Musical Metaphors in Chinese Aesthetics

Abstract

According to the conceptual metaphor theory, a metaphor is not just a rhetorical device but rather a fundamental conceptual framework operating at the level of thinking. When one describes a painting as “musically moving” or “melodious,” one transfers a conceptual framework of music from its typical domain into a new domain where neither musical movement nor melody takes place. In this light, the extensive use of musical metaphors based on qì-dynamics such as “rhythmic vitality” or “literary vitality” for art criticism in early China can be deemed as conceptual mappings between music and other arts. Also, musical metaphors in Chinese aesthetics evidently work as guiding principles in individual art theories.