Is Anger HEAT or QI in Chinese?

A Historical Perspective

Tung-chu Chen
National Taiwan Norman University

Resorting to Chinese philosophical and medical classics, this study explores the most general
conceptual metaphor in the metaphorical system of anger in Chinese. QI, instead of HEAT, is the
central metaphor in Chinese. From a historical viewpoint, qi used to refer to anger has nothing to do
with heated gas or vapour but the essence that exists and circulates through the body. The
conceptualization of qi causing anger or anger causing the hyperactivity of qi can be traced back to
Warrior States (403-221 B.C.). It is affirmative that the physiological effects of qi serve as the
underlying cultural model for the metaphorical system of anger. The cultural model exerts influence on
language, which develops a large number of anger expressions associated with the lexeme qi in Han
Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.). Diachronically, the sources of these two metaphors QI and FIRE are not
two subversions of ANGER IS HEAT. It is the central metaphor ANGER IS QI that dominates the
metaphorical use for anger expressions. The discourses drawn from Chinese classics distributed
chronologically demonstrate that the compounds related to the lexeme qi are very productive. The
compounds have undergone semantic extension and are referred to as metaphorical anger. In sum, the
concept of qi plays a crucial role in the expressions of anger. The lexeme qi and the compounds related
to qi indicating anger in contemporary Chinese are deeply rooted in Chinese conceptual system.

Key words: anger, qi, heat, metaphorical system, conceptual metaphor, cultural model

1. Introduction
Lakoff and Kövecses (1983, 1987) propose that the physiological effects of anger
such as body heat and internal pressure serve as the underlying cultural model for the
metaphorical system of anger in English in which anger is characterized by the most
general conceptual metaphor ANGER IS HEAT1 (Kövecses 1986, 1990, 2000). The
metaphor ANGER IS HEAT has two subversions: ANGER IS THE HEAT OF A
FLUID and ANGER IS FIRE. In this metaphorical system, there are a large number
of anger expressions. For example, ‘You make my blood boil’ and ‘I have reached the
boiling point’ tie to THE HEAT OF A FLUID. ‘Those are inflammatory remarks’ and
‘She was doing a slow burn’ tie to the FIRE metaphor. These are all conventionalized
English anger expressions to describe a person who is angry.
Later, many studies have been conducted on Chinese anger expressions by making
use of the methodology proposed by Kövecses and his associates in 1980s. Shyu
(1989) and Cheng (1999) still treat the physiological effect of anger, body heat, as the
underlying cultural model for the metaphorical system of Chinese anger expressions,
in which ANGER IS HEAT is still the most general conceptual metaphor. What’s
difference is that in Shyu’s categorization, she first introduces the concept of 氣 qi

1
Capital letters stand for the metaphorical concepts.

1
‘air’2 into the metaphorical system. Qi is translated as ‘air’ by Shyu and then the two
subversions of HEAT become ANGER IS THE HEATING OF 氣 QI ‘AIR’3 and
ANGER IS FIRE. In other words, while English chooses FLUID and FIRE metaphors,
Chinese uses 氣 QI ‘AIR’ and FIRE metaphors. There are a large number of
conventionalized anger expressions which tie to the metaphorical system as shown in
the following.

ANGER IS THE HEATING OF 氣 QI ‘AIR’

他有一股怨氣 ta you yi gu yuan qi ‘He has an angry air.’
別氣 bie qi ‘Don’t be angry.’
我心中有氣 wo xin zhong you qi ‘I have an air (anger) in my heart.’

ANGER IS FIRE
他發火 ta fa huo ‘He emitted fire.’
他冒火 ta mao huo ‘He spouted fire.’
我很火 wo hen huo ‘I become fiery.’

Yu’s (1998) analysis concerns the common cultural theories for Chinese anger
expressions. Yu points out two Chinese traditional theories of 陰 陽 yin-yang
‘yin-energy and yang-energy’ 4 and 五 行 wu-xing ‘the Five Elements’ as the
underlying cultural models for the metaphorical system of anger expressions. Yu
proposes that the heated 氣 qi ‘air’ or ‘gas’ is formed by the yang-energy. Therefore,
in this metaphorical system, the HEAT metaphor is still the most general conceptual
metaphor in Chinese. Yu also identifies the central metaphor ANGER IS HEAT which
has two subversions ANGER IS THE HOT 氣 QI ‘GAS’ and ANGER IS FIRE. It is
noticed that Shyu translates 氣 qi as ‘air’ whereas Yu translates 氣 qi as ‘gas.’ They
refer to the same thing in contemporary meanings. For instance, Shyu would translate
the sentence 我心中有氣 wo xin zhong you qi as ‘I have an air (anger) in my heart.”
Yu would translate it as ‘I have an gas (anger) in my heart. To sum, Yu’s two
subversions are the same as Shyu’s. What’s difference is that Yu first introduces 陰陽
yin-yang and 五行 wu-xing as the underlying cultural models for the metaphorical
systems of Chinese anger expressions and these two theories are utilized to account
2
Chinese discourses or phrases are illustrated in the following manner. Chinese characters are
presented first. Italic types stand for transliteration: 漢語拼音 Han Yu Pin Yin. The translation is
enclosed with either “” or ‘’: “” for discourse and ‘’ for phrase or word.
3
The lexeme 氣 qi in classical Chinese encompasses various definitions: a form of energy, essence of
the body, breath, and the force of life. Its modern counterpart has another definition: air or gas which
is widely used in contemporary Chinese.
4
In a survey of classical linguistic data, 先秦 pre-Qin, 秦 Qin and 漢 Han philosophical and medical
works, 陰 yin and 陽 yang are two opposite forms of 氣 qi ‘energy’ existing and flowing in all things
in the universe.

