The metaphor of the coronavirus in the Chinese Internet space

Prutskikh Tatiana ORCID: 0009-0003-3815-1445 PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of Oriental Languages, St. Petersburg State University of Economics 191023, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Griboyedov str., 30-32 pruta@mail.ru

Introduction.

Over the years of its existence, humanity has faced various disasters and challenges that make people think about the meaning of life, about their mission on earth and about the future in global significance. The coronavirus pandemic is a new test for all the inhabitants of our planet, moreover, this deadly disease affects not only the sick, but also potential patients – it inspires fear, changes the usual way of life, affects consciousness. In conditions of isolation, the media, especially the world Wide Web, become the main information channel. The influence that mass media have on all spheres of human activity in general and on the individual's consciousness in particular is difficult to overestimate. It is the media that broadcast the state and author's positions, form the audience's attitude to the events taking place, "contribute to the construction of social reality" ^[1].

         China became the first country to encounter COVID-19, while demonstrating to the whole world how quickly and effectively it is possible to deal with a new dangerous disease in a huge, densely populated country. The main role in stabilizing the situation was played by a combination of national and individual measures to combat the epidemic, traditional strict discipline, "strict policy, regulations issued by the central government of China, innovative use of digital technologies" ^[2]. If we talk about the Chinese Internet space, the success of the Chinese society's opposition to the coronavirus can also be attributed to "the consistent position of the Chinese media regarding the representation of the coronavirus and the presentation of this disease as dangerous, but not capable of leading to terrible consequences for the country, helped in many ways to prevent panic among the population" ^{[3, p. 27]}.

The main part.

         The new realities of life are the source of the appearance of neologisms in language, but a person also uses familiar and understandable lexical units to comprehend a new complex object, building a metaphorical projection from one conceptual sphere (source domain) to another (target domain) – the interaction between the knowledge structures of two conceptual domains is the process of metaphorization. "Our everyday conceptual system, within which we think and act, is essentially metaphorical" ^{[4, p. 25]}.

         Philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, logicians, linguists – humanitarians of different directions, interests and nationalities are engaged in the study of metaphor. It is the conceptual metaphor, which has significant cognitive potential, that becomes the object of numerous studies and covers most areas of human activity. Conceptual metaphor is defined as "a mental operation, as a way of cognition, categorization, conceptualization, evaluation and explanation of the world" ^{[5, p. 16]}, it is considered a creative process of cognition, combining usually unrelated concepts, contributing to a deeper understanding of the essence ^{[6, p. 373]}. Modern Russian linguists consider metaphor as a mental and linguosocial phenomenon, therefore, they emphasize the simultaneous study of the cognitive and discursive properties of metaphor. According to Chinese scientists, "metaphor as a way of thinking and cognitive means reflects culture, at the same time, has the function of transmitting culture" ^{[7, p. 2]}.

It is philosophers and linguists who claim that the ability to compare is part of the process of human cognition and is one of the important means of forming a language. The very process of cognition is a process of comparison, A.A. Potebnya wrote ^{[8, p. 76]}; there is nothing more fundamental for thinking and language "than our sense of similarity," noted W.O. Quine (quoted in ^{[9, p. 15]}). In Chinese, the term "metaphor" is translated as , where the first word means "allegory, comparison, figurative expression". Let's take a closer look at the etymology of the hieroglyph ?.

y“?”“?”

The frequently used Chinese character (first–level symbol), pronounced y?, originally appeared in the "Showen Jiezi" in the writing of the "?" of the Zhuan style of the "small seal", was later written with the character "?" of the Lishu style of the "official letter", its original meaning – to explain, to inform - can also be expanded to the meaning communication, knowledge/understanding, metaphor, etc. values.

         This work is devoted to the description of the features of metaphors about the new coronavirus infection in the headings of Chinese Internet communication texts, which is the subject of this study. It is in the title that the maximum textual tension is concentrated, this is due to the use of metaphors in the headings of articles to attract attention and emotional impact on the addressee. The paper uses such research methods as the method of linguistic and cultural analysis, contextual analysis, component analysis, classification method, comparison method, generalization method, quantitative calculation and descriptive method.  As a result of the analysis of more than 150 headlines of Chinese Internet articles about the new coronavirus infection, over 50 metaphors were identified, which were divided into seven thematic groups. We propose to consider the most interesting examples.

1. The smallest group turned out to be headlines with metaphors of new objects and phenomena.  I would like to draw attention to the fact that translation is a certain difficulty in this model, because the literal translation will be incomprehensible to the reader and additional comments become quite justified.

1) [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1657068641362208682&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 11/23/2023)].

The history of Hoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals under epidemic conditions.

