漢字「節」的多義性及語義延伸

The Polysemy and Semantic Extensions of the Chinese Character「節」(Jié)

本研究運用概念譬喻理論（Conceptual Metaphor Theory），分析漢字「節」（從竹部，原指「竹子分段處」）的語義延伸認知機制。研究者以「竹子的生長」為核心來源域概念，將其規律分段的結構投射至多個目標域。核心譬喻「時間／事物發展是竹子的生長」（TIME / EVENT DEVELOPMENT IS THE GROWTH OF BAMBOO），將竹子的規律分節映射到時間區段與休整，產生「節氣」等用法，並衍生出事物發展的脈絡（「情節」）及測量長形物的量詞用法（「一節車廂」）。竹子的空心構造藉由容器譬喻，使其語義擴展至指涉樂曲、活動的片段，如「節目」，並發展出「選取段落」的動詞意義，如「節錄」。此外，「節」指古代竹製憑證（「符節」），其功能經由框架語義分析，代表了「權力與信用的確認點」。此功能藉由深層同構性（竹節的物理分界與符節的授權驗證相應），再經轉喻（憑證代使者）產生「使節」一詞。竹子近似「管」，透過管道譬喻，竹節作為控制樞紐，衍生調控語義，如「節省」。此控制能力並經「君子是竹」的文化譬喻延伸至個人言行約束，形成「節操」等關於道德氣度的用法。基於框架語義理論，漢字「節」的多義性是竹子外型、構造、生長、轉喻及文化意涵等單一來源概念，系統性地投射至多個目標領域而成的語義網絡，證明「節」的多義性由共同的認知譬喻機制支撐，體現了竹子在漢語文化中的重要性。教學上可利用其多義性對中高級學生進行綜合教學，以深入理解用法與文化意涵。

This study employs Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) to systematically analyze the polysemy and cognitive mechanisms behind the semantic extensions of the Chinese character節(jié), which originates from the bamboo radical and originally referred to the segmented nodes of bamboo. The study uses the‘Growth of Bamboo’as the core source domain concept, projecting its regularly segmented structure onto multiple target domains. The core metaphor, TIME / EVENT DEVELOPMENT IS THE GROWTH OF BAMBOO, maps the regular segmentation of bamboo nodes onto temporal intervals and pauses, leading to usages such as節氣(jiéqì,‘solar terms’). This further motivates meanings related to the developmental sequence of things (e.g.,情節, qíngjié,‘plot’) and classifier uses for measuring elongated objects or time spans (e.g.,一節車廂, yìjiéchēxiāng,‘one train car’). The hollow structure of bamboo, through the container metaphor, allows節(jié) to extend to segments of music or activities, such as節目(jiémù)‘program’, and eventually develop the verbal sense of‘selecting or extracting a segment,’as in節錄(jiélù). Additionally,節(jié) originally denoted bamboo tallies符節(fújié), which served as material tokens for the verification of authority and trust; through metonymic extension, this sense developed into使節(shǐjié)‘envoys’. Because bamboo resembles a tube, the conduit metaphor conceptualizes bamboo nodes as control points, generating meanings related to regulation, such as節省(jiésheng)‘to save’. This notion of control is further extended through the cultural metaphor A GENTLEMAN IS BAMBOO to moral self-restraint, yielding usages related to moral integrity, such as節操(jiécāo)‘moral integrity’. Grounded in Frame Semantics, the polysemy of節(jié) forms a systematic semantic network, in which a single conceptual source—bamboo's physical form, structure, growth characteristics, metonymic associations, and cultural symbolism—projects onto multiple target domains. This demonstrates that the multiple meanings of節(jié) are motivated by shared cognitive-metaphorical mechanisms and reflects the cultural significance of bamboo in the Chinese worldview. Pedagogically, the polysemy of節(jié) can be used as an integrated instructional theme for intermediate and advanced learners to deepen understanding of linguistic usage and cultural meaning.