The oppositional pair of heaven – earth in the Xici Zhuan and its linguistic parameters

Abstract

The oppositional pair of heaven – earth (天 ‘tian’ – 地 ‘di’) derived on the basis of the conceptual apparatus of the Xici Zhuan (‘Appended Commentaries’) and in line with the I Ching tradition was studied. A methodology for linguoculturological analysis of the term with account of the linguistic parameters of the oppositional pair (attribution to predicates/names, grammaticalogical commentary, and interpretation within the traditional Chinese philosophy) was introduced. The analysis was performed with the help of a wide range of the ancient Chinese texts. All occurrences of the oppositional pair of heaven – earth in the Xici Zhuan text were analyzed. As a result of the research, the place of the oppositional pair of heaven – earth in the Xici Zhuan and its linguistic parameters were revealed.

Keywords

• chinese language
• philosophical discourse
• oppositional pair
• heaven
• earth
• linguoculturological analysis