The Mountain of the God of Fire and the Mountain of the God of Thunder are metaphorical names of two new hospitals for coronavirus patients in Wuhan, China

2) [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1689732190184639709&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 11/24/2023)].

Shijiazhuang volunteers help prevent and control the epidemic.

? aix?n ch?du? – "kindness team, caring group", a metaphorical name for volunteers who deliver basic necessities, but they do not just transfer medicines and food, but deliver love and care itself.

2. The following group of metaphors can be combined with the theme of unpredictability of events. The unexpected and unpredictable nature of the epidemic undoubtedly worries many people and makes them seriously think about the future.

3) ——2020[Zhihu. URL: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/136072672?from=groupmessage (accessed: 08.11.2023)].

The new coronavirus is the "black swan event" of 2020!

h?iti?n'? sh?ji?n events of the "black swan" type. The theory of the "black swan" by N.N. Taleb ("Black Swan. Under the sign of unpredictability", 2007) considers unexpected, difficult to predict events that have significant consequences.

4) [Baidu.wenku. URL: https://wenku.baidu.com/view/b7ac0b3ca5c30c22590102020740be1e650eccbc.html?_wkts_=1700909944438&bdQuery=%E5%86%A0%E7%8A%B6%E7%97%85%E6%AF%92%E8%83%BD%E8%A2%AB%E6%B6%88%E7%81%AD%E5%90%97%3F%E4%BA%BA%E7%B1%BB%E4%B8%8E%E7%97%85%E6%AF%92%E7%9A%84%E6%88%98%E4%BA%89%2C%E6%9C%80%E7%BB%88%E9%B9%BF%E6%AD%BB%E8%B0%81%E6%89%8B%3F&needWelcomeRecommand=1 (accessed: 11/24/2023)].

Is it possible to destroy the coronavirus? In the war between humanity and the virus, eventually "by whose hand will the deer be killed"?

ll?s? sh?ish?u by whose hand will the deer be killed? mod. in value.: it is impossible to predict who will win.

3.     Under the influence of a dangerous epidemic, people's lives have changed dramatically, many have wondered what lessons we should learn from all this? Coronavirus is a warning and instruction for humanity, it teaches us, wakes people up from sleep, indicates the importance that people should live in harmony with nature, because there can be no victorious side in this confrontation.

5) [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1658306525763566804&wfr=spider&for=pc (date of application: 17.11.2023)].

Lessons of the new coronavirus: a person must live in harmony with nature, because "there is no winner after a shot."

Get along, live in peace and harmony;

qi?ng xi?ng the sound of a shot, mod. confrontation.

6) [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1682959055560143755&wfr=spider&for=pc (date of application: 12.11.2023)].

A new type of coronavirus awakens humanity, creates a new way of life and a new model of development.

ju?x?ng peren. to awaken, to awaken, to awaken consciousness.

4. The public pays great attention to the exploits of people in the difficult conditions of the epidemic, because it is in such difficult times that the best human qualities manifest themselves, truly new heroes appear among us. Says about angels among men (), about national heroes (), about brave women heroines (), the doctors who are literally fighting on the front lines, as a modest heroes of the war, protecting people "behind the scenes" ""?.

7) “” [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1660292532332092554&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 11/18/2023)].

We count the heroes who appeared during the epidemic – perhaps the "new coronavirus" also played a positive role in society.

y?ngxi?ng hero

8)""?"[SOHU“ URL: https://www.sohu.com/a/371223034_255783 (accessed: 07.11.2023)].

The people who are closest to the coronavirus are the furthest from home (from family).

j?l? x?nx?ng gu?nzhu?ng b?ngd? zu?j?n de r?n people closest to the new coronavirus, mod. doctors.

5. People often compare the coronavirus with various dark entities, describe it as cunning and insidious (), ferocious and cruel (), it appears with a menacing appearance () and rages all over the globe ()). Chinese culture is characterized by a mythological perception of nature, so it is not surprising to comprehend the virus through something alive and mysterious.  

9) , , [, , [Electronic resource] / Cunman. URL: http://www.cunman.com/new/fa2d42796f45482eace09af7d0bb31b9 (accessed: 11/23/2023)].

Invisible demon, ghostly smoke of battle, diaries of military resistance to the spread of a new type of coronavirus.

A devil; an evil demon; an evil deed.

10) —— [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1664509662669852115&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 11/22/2023)].

The Invisible Killer is the war against COVID-19 and Ebola.

y y?nx?ng sh?sh?u is an invisible (invisible, hidden) killer.

6. The next group of metaphors is the coronavirus as a threat that unites people. This group consists of phrases and slogans used to support people in this difficult time for all mankind. The most common phrase is ji?y?u (dosl. add oil to the fire), which translates as – Come on! Push up! Go ahead! (see Fig. 1, 2)

11) ![MEIPIAN. URL: https://www.meipian.cn/2oafk7dw (accessed: 11/15/2023)].

Pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus: let's unite in a common impulse in the fight against the epidemic – Wuhan, hold on! China, push up!

zh zh zh zh?ngzh? ch?ngch?ng letters. the will of the masses is a fortress wall, i.e. unity is a great force; all together, together, in unity is strength.

12) [NetEase. URL: https://www.163.com/dy/article/F5MBNC0I0525WUGB.html (accessed: 11/18/2023)].

News about coronavirus pneumonia! Internet users, this concerns everyone: let's unite to resist this war together.

tu?nji? cohesion, solidarity, unity.

13)2020"" [UISDC. URL: https://www.uisdc.com/resistancevirus-2020 (date accessed: 18.11.23)].

Unity is Strength ? International charity exhibition of posters dedicated to the opposition to the new coronavirus, 2020

Tu?nji? ji?sh? l?li?ng "Unity is strength", "Unity is Strength", is a patriotic Chinese song written in June 1943. first as the finale to the opera of the same name, and then became an independent piece of music that gained its popularity for calling for joining forces in the anti–Japanese war.

7. The most numerous group of metaphors is associated with the image of war, which is quite predictable, because in the face of mortal danger, a person strives for confrontation and confrontation, which correlates with military actions and is actualized in military vocabulary, for example, k?ngj? "counterattack, fight back"; xi?omi? "destroy, eliminate"; l?ix?"attack, invasion"; f?nzh?n "to fight a fierce battle, to fight with courage"; y?xi?n straight., peren. "front (line), front line";h?ud?n "support from the rear". It is worth noting that the study of the metaphorical model of "War" as a means of representing the pandemic in the media was also carried out on the material of Russian ^{[10, pp. 8-9]}, English ^[11] and Korean ^[12] languages. Military metaphors often conceptualize diseases ^{[3, p. 31]}, moreover, several different implications can be distinguished.

14) [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1662575711187585245&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 18.11.23)].

A new type of World War III coronavirus is transmitted by air.

15)[Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1658877013945715510&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 19.11.23)].

How much longer do we need to hold out on this battlefield, where there is no gunpowder smoke?

16) [Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1690365136685589700&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 18.11.23)].

Pharmaceutical companies are reducing supplies, vaccination in Spain "misfired" (the cartridge case stuck in the chamber).

17)[Baijiahao. URL: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1656987676992662692&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed: 19.11.23)].

The military campaign against the virus is in full swing, each of us will become a hero!

18)""" ”CIIS. URL: http://www.ciis.org.cn/zt/kjxgfyyq/202007/t20200710_1343.html (date of application: 12.11.23)].

How did the "blitzkrieg" of the new coronavirus cover Europe?

19) [ [QSTHEORY. URL: http://www.qstheory.cn/llwx/2020-02/26/c_1125626457.htm (Accessed: 11/20/2023)].

To win decisively in the people's total barrage war for the prevention and control of the pandemic.

20) [ [12371. URL: https://www.12371.cn/2020/03/06/VIDE1583471640038371.shtml (accessed: 20.11.23)].

Flowers have bloomed in the war zone, women will cope with everything.

Among the neologisms that appeared during this tense period is the expression zh?ny? "the war against the epidemic", which is found both in the headlines of articles and in the title of one of the most popular Chinese TV series "The War against the Epidemic 2020" ("2020").

Studies of the language material allow us to conclude that the image of the coronavirus in the Internet space of the PRC is formed using various metaphorical models, the most numerous of which are metaphors of war, dark entities, threats that unite people. The dominance of militaristic metaphors creates an image of the virus as an enemy – dangerous and merciless, but which can and should be fought, the vaccine becomes a new military weapon, doctors are war heroes who fight on the front line, outbreaks of the epidemic are seen as a military invasion, and the suddenness of the epidemic is compared to a blitzkrieg, with a lightning offensive. The percentage distribution of all selected metaphors into seven thematic groups is as follows (see Figure 1).

Diagram 1. Classification of coronavirus metaphors

in the Chinese internet space

Conclusion.

         It is the language that reacts sensitively to changes taking place in reality, and journalists, whose role is to attract and retain the attention of readers, use figurative language turns, the most vivid and convincing of which are metaphors. The alarming reality all over the world is connected, first of all, with the coronavirus epidemic, so the relevance and prospects of this study are obvious. We are confident that the declared classification will be expanded, improved and supplemented with new examples, which will enrich modern metaphorology. Interlanguage studies are of particular theoretical and practical importance in order to determine the national specifics of metaphors and linguistic universals.