This is an attempt at construing descriptions of cognitive activities found in the Neiye, an early Chinese text (fourth century BCE) preserved in the Guanzi compilation. Through the notions of metaphor and cognitive model, and by means of hermeneutic principles developed by George Lakoff and other theorists, I scrutinize the text, trying to unravel the peculiar understanding of the cognitive functioning of the body upon which it is predicated. I focus on four words: xin (heart), shen (spirit), qi (breath), and qing (emotions). As a result of this enquiry, the physicality of cognitive activities in the Neiye stands out clearly. The importance of the body in cognitive activities should appear as clearly in translations if we want to get closer to the Chinese understanding of their own writings instead of reading them through categories which only make sense in our own constructed reality, our Lebenswelt.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.20470 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Simonis, Fabien. |
| Contributors | Yates, Robin D. S. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001609551, proquestno: MQ43950, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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