The Cognitive Semiotics Expression Of Chinese Medical Theory From The Perspective Of Image Metaphor

For a long time,many scholars in China who study Chinese medicine theory believe that Xiang-Thinking is the main way of thinking in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).Xiang-thinking is also the basis of TCM symptomology and syndrome research.Xiang-thinking leads the direction of independent innovation of TCM,and it is also the guarantee for the sustainable development of TCM theory.However,there is no one yet to make a deep discussion and analysis of China’s unique psychological cognitive mechanism of Xiang-thinking and psychological support platform that supports Xiang-thinking.For the first time,this dissertation puts forward the concept of "Xiang-Metaphor" in TCM at home and abroad,and refines,differentiates and deepens the original Chinese thinking mode"Xiang-thinking",and proposes that "Xiang-metaphor" is the cognitive metaphor mechanism of "Xiang-thinking" of TCM,It also examines the function of "Xiang-metaphor" from the scene of TCM,gives the definition of "Xiang-metaphor",describes the process and characterization of "Xiang-metaphor",and expounds the meaning of "Xiang-metaphor",with theoretical originality and significant theoretical innovation significance.In this study,the author also found that there is a metaphorical phenomenon in TCM theory that has not been mentioned by researchers so far,that is,the "Xiang-Concept Duality metaphor".Through the research and analysis of TCM corpus,combined with the research results of different scholars,this dissertation demonstrates the existence and function of this phenomenon from several different aspects.This dissertation proposes a new kind of metaphor of the "Xiang-Concept Duality metaphor",which is a new TCM metaphor phenomenon not mentioned by the predecessors.It is believed that this "Xiang-concept Duality metaphor "is a metaphorical phenomenon worthy of attention in the study of TCM metaphor theory,and it is also the innovative development of Chinese original thinking cognitive theory.At the same time,it is also a further study of the further refinement and differentiation of Chinese original cognitive thinking mode,which has great theoretical significance for the theoretical research of TCM.Also,this dissertation analyzes and studies the genesis of the "Wu-Xing" theory system of TCM with the framework of cognitive theory of metaphor.It is found that the metaphor of TCM is the main cognitive mechanism of the "Wu-Xing" theory of TCM.Further suggesting that the theory of "Wu-Xing" is a theoretical constructive metaphor system.And on this basis,it puts forward a hypothesis about cultural development:The occurrence of a culture is based on a theoretical constructive metaphor,which directly participates in the formation of the initial concept or directly translates into the initial concept of this culture,under which a series of basic propositions are formed.The composition of the initial concept from which this metaphor is involved makes all parts of this culture full of this metaphor.This dissertation analyzes and demonstrates the rationality of the hypothesis proposed by the author through the analysis of the corpus of different cultural classics such as TCM theory,Buddhist scriptures and the Bible.For the first time,this dissertation proposes that in the history of world cultural development,the Wu-Xing Theory of TCM have the same cultural status as the Bible and the Buddhist scriptures.It also demonstrates that the classic theory of TCM is at the highest level in the theoretical system of Chinese civilization and Chinese culture,just like the theory of the highest level in other cultural systems in the world.From the perspective of comparative culture,the author compares the Wu-Xing Theory of TCM with the four elements of the West.Through research,it is proposed and proved:Xiang-metaphor not only has the particularity of Chinese original thinking mode,but also from the history of human thinking development,Xiang-thinking and Xiang-metaphor also have the universality and commonality of human thinking mode.At the same time,this dissertation also demonstrates that the Western four-element theory is inherently constrained by its mode of thinking due to its rigid stipulation of innate metaphorical thinking genes,its activity patterns,intrinsic motivation,direction of thought,and structural functions.So that it has the same beginning of the metaphorical mechanism as the Wu-Xing Theory,but it has reluctantly left the field and eventually became a research object in the history of human thought development.This dissertation also demonstrates that the Wu-Xing Theory has been running for thousands of years in the time variables of its historical development.Any of its TCM clinical practice activities are based on living people,and its work scope covers cognitive thinking in multiple dimensions,and in real-time operation,we must also consider the multidimensional influences and constraints of various time variables on different cognitive elements.The causal relationship between its complex function and the four-element univariate is not the same,it can be said that they are totally different from each other.In the perspective of Xiang-metaphor,the author draws on and references some interdisciplinary metaphor research results.Introducing Qian Zhongshu’s " two handles and several sides" metaphor theory into the study of metaphor theories of TCM,and carrying out cognitive analysis and meaning interpretation of the bi-directional bifurcations in the theoretical research of TCM.It is believed that Qian Zhongshu’s " two handles and several sides" metaphor theory provides a new comprehensive approach to the two-way bidirectional category in the theory of TCM,and the multilevel relationship between it and its multiple meanings,and provides us a new comprehensive,holistic and dynamic cognitive analysis tool.According to the characteristics of TCM,Qian Zhongshu’s " two handles and several sides theory" of metaphor theory has been moderately adjusted and revised.It is proposed that in the Chinese medical metaphor cognitive model,when using this theory for analysis and research,it is necessary to pay attention to the dynamic characteristics of the various categories of TCM theory and the flow and transformation relationship between them.These features do not exist in the metaphorical study of relatively static,descriptive literary works.In the process of studying the metaphorical cognition theory of TCM,the author finds that Charles Sanders Peirce’s theoretical structure of cognitive semiotics and the mode of thinking have the power of self-improvement and development of TCM theory under the view of metaphor,which has a strong explanatory power and derivation ability.This dissertation focuses on the mathematical derivation process of the tripartite category of Charles S.Pierce’s semiotics,and substitutes the "water" category of the Wu-Xing Theory of TCM into this derivation formula.From this point of view,the meta-cognition of the "water" category of the Wu-Xing Theory and the specific cognitive path of the multilevel symbolic activities of the"water" category of TCM based on the infinite implication of Charles S.Peirce semiotics are derived.The theoretical framework of cognitive semiotics and the cognitive path of TCM metaphors are organically combined.Specifically,it expounds the category attribute of"water" in the Wu-Xing Theory as the cognitive interpretation and meaning expression of"wet evil" in the etiology of TCM.This dissertation also uses the metaphor as the fulcrum,from the perspective of the cognitive interpretation of cognitive semiotics,examines the relationship between the attributes of "Wood" in Wu-Xing Theory of TCM and the iconicity of the family of liver Viscera.It demonstrates the metaphorical mechanism of the "wood" and liver reservoirs,and drawing conclusions,it is precisely because of the participation of the interpretant of cognitive semiotics that the occurrence and development of TCM theory has an intrinsic motivation and sustainable vitality.It puts forward and answers some questions in the long-term study of TCM metaphor theory.At the same time,it is pointed out that the cognitive meaning interpretation of the category theory of TCM liver collection originated from the Wu-Xing theory has the function of meta-cognitive interpretation and it is the cognitive starting point of Chinese medicine theory.