Self-Referential Metaphors in Contemporary Chinese Poetry – Reconnaissance

Abstract

This study investigates the use of conceptual metaphors as well as various manifestations of metaphorization in Chinese poetry through a comparative textual analysis of four contemporary Chinese poems and their Polish and English translations. Focusing on self-referential metaphors, where linguistic structures reflect their own metaphorical nature, the paper demonstrates how the structure of the text interacts semantically. Meanwhile, these findings underscore metaphor’s role as a cognition-driven phenomenon beyond mere linguistic ornamentation. The study contributes to cognitive poetics by bridging Western metaphor theory (e.g., Conceptual Metaphor Theory) with Chinese literary practices, offering a framework for analyzing self-referentialism in multilingual poetry.