Abstract
This article tries to investigate the representation of the world from Chuang Tzu's language, and also to examine the ground on which Chuang Tzu's language activities contain imagery. It argues that Chuang Tzu represented the world by visualizing Tao, or the Way. The fact that literature is a form of language art provides help for describing the visualization of the world. Therefore, this determines that Chuang Tzu employs imagery for expression. Chuang Tzu gives prominence to the poetic function rather than referential function in his language during the process of linguistic expression. Such a feature emphasizes the poetic turn of image, rather than the image of notional words. In addition, Chuang Tzu is not merely a poet, but a poet philosopher. His method to utilize image is also determined by his unique identity, and connected with the generation of Tao. In particular, one part of the image representation, Ekphrasis, which is very close to imitating the practical bodily activities, is particularly favored by Chuang Tzu.
First Page
35
Last Page
43
Recommended Citation
Bao, Zhaohui. 2017. "Imagery in Chuang Tzu from the Perspective of Pictorial-Linguistic Semiotics." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 37, (6): pp.35-43. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss6/14
