Chapter One Introduction 1
1.1 Research background 1
1.2 Objective and scope 4
1.3 Research methodology 6
1.4 Structure of the study 12
Chapter Two Literature Review 14
2.1 Theoretical background 14
2.2 Previous study 51
Chapter Three A Cognitive Semantic Analysis of on 69
3.1 Spatial senses of on 70
3.2 Metaphorical senses of on 90
Chapter Four A Cognitive Semantic Analysis of zai...shang 113
4.1 The typological feature of Chinese 114
4.2 An analysis of zai...shang 124
Chapter Five A Comparison Between Usages of on and zai...shang 161
5.1 Similarities and differences in the spatial domain 161
5.2 Similarities and differences in the abstract domain 164
Chapter Six Conclusion 168
6 1 Findings of the research 169
6 2 Significance of the research 171
6.3 Limitations and prospects for future research 175
Bibliography 179
Postscript 201