Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / Metaphor in Chinese Social Media: Representations of China-Russia Relations

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2023 16 (6)
Authors
Frolova, Alena V.; Solopova, Olga A.
Contact information
Frolova, Alena V.: Perm National Research Polytechnic University Perm, Russian Federation; ; Solopova, Olga A.: Institute of Linguistics and International Communications, South Ural State University (National Research University) Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation
Keywords
social media; metaphor; image of the future; China-Russia relations; Chinese discourse
Abstract

The paper investigates metaphor use in Chinese social media. The importance of the research stems from the growing influence of Chinese social media on people’s participation in the discussion of the future of China-Russia relations in the political arena and the metaphor theory providing an impetus for research in various fields. The major objective is to analyze metaphors with the target domain “China-Russia relations”. The authors draw primarily on theories developed in metaphor studies. The source of the material is 悟空回答 (Wukong Huida). The material comprises 250 metaphors studied through a method of metaphorical modelling. The focus is on five dominant source domains: Organism, Inanimate nature, Animal, Game, and War. The findings show that metaphors, presenting the future of China-Russia relations, have neutral, positive or negative connotations. Positively coloured metaphors in source domains Organism, Inanimate nature, Animal, and War prevail in describing the future of China-Russia relationship in the situation of American sanctions and their strategic partnership. Neutral metaphors are fixed in the source domain Organism. Negative metaphors from Animal and Inanimate nature source domains depict probable territory conflicts between China and Russia. Game metaphors produce images of a favorable future for China and a pessimistic one for Russia

Pages
991–1004
EDN
VRLTZJ
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/150139

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