From Colloquialism to Metaphorical Expression
A Diachronic Study of Chinese Dialect Words Based on Chán Buddhist Literature
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3367369 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chen Zeng (0000-0003-0554-945X, Sichuan University), Christoph Anderl (0000-0003-3681-1676, Ghent University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 900 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel13100900 |
| OpenAlex | W4297224498 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
Chán Buddhist literature is not only an important source for the study of religious thought during the Chinese late medieval and early modern periods, but also constitutes a treasure trove for investigating the development of the colloquial language of the respective periods, both in terms of semantics and syntactic constructions. Since the editors of Chán Buddhist literature-such as the Recorded Saying and Transmission of the Lamp texts-claimed to convey the "living words" of the patriarchs and masters, numerous vernacularisms were integrated in the dialogue sections of the texts, and the use of traditional Buddhist terminology was often reduced to a minimum. Frequently, Chán Buddhist texts are among the earliest sources in which these colloquialisms surfaced. In this paper, we focus on expressions which derive from the colloquial language of the late Táng and Sòng periods, and which were integrated in Chán Buddhist literature, often assuming a particular metaphorical meaning in the rhetorical structure of the texts. We reconstruct their original meaning, their use in the Chán texts, as well as their further development in Sinitic languages and dialects. Besides contributing to a better understanding of the vocabulary used in the enigmatic language of Chán literature and the metaphorical mapping of originally colloquial expressions in a religious context, in this preliminary study, we also hope to contribute to a better understanding of the development of semantic items from the perspective of historical linguistics, their complex paths of metaphorical extensions, as well as their usage in local linguistic contexts. In addition, the case studies also illustrate the transformative force of religion on the development of language, and the complex interplay between religious ideas and linguistic expression
Art · Buddhism · Colloquialism · Epistemology · Etymology · Linguistics · Literature · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Terminology · Vocabulary · Chinese history and philosophy · Computer Science · History · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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