2
for the relationships among metaphors: the central metaphor HEAT and two
subversions, QI and FIRE.
In general, previous studies on Chinese anger expressions converge on the
following points. The researchers patch up Kövecses’ analysis of the cultural model of
anger, draw upon Lakoff and Kövecses’ framework of metaphors in English anger
expressions and come to the generalization that English and Chinese share the central
metaphor ANGER IS HEAT that breaks into two subversions FIRE and 氣 AIR/GAS.
Furthermore, the underlying cultural models yin-yang and wu-xing are utilized to
provide a cognitive base for viewing ANGER IS HEAT as the central metaphor of
anger in Chinese. However, the previous studies pose some problems. First, in our
commonsense, the contemporary 氣 qi indicating AIR/GAS indeed can be viewed as
a subversion of HEAT, since HEAT is a necessary condition of AIR/GAS (Yu 1998).
Nevertheless, the lexeme 氣 qi can be traced back to 戰國時代 Zhan Guo Shi Dai
‘Warring States’ (403-221 B.C.). It didn’t refer to ‘air’ or ‘gas’ and was not a
subversion of HEAT. Second, the effects of the theories, yin-yang and wu-xing, can
also be traced back to ‘Warring States’ (403-221 B.C.) which encompass variable
diachronic ingredients. These two theories are not supposed to be explained in a
synchronic perspective. Yu uses diachronic models to explain the synchronic meaning
of the lexeme 氣 qi. One way to solve the problem is to examine the linguistic data in
a diachronic way and to ascertain whether the source of the lexeme 氣 qi and the
concept of heat are related in classical Chinese.

2. Goals
The goals of the present study are as the following:
1. To explore a cognitive base serving as the cultural model for the metaphorical
system of Chinese anger expressions.
2. To ascertain the central metaphor in this metaphorical system.
I argue that from a historical perspective the physiological effects of 氣 qi can serve
the underlying cultural model for the metaphorical system of Chinese anger
expressions and that ANGER IS QI instead of HEAT is the most general conceptual
metaphor in Chinese. The analysis in the next section begins with the common
cultural model of the physiological effects of 氣 qi demonstrated in classical Chinese.

3. The definition of qi and the underlying cultural model in Chinese

The theory of qi, regarded as a basic concept in ancient Chinese, is pervasive in the
conceptual system of Chinese (cf. [劉] Liu 1985, [鄺] Kuang 1992, [井上聰] Jing
Shang Cong 1997). It is found that in Chinese classics during Warring States (403-221
B.C.), the concept of qi with different definitions is well-demonstrated. Chinese

3
philosophers regard qi as a form of energy possessed by all things in the universe such
as human beings, birds and beasts, grass and trees as well as water and fire, as
illustrated in the following discourse drawn from 荀子 Xun Zi ‘the works of Xun Zi’,
written around Warring States (403-221 B.C.).

水火有氣而無生，草木有生而無知，禽獸有知而無義，人有氣、有生、有知，
亦且有義，故最為天下貴也。
shui huo you qi er wu sheng， cao mu you sheng er wu zhi， qin-shou you zhi er
wu yi， ren you qi、you sheng、you zhi，yi qie you yi， gu zui wei tian xia gui
ye。
“Fire and water possess energy but are without life. Grass and trees have life but
no intelligence. Birds and beasts have intelligence but no sense of duty. Man
possesses energy, life, intelligence, and in addition, a sense of duty. Therefore, he
is the noblest being on earth.” (Watson 1963: 45)

Furthermore, qi is a form of element that would influence a person’s cultivation of

righteousness and reason, as shown in the following discourse drawn from 孟子
Meng Zi ‘the works of Mencius’, written around Warring States (403-221 B.C.).

其為氣也，配義與道；無是，餒也。
qi wei qi ye，pei yi yu dao；wu shi，nei ye．
“It is the mate and assistant of righteousness and reason. Without it, man is in a
state of starvation.” ([理雅格] Legge 1992: 311)

Moreover, based on Chinese medical tradition, qi is the essence of the body that
exists and flows through the body of every living being. The harmony of qi decides
the source of life. It is the flourishing and declining of qi held in the internal organs
that leads to the rising and falling of human physiology. The loss of qi in some human
body parts would cause the interference or suspension of vitality of some organs ([蔡]
Cai 1997). “Qi influences the human physiology or leads to illness through inner
structure of the human body and the mutual influence of the body and the external
environment” ([蔡] Cai 1997: 379). A discourse drawn from 莊子 Zhuang Zi ‘the
works of Zhuang Zi’ demonstrates that qi is the essence of the body that would
influence the human physiology.

莊子/外篇
莊子 外篇/卷七上
外篇 卷七上/第十九達生
卷七上 第十九達生
Zhuang Zi/Wai Pian/Juan Qi Shang/Di Shi Jiu Da Sheng
夫忿滀之氣，散而不反，則為不足；上而不下，則使人善怒；下而不上，則

4
 使人善忘；不上不下，中身當心，則為病。
fu fen xu zhi qi，san er bu fan，ze wei bu zu；shang er bu xia，ze shi ren shan nu；
xia er bu shang；ze shi ren shan wang；bu shang bu xia，zhong shen dang xin，
ze wei bing。
“When the original breath within is scattered and will not reunite, then weakness
follows. If it goes up but will not come down, it makes a man bad-tempered. If it
goes down but will not come up, it makes a man very forgettable. If it goes
neither up nor down, but canters upon the body, at the heart, then illness comