will return to where your
life led you starting at your birth
(Distance From the Sun Megan Fricke)
(c).
盛年不重来，一日难再晨。及时当
勉励，岁月不待人。
杂诗十二首
·
其一
陶渊明）
(Once the beautiful youthful days are
gone, they will never come back, just as there
is never a second sunrise in a day. Encourage
yourself to work hard while you are young.
Time passes and wait for no man).
(d).
东隅已逝，桑榆非晚。
(
滕王阁序
王勃
)
( Though the morning is gone, it is not
too late to cherish the evening)
In the example (a), the speaker urges a
young woman to enjoy the pleasures of life
before death claims her. In these lines,
morning corresponds to youth, and the
movement of the sun corresponds to the
progress of life. Chinese literary also
conceptualize morning as youth. In the
example (c),the poet thinks that youthful time
is as precious as sunrise in a day, which
implies the metaphor of “youth is morning.”
The youth will not come for the second time
in one’s life, and there is no second morning
in a day. In the example (b), the theme of the
sun as being a healing source of life and
love. The sunrise represents a beginning or
youth in this poem. The same metaphor found
in the example (e),“
东隅
”refers to the sunrise
in the east,and it also refers to morning,
indicating youthful years. The literal meaning
of“
桑榆
”is “ mulberry and elm trees” in
English. The Chinese believe that the setting
sun shines on the mulberry and elm trees, so it
refers to the sunset, which means old age. The
youthful days are gone, if people can cherish
the time and work hard, it is not too late even
if they are old.
2. Evening/ night/dusk/ sunset /
twilight is old age
Chinese character “
暮
means evening,
dusk and sunset in English, and these can be
conceptualized as old age both in English and
Chinese. Evening and night is the last period
of a day, and it indicates a day will be over
soon, which makes people feel sad and
sentimental. Sunset refers to the time when
the sun goes down and night begins . There is
a
Chinese
saying
“
夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏
”, it means that
the setting sun is infinitely good, but near
dusk. In view of these common natural
phenomena and cognitive feelings, both
Chinese and English people compare sunset
to old age.
(e). The sunset of my life approaches
Having basked in the glory of youth
Each
waning
ray
of
light's
disappearing
(The sunset of my life )
(f). Alice grown lazy, mammoth but not
fat, Declines upon her lost and
twilight age; Above in the dozing
leaves the grinning cat Quivers
forever with his abstract rage:
( Last days of Alice Allen Tate)
(g).
惟草木之零落兮，恐美人之迟暮
（离骚
屈原）
(
Only the grass and trees are scattered,
fear the beauty of the twilight.)
(h).
君不见高堂明镜悲白发，
朝如青丝
暮成雪。
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(
将进酒
李白
)
（
You did not see the old parents,
lamenting their white hair when they looking
at the mirror. They had black hairs when they
were young, while their hairs are as white as
snow when they are old.
）
In the example (e), the speaker wants to
express that he is getting old, and he wishes
his youth can come back again. Sunset, also
known as sundown, is the daily disappearance
of the sun below the horizon due to earth's
rotation. Sunset also refers to a period of
decline, especially the last years of a person’s
life. English expression “the sunset of one’s
life ” is equivalent to Chinese phrase“
迟
暮
”,
and the same expression can be found in the
Chinese literary text. For example, in the
example(g) ,when the poet thinks of that fact
that trees and grasses eventually fade and
wither, and he can't help worrying that the
beauty is inevitably getting old. The poet use
the image of the unavoidable fate of plants
and the beauty to show that life is short, and
time wait for no man. “
暮
”(twilight) refers to
the faint light or the period of time at the end
of the day after the sun has gone down,
beside, it also can refer to the final stage of
life. Both example (f) and example (h),
“
暮
”(twilight) is conceptualized as the last
years of one’s life. In the example (h), the
poet laments that life is hard and short,
describing the whole process of life from
youth to old as a "morning" and "twilight",
which makes people feel life is shorter than
they think.
Conclusion
The article mainly analyzes two sub
metaphors:“morning/sunrise corresponds to
morning” and “twilight / dusk / sunset
corresponds to old age,” the two sub
metaphors are salient conceptual metaphors
with exceptionally rich and systematic
linguistic manifestation in English and
Chinese poetic works; and the two metaphors
are shared both in English and Chinese based
on the universal human experiences. No
matter in English poems or Chinese poetic,
these metaphors are often used to show that
life is short, encourage people to seize the
opportunity, and cherish the time.
References:
1.
Evans, Vyvyan and Melanie Green (2006) Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction.
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Ли Диди. Метафора “Жизнь – это день” в английской и китайской поэзии.
Метафора является основным инструментом для понимания нашего мира и нас самих,
вступление в взаимодействие с мощными поэтическими метафорами является важным
способом определения человеческой жизни. Целью данной статьи является получение
понимания межкультурного сходства в английских и китайских поэтических произведениях,
что касается метафоры «жизнь - это день», и в этой статье анализируются две
подметафоры в английских и китайских поэтических произведениях, включая «утро / восход
- молодость» и «вечер / ночь / сумерки / закат / сумерки - старость». В исследовании
делается вывод о том, что в английском и китайском обнаруживаются сходные
метафорические образы, хотя сами языки не связаны друг с другом.
Li Didi.
Ingliz va Xitoy she'riyatida "A lifetime is a day" metaforasi
. Metafora bizning
dunyomizni va o'zimizni anglashning asosiy vositasidir, kuchli she'riy metaforalar bilan
shug'ullanish inson hayotini anglatadigan muhim usuldir. Ushbu maqolaning maqsadi - ingliz va
xitoy she'riy asarlarida o'zaro madaniy o'xshashliklar to'g'risida ma'lumot olish. Ushbu maqolada
asosan ingliz va xitoy she'riy asarlaridagi ikkita metafora, shu jumladan, "ertalab / kun chiqishi -
yoshlik" va "kechqurun / tunda / tushda / quyosh botganda / olaqorong’ulikda keksalik" tahlil
qilinadi. " Tadqiqot ingliz va xitoy tillari bir-biriga bog'liq bo'lmagan ikki til bo'lsa ham, ingliz va
xitoy tillari bir xil ikkita metaforani birlashtiradi degan xulosaga keladi.
