4.4.5 Metaphor of image-G in textual space
Metaphor is defined as a figure of speech and an imaginative way in which a word or phrase that ordinary designates one thing is used to designate another，thus making an implicit comparison（Lakoff & Johnson，2003）.Cognitive linguists emphasize that metaphors serve to facilitate the understanding of one conceptual domain-typically an abstract one-through expressions that relate to another，more familiar conceptual domain-typically a more concrete one.This means that metaphors are not just a stylistically attractive way of expressing ideas by means of language，but a way of thinking about things.As a matter of fact，metaphor can also be served as a key dimension in translators'construal of image-G in literary translation.As Lakoff &Johnson（2003：23-24）points out，“it seems that our values are not independent but must form a coherent system with the metaphorical concepts we live by.We are not claiming that all cultural values coherent with a metaphorical system actually exist，only that those that do exist and are deeply entrenched are consistent with the metaphorical”.The choice of metaphor to construe image-G in a particular cognitive model describes the structure of that model in a particular way that differs depending on the metaphor chosen.Metaphorical meaning of image-G is a result of an interaction between an expression used metaphorically and other expressions used literally in literary discourse.Instead of being clearly fixed，the metaphorical meaning varies from context to context，and typically has to be worked out by translators on particular occasions.Taking a more general view of this issue，the translatability of image-G in literary translation is decided by the coincidence degree between the properties inherent in translators'concepts and the interval structure of a whole cognitive model in image-G construal.What can be said at this point concerning the interaction of metaphors and image-G construal is that there seems to be a principle of language-specific idiosyncracies at work which the cultural experience and semantic association on which is drawn by translators of the particular target language.Take an example from the translation of Wang Wei's writing“Love Seeds”（王维《相思》）：[13]
红豆生南国，春来发几枝。
Hongdou sheng nanguo,chunlai fa jizhi.
愿君多采撷，此物最相思。
Yuanjun duo caixie,ciwu zui xiangsi.
Red berries grow in southern land.(https://www.daowen.com)
How many load in spring the trees?
Gather them till full is your hand;
They would revive fond memories.
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
The conceptual metaphor of hongdou in the original arouses the translator's immense imagination and plays a vital role in creating“image-G beyond imagery”of the whole ideorealm.The source concept(red berries)is a unique Chinese plant that is embodied cultural connotative meaning of yearning between lovers.Accordingly,the target concept(lovesickness)is the abstract concept of emotion and the mapping scope is that emotion(lovesickness)can be stored in an entity(red berries).Lovesickness is construed as a valuable asset that is possessed by human beings and can be“stored”in the same way that an entity is.This means that the instantiation of conceptual metaphor in Chinese classic poetry is defined by language-specific and culture-specific conceptual models.There are enormous phrases and idioms containing cultural-specific plants imagery which are linked by shared conceptual models of Chinese people.However,plants are much less semantically associated with emotion,sensation and perception in English expressions.In other words,the entrenchment of the mapping scope of hongdou(red berries)may vary widely,and this is reflected from a sociopsychological angle in the degree of conventionalization a metaphor has achieved in Chinese speech community and English speech community.Thus,the similarity of conceptual models of perceptive schema between Xu Yuanchong and the author makes Xu's construal of image-G concerning the conceptual metaphor of hongdou realizable in his translation.When Xu's perceptual pattern of the conceptual metaphor operates in a similar way,that is,when the symbolic connotation conveyed by the metaphorical items of the original plays a same role in Xu's construal of image-G,his conceptual experiences of the conceptual metaphor is equivalent to the author's.This shows that the translator's conceptualization of the conceptual metaphor maintains the cultural semantic meaning of the original metaphor and reflects the aesthetic values of the original image-G.