Abstract
The work is devoted to the origins and peculiarities of zodiac signs in the ancient Chinese tradition. The study is carried out within the frames of linguocultural approach towards interpreting animalistic metaphors, namely, the zoonyms of the twelve zodiac signs which in China, are used to characterize people concerning their date of birth and are passed on from generation to generation. Chinese zodiacs are based on the astronomic theory of constellations and human worship (idolatry) of totems. It focuses on the comparison of zoonym metaphors reflected as Chinese zodiac signs both in the Chinese and Russian languages proceeding from the theory of metaphor in modern cognitive aspect to detect similarities and differences, and as well, the study of cultural roots of zoonym metaphors revealed in the Chinese zodiac signs. The object of the study concerns zoonyms of zodiac signs possessing the relevant meaning in the Chinese zoological lexis. The work elaborates the definition of the notion zodiac, describes the processes of the genesis, formation and development of the Zodiac culture and its specific cultural relevance; according to the analysis undertaken, the means to differentiate twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and those of Chinese fairy tales, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, in Russian - animals were discussed and verified as to I.A. Krylovs fables. The conclusion states that metaphors are determined by the language itself, and linguocultures of various nations are reflected in specific metaphors and other peculiarities.
Highlights
Peculiarities of the Chinese ZodiacThe relevance of the study’s issue is determined by the fact that the description of the signs of the Chinese Zodiac 生肖 is known as “The Calendar of Zodiac Signs marking the Man’s Year of Birth” and includes symbolic animals: a rat, an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a goat, a monkey, a rooster, a dog and a pig [1]
It focuses on the comparison of zoonym metaphors reflected as Chinese zodiac signs both in the Chinese and Russian languages proceeding from the theory of metaphor in modern cognitive aspect to detect similarities and differences, and as well, the study of cultural roots of zoonym metaphors revealed in the Chinese zodiac signs
The work elaborates the definition of the notion “zodiac”, describes the processes of the genesis, formation and development of the Zodiac culture and its specific cultural relevance; according to the analysis undertaken, the means to differentiate twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and those of Chinese fairy tales, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, in Russian — animals were discussed and verified as to I.A
Summary
The relevance of the study’s issue is determined by the fact that the description of the signs of the Chinese Zodiac 生肖 (shengxiao) is known as “The Calendar of Zodiac Signs marking the Man’s Year of Birth” and includes symbolic animals: a rat, an ox, a tiger, a rabbit, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a goat (sheep), a monkey, a rooster (hen), a dog and a pig [1]. Zodiac signs have been quite close to everyday and social life of people since long time ago Those twelve animals one can tentatively divide into three categories. The primary significance of the Zodiac culture might possibly be revealed in the writing down of a year, month and day, so that they might be connected with “the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches” to form a new type of dating. Wang Hong-Ji assumes that the essence of the Zodiac culture lies in connecting the time of birth of a man with a definite animal and to a certain extent, in foretelling the behavior of some people. Chang Hao wrote in the work “Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs”: “According to the astronomic calendar, any Chinese Zodiac visually denotes the time of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches [4]. The Origins of Zodiacs The Chinese theory of the origins of zodiacs could be explained by the following assumptions
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