Chinese Similes and Metaphors for Family

Abstract

This paper explores a culture and a research method, based on the conjecture that common similes and metaphors in a culture for “family” may offer insights into important aspects of the meanings, values, and ideals connected to family in that culture. With a focus on China, we looked for the first similes and metaphors for family that came up on the two most popular Chinese search engines, Baidu and Google. We winnowed the first hits, eliminating those that were not similes and metaphors and those that were to websites that few other websites linked to. In the end, we had nine Chinese similes and metaphors for family. They include: Family is a gentle harbor, a harbor for all seasons, a haven or refuge, a gas station, the center of the earth, and a little wooden boat on the river. We believe that these figures of speech represent Chinese cultural values that are important to Chinese thinking about families. Included in that, the figures of speech seem to us to represent the centrality of family in a society where for many the help they need will have to come from family. The method of investigating similes and metaphors for family as a way of understanding family in a culture has its risks, including issues of whose reality is reflected on websites and how search engines give priority to what comes up first in a search. But the method also seems worth considering as an addition to other social science tools for illuminating aspects of family life in a culture.