Chinese Political Media Discourse: The “Flow of Water” Conceptual Metaphor in the Verbalization of Russia-China Cooperation
https://doi.org/10.32603/2412-8562-2025-11-5-193-207
Abstract
Introduction. The article explores the actualization of the “flow of water” metaphor in the media discourse on Russian-Chinese cooperation. The aim of this work is to identify the cognitive and cultural mechanisms of using this metaphor in the official publications and speeches of the Embassy of China in the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is determined by the peculiarities of metaphorical modeling in political and diplomatic media discourse for understanding the specifics of cooperation between Russia and China. Methodology and sources. The methodologies employed include cognitive-discursive analysis, metaphorical modeling, linguistic-cultural analysis, and corpus analysis. The empirical base consists of texts from the official website of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Russian Federation for the period from 2019 to 2024. Results and discussion. The analysis identified seven key characteristics of the “flow of water” metaphor: presence of a source and continuity, rapidity, variability, uncontrollability, accumulative property, life-sustaining properties and directionality. This categorization revealed the specific ways in which the “flow of water” metaphor functions in conceptualizing Russia China cooperation within media discourse. Conclusion. The study confirms the hypothesis that the “flow of water” metaphor plays a pivotal role in constructing the image of Russia-China cooperation and highlights the linguacultural specifics of this metaphor's conceptualization in Chinese media content. The findings contribute to research on political metaphor and cross-cultural communication.
About the Authors
X. Chen
Pushkin State Russian Language Institute
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Xiuqing Chen – Postgraduate at the Department of General and Russian Linguistics
V. V. Boguslavskaya
Pushkin State Russian Language Institute
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Vera V. Boguslavskaya – Dr. Sci. (Philology, 2004), Docent (2000), Professor at the Department of Russian Literature and Intercultural Communication
References
1. Sheigal, E.I. (2000), Semiotika politicheskogo diskursa [Semiotics of Political Discourse], Peremena, Volgograd, RUS.
2. Boguslavskaya, V.V., Khuong Thi Thu, Trang, Ratnikova, A.G. (2023), “Linguocultural characteristics of economic discourse about the family in Russian, Vietnamese, and Danish media”, Science J. of VolSU. Linguistics, no. 22 (4), pp. 167–179. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2023.4.13.
3. Dobrosklonskaya, T.G. (2014), “Mass Media Discourse as an Object of Scientific Description”, Issues of journalism, pedagogy, linguistics, no. 13 (184), pp. 181–187.
4. Iapparova, V.N. (2016), “Diplomatic Discourse as an Object of Interdisciplinary Research”, Philology and Culture, no. 2 (44), pp. 165–170.
5. Iapparova, V.N. (2014), “Ways of Representing the Addressee of Pre-Election Discourse”, Philology and Culture, no. 4 (38), pp. 235–239.
6. Chudinov, A.P. (2006), Politicheskaya lingvistika [Political Linguistics], Flinta, Nauka, Moscow, RUS.
7. Belov, E.S., Chernyakova, M.V. and Chudinov, A.P. (2008), “The rhetorical approach in American political metaphorology”, Political Linguistics, no. 3, pp. 157–159.
8. Budaev, E.V. (2020), Sopostavitel'naya politicheskaya metaforologiya [Comparative Political Metaphorology], Naukoemkie tekhnologii, SPb., RUS.
9. Ignatenko, A.V. and Dorofeeva, E.A. (2022), “Political Metaphors in the Context of Stereotyping and Cognitive Distortions”, Political Linguistics, no. 3 (93), pp. 27–38.
10. Chudinov, A.P. (2013), Ocherki po sovremennoi politicheskoi metaforologii [Essays on Contemporary Political Metaphorology], USPU, Ekaterinburg, RUS.
11. Skrynnikova, I.V. and Generalova, L.M. (2024), “Figurative Narratives in Political Blogging: Linguocognitive Perspective”, DISCOURSE, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 121–133. DOI: 10.32603/2412-8562-2024-10-4-121-133.
12. Budaev, E.V. (2023), “Metaphors from the Source Domain “Inanimate Nature” in the Political Narrative of the “BLM Movement”” (Based on the Publications in The Seattle Times))”, Political Linguistics, no. 1 (97), pp. 42–49. DOI: 10.26170/1999-2629_2023_01_05.
13. Chudokova, N.M. (2005), “The Conceptual Domain of “Inanimate Nature” as a Source of Metaphorical Expansion in the Discourse of Russian Mass Media (2000–2004)”, Can. Sci. (Philology) Thesis, USPU, Ekaterinburg, RUS.
14. Kireeva, O.V. (2019), “Metaphorical Representation of Migration in British and Russian Mass Media Discourse”, Political Linguistics, no. 4 (76), pp. 31–38. DOI: 10.26170/pl19-04-03.
15. Stepanova, N.V. (2021), “Metaphorical Representation of the Migration Crisis as a Natural Phenomenon of the Water Element (Based on American Media Texts)”, DISCOURSE, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 103–117. DOI: 10.32603/2412-8562-2021-7-3-103-117.
16. Chen, X. and Boguslavskaya, V.V. (2025), “The Metaphorical Model of “Friendship is a Person” in the Mass Media Political Discourse of Russia and China”, Russian Linguistic Bulletin, no. 1 (61). URL: https://rulb.org/archive/1-61-2025-january/10.60797/RULB.2025.61.9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.60797/RULB.2025.61.9.
17. Chen, X. and Boguslavskaya, V.V. (2024), “Conceptual Metaphors in the Verbalization of Cooperation between Russia and China in the Russian mass Media Discourse”, Kazan Science, no. 9, pp. 336–340.
18. Vinogradova, L.N. (2002), “That Water, Which... (Characteristics Defining the Magical Properties of Water)”, Priznakovoe prostranstvo kul'tury [A cultural feature space], Indrik, Moscow, pp. 32–60.
19. Baranov, A.N. (1991), Russkaya politicheskaya metafora (materialy k slovaryu) [Russian Political Metaphor (Materials for the Dictionary)], RLI, Moscow, RUS.
Review
For citations:
Chen X., Boguslavskaya V.V. Chinese Political Media Discourse: The “Flow of Water” Conceptual Metaphor in the Verbalization of Russia-China Cooperation. Discourse. 2025;11(5):195-207. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32603/2412-8562-2025-11-5-193-207
Views:
16
Email this article 