Xi Jinping metaforái
Xi Jinping’s Metaphors

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to explore the characteristics and rhetorical role of metaphors in the speeches of the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Xi Jinping. This is done through the examination of two text corpora, each containing nine speeches by President Xi from the period between 2013 and 2021. The study shows that the leader of the CCP likes to use metaphors, and in many cases uses their text-organizing function. Some of President Xi’s metaphors are universal, and may be based on the collective history of humanity (war, slavery); common knowledge; special technical language; the human experience (birth, learning, travel, the functioning of the body, sports); living in society (neighbourhood, family); natural phenomena etc. However, there are also culture-specific metaphors that draw on Chinese stories and legends, and the everyday life of the Chinese. Moreover, important political slogans in the CCP’s communications are often based on metaphors. The most tangible sign of metaphoricity in Chinese thinking lies in idiomatic expressions.

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