A Study on the Functions of Conceptual Metaphors in the Chinese Government Work Report (2021-2025) from the Perspective of Conceptual Metaphor Theory
Guan Meng

Xi’an International Studies University，Shaanxi Xi’an, 710128；

Abstract：Under the background of globalization, political discourse plays a significant role in shaping a country’s image and enhancing its international influence. As an authoritative political text, the Chinese Government Work Report features the use of conceptual metaphors to enhance the persuasiveness of its discourse. Based on the conceptual metaphor theory, this study will analyze the government work reports from 2021 to 2025, identify the types of conceptual metaphors in the texts and conduct frequency statistics and qualitative analysis, in order to explore the function of metaphors in political discourse. The research findings show that metaphor, as a cognitive tool, can not only simplify complex political concepts, but also evoke public emotions and shape the national image.

Keywords: Chinese Government Work Report; conceptual metaphor; political discourse

References

[1]Charteris-Black, J. (2004). Corpus Approaches to Critical Metaphor Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

[2]Hu, C. & Xu, Y. (2017). A Comparative Study of “Economy Metaphors” Based on Chinese-English Media Corpora. Foreign Language Education, 38(05), 38-43.

[3]Lakoff, G. (2002). Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think. (2nd ed.) Chicago: The University of Chicago press.

[4]Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

[5]Lakoff, G. & Mark, T. (1989). More than Cool Reasons: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

[6]Lu, W. & Chen, H. (2020). A Study of the English Translation of New-Era Keywords About China. English Studies, (02), 136-145.

[7]Pragglejaz, G. (2007). MIP: A Method for Identifying Metaphorically Used Words in Discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 22(1), 1-39.

[8]Qiu, J. & Wang, Q. (2025). A Comparative Critical Metaphor Analysis of News Reports on China-US Climate Change. Foreign Languages Research, 42(01), 53-60.

[9]Wang, W. & Huang, Y. (2012). Government’s Ideology and Governing Concept: from the Perspective of Conceptual Metaphor. Journal of Southwest Jiaotong University, 13(03), 40-45.

[10]Wen, X. (2014). Political Discourse and Political Metaphors. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, (09), 11-16+76.

[11]Zhang, H. & Gai, F. (2022). Conceptual Metaphors in Chinese and American News Discourses from the Ecolinguistic Perspective. Modern Foreign Languages, 45(05), 621-633.

[12]Zhang, Y. & Yi, D. (2022). A Comparative Study of the Metaphors of the Belt and Road Initiative in British and American Mainstream Media Coverage. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, (04), 58-64+117.