The Metaphorical Meaning of Natural Elements in Mandarin Idioms (chéngyǔ)

Ayesa, Ayesa; Ningsih, Tri Wahyu Retno

doi:10.15294/longdaxiaokan.v9i1.53776

Journal

The Metaphorical Meaning of Natural Elements in Mandarin Idioms (chéngyǔ)

Longda Xiaokan: Journal of Mandarin Learning and Teaching · Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026) · pp. 125–135

DOI: 10.15294/longdaxiaokan.v9i1.53776
ISSN: 2715-1611, 2528-5734
Published: 2026-06-09
Publisher: Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language: eng

Abstract

This study focuses on the analysis of the metaphorical meanings of vocabulary relating to the elements of nature in Mandarin Chinese. The natural elements used in this study are those recognised in the Five Elements theory (五行 Wŭ Xíng), which is a concept of great importance to Chinese society. These five elements comprise water (水 shuǐ), fire (火 huǒ), wood (木 mù), metal (金 jīn), and earth (土 tǔ). The data for this study consists of natural element vocabulary found in Mandarin Chinese idioms ( 成语 chéngyŭ), thereby enabling the identification of metaphorical meanings associated with these natural elements as constituent parts of the idioms. The idiom data was drawn from the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese, focusing on the five idioms with the highest frequency. Using a qualitative research method, the data was analysed using conceptual metaphor theory. This study found an association between the meanings of the natural element vocabulary and the Five-Element theory. Furthermore, interpretations were found that align with the natural properties of these elements. The research was conducted to gain an understanding of the Chinese people’s way of thinking regarding the vocabulary of natural elements.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

9 authors · 12 co-authorship links

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Gunadarma University
Affiliation unknown

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Same organisation
Affiliation unknown
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Co-author	Organisation	Joint articles
Fatmawati - Fatmawati	Affiliation unknown	2
Rajab Ritonga	Gunadarma University	1
Nadinta Rafifah Suaib	Gunadarma University	1
Abimanyu Abimanyu	Affiliation unknown	1
Winda Amalia	Affiliation unknown	1
Fransiska Sella Pratiwi	Affiliation unknown	1
Batari Andini	Affiliation unknown	1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/longdaxiaokan/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 6 Nov 2026.

Original metadata (oai_dc)

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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">The Metaphorical Meaning of Natural Elements in Mandarin Idioms (chéngyǔ)</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Ayesa, Ayesa</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Ningsih, Tri Wahyu Retno</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">conceptual metaphor, Five Elements, Mandarin idioms, natural elements </dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">This study focuses on the analysis of the metaphorical meanings of vocabulary relating to the elements of nature in Mandarin Chinese. The natural elements used in this study are those recognised in the Five Elements theory (五行 Wŭ Xíng), which is a concept of great importance to Chinese society. These five elements comprise water (水 shuǐ), fire (火 huǒ), wood (木 mù), metal (金 jīn), and earth (土 tǔ). The data for this study consists of natural element vocabulary found in Mandarin Chinese idioms ( 成语 chéngyŭ), thereby enabling the identification of metaphorical meanings associated with these natural elements as constituent parts of the idioms. The idiom data was drawn from the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese, focusing on the five idioms with the highest frequency. Using a qualitative research method, the data was analysed using conceptual metaphor theory. This study found an association between the meanings of the natural element vocabulary and the Five-Element theory. Furthermore, interpretations were found that align with the natural properties of these elements. The research was conducted to gain an understanding of the Chinese people’s way of thinking regarding the vocabulary of natural elements.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-06-09</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
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	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
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	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/longdaxiaokan/article/view/53776</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/longdaxiaokan.v9i1.53776</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Longda Xiaokan: Journal of Mandarin Learning and Teaching; Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026); 125-135</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2715-1611</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2528-5734</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/longdaxiaokan.v9i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/longdaxiaokan/article/view/53776/10001</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2026 Longda Xiaokan: Journal of Mandarin Learning and Teaching</dc:rights>
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