COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS APPROACH TO THE CONCEPT OF WAR STUDY AS A WAY OF REFLECTING CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

The article provides a thorough linguistic and cognitive analysis of the mechanisms of verbalization and comprehension of the WAR concept in the Confucian canonical text «论语» (The Analects). The research is based on a comprehensive methodological synthesis, the core of which is the toolkit of cognitive linguistics. In particular, C. Fillmore's frame semantics apparatus was applied, which made it possible to reconstruct stereotypical cognitive structures (frames) activated by lexemes denoting war. At the same time, the theory of conceptual metaphor by G. Lakoff and M. Johnson was used to identify the implicit mechanisms of thinking through which the abstract concept of war is understood through more concrete areas of experience. This cognitive basis was supplemented by a number of related methods: a lexical-semantic analysis was conducted to identify lexemes-nomen of the concept; elements of etymological analysis were used to reveal the implicit semantics of key hieroglyphs; contextual analysis was used to interpret the functioning of lexemes directly in text fragments. Historical-cultural analyses ensured the verification of cognitive reconstructions and allowed the Confucian doctrine to be incorporated into the intellectual dialogue of the Warring States period. The study established a semantic and axiological opposition between the lexemes 戰 (zhàn) and 征伐 (zhēngfá), which is fundamental to the Analects (论语). It has been proven that these lexemes activate two different cognitive frames. It has been found that the pragmatic frame of «Military Conflict» (activated by 戰 zhàn), which focuses on tactics and actual combat operations, is deliberately marginalized in Confucian discourse. Instead, the dominant ethically charged frame of «Just Punishment» (activated by 征伐 zhēngfá) has been reconstructed, detailing the semantic roles of: Righteous_Ruler (agent), Violator_of_Ritual (object), and Restoration_of_Order (goal). It is revealed that this dominant frame is supported by a system of conceptual metaphors (WAR IS THE PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIMINAL, STATE IS AN ORGANISM, AND WAR IS TREATMENT), which transferred the understanding of organized violence from the military-political to the moral-cosmic plane.