Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 A General Overview of Theories on Metaphor 4
2.1 Traditional Views of Metaphor 5
2.1.1 Comparison and Substitution Theory 5
2.1.2 Interaction Theory 6
2.1.3 Summary 7
2.2 Cognitive View of Metaphor-The Theoretical Framework of the Study 8
2.2.1 The Working Mechanism of Metaphor—The Cross-domain Mapping 10
2.2.2 The Experiential Basis of Metaphor 14
2.2.3 The Categories of Metaphor 17
2.2.4 The Main Characteristics of Metaphor 23
2.2.5 Summary 30
2.3 Recent Studies Adopting the Cognitive Approach to Metaphor 34
2.4 Issues Faced by the Cognitive Approach to Metaphor 36
2.5 The Purpose of the Present Study 40
2.5.1 A Case Study on Metaphors in Chinese Economic Discourse(1949-2008)from a Diachronic Perspective 40
2.5.2 A Case Study on Metaphors in English and Chinese Economic Discourse(2003-2008)from a Cross-linguistic Perspective 41
Chapter 3 Methodological Considerations 43
3.1 The Thorny Issue of Metaphor Identification 43
3.1.1 The Criteria for Metaphor Identification 44
3.1.2 How to Get from Linguistic Metaphor to Conceptual Metaphor 45
3.2 The Corpus-based Approach 49
3.2.1 Extracting Metaphors from Corpora 49
3.2.2 The Corpora of the Study 53
Chapter 4 A Study on Metaphors in Chinese Economic Discourse(1949-2008) 58
4.1 Statistical Analysis of Metaphors in Chinese Economic Discourses 59
4.2 Metaphors in the Discourses before the Reform and Opening-up(1949-1978) 62
4.2.1 The War Metaphor 63
4.2.2 The Human Being Metaphor 68
4.2.3 The Journey Metaphor 82
4.2.4 The Liquid Metaphor 87
4.3 Metaphors in the Discourses During and After Carrying Out the Policy of the Reform and Opening-up(1979-2008) 91
4.3.1 The War Metaphor 91
4.3.2 The Game Metaphor 100
4.3.3 The Human Being Metaphor 107
4.3.4 The Journey Metaphor 130
4.3.5 The Mechanism Metaphor 140
4.3.6 The Building Metaphor 147
4.3.7 The Liquid Metaphor 151
4.4 A Comparative Analysis of Metaphors Used in Two Different Periods 157
4.4.1 The Similarities 158
4.4.2 The Differences 159
Chapter 5 A Study on Metaphors in English and Chinese Economic Discourses on Mergers and Acquisitions(2003-2008) 166
5.1 Dominant Metaphors in English and Chinese Mergers and Acquisitions Discourses 167
5.1.1 The War and Fighting Metaphor 169
5.1.2 The Marriage/Romance Metaphor 175
5.1.3 The Game/Sports Metaphor 178
5.1.4 The Hunting Metaphor 180
5.1.5 Co-occurrence of Metaphors 182
5.1.6 Discussion 185
5.2 A Comparative Analysis of Metaphors in Mergers and Acquisitions Discourses 189
5.2.1 Cultural Models 191
5.2.2 Differences in the Frequency 193
5.2.3 Differences in the Category 195
5.3 Summary 215
Appendix 217
Chapter 6 Conclusion 221
6.1 The Findings of the Study 221
6.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research 226
6.2.1 Limitations 226
6.2.2 Suggestions for Future Research 228
Bibliography 230