The Chinese Heart in a Cognitive Perspective

by Yu, Ning

• ISBN13: 9783110205169
• ISBN10: 3110205165
• eBook ISBN(s): 9783110213348
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-01-15
• Publisher: Mouton De Gruyter
• More Book Details

Summary

This book is a cognitive semantic study of the Chinese conceptualization of the heart, traditionally seen as the central faculty of cognition. The concept of HEART, encoded in the word xin, lies at the core of Chinese thought and medicine, and its importance to Chinese culture is extensively manifested in the Chinese language. The study explores this important concept and its cultural models along both diachronic and synchronic dimensions and with a cross-cultural perspective.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
Introduction: Heart, body and mind	p. 1
Object and goal: Chinese concept of xin 'heart'	p. 1
Heart, culture, and cognition	p. 6
Body, society, and cognition	p. 12
Body, mind, and culture	p. 19
Cognitive semantic study of metaphor: Embodiment	p. 28
Structure of the book	p. 34
The Heart in ancient Chinese philosophy	p. 36
Introduction: Basic philosophical notions and constructs	p. 36
Confucianism and Daoism: The notion of "heart"	p. 36
Unity of nature and man: Macrocosm and microcosm	p. 39
The heart as the locus of the "mind"	p. 44
The heart as the thinking and knowing organ	p. 45
The heart as the central faculty of cognition	p. 49
The heart as the "ruler" and "master"	p. 55
The heart as "water" and "mirror"	p. 59
The heart as the locus of moral sense	p. 62
Desires in the heart and immorality	p. 65
Emotions in the heart and immorality	p. 68
Human nature in the heart: Innately good or bad?	p. 70
Morality and the "Learning of the Heart"	p. 78
The heart as the locus of societal governance	p. 81
The ruler as the "heart" of the state	p. 81
The heart as the center of governance	p. 84
Summary and discussion	p. 87
The Heart in traditional Chinese medicine	p. 103
Introduction: Basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine	p. 103
Theories of yin-yang and the five elements	p. 104
Theory of the qi	p. 108
Theory of internal organs	p. 109
The heart as the ruler of the body	p. 111
The heart as the "ruler"	p. 111
Other organs as "officials" ruled by the heart	p. 117
The heart as the grand master of the internal organs	p. 121
The "grand master" and the spirits	p. 122
The "grand master" and the emotions	p. 127
The heart or brain: Which one governs the spiritual light?	p. 130
Summary and discussion	p. 135
The Heart in present-day Chinese language	p. 147
Introduction: A cognitive semantic study	p. 147
Cognitive Linguistics	p. 147
Linguistic data: Conventionalized expressions	p. 150
The heart as a physical entity	p. 154
The source domains of the xin 'heart'	p. 154
The shape and structure of the xin 'heart'	p. 166
The heart as the locus of one's inner self	p. 178
The heart and one's innermost being	p. 180
The heart and one's personal disposition	p. 189
The heart and one's moral sense	p. 195
The heart and one's love	p. 203
The heart as the locus of mental life	p. 206
The heart and thought	p. 208
The heart and intellect	p. 213
The heart and intention	p. 214
The heart and volition	p. 218
The heart and popular will	p. 227
The heart and attention	p. 231
The heart as the locus of emotional life	p. 235
The body and emotions	p. 236
Emotion metaphors	p. 243
The heart and negative feelings	p. 247
The heart and positive feelings	p. 262
Summary and discussion	p. 273
The Heart in present-day Chinese discourse	p. 291
Introduction: Textual analysis	p. 291
The heart in an essay on the "heart"	p. 293
The heart in some poems on the "heart"	p. 308
Summary and discussion	p. 328
The Heart in cross-cultural comparison	p. 332
Introduction: An external viewpoint	p. 332
Conceptions of the heart and brain in the West	p. 333
A comparative perspective from English	p. 349
Four humors and five elements	p. 357
Summary and discussion	p. 363
Conclusion	p. 367
Looking back in perspective: Some highlights	p. 367
Bringing into focus: Holism and dualism, heart and head	p. 375
Looking beyond: Methodological issues	p. 382
Emerging from it: Afterword	p. 387
Appendices	p. 388
References	p. 411
Author index	p. 438
Subject index	p. 442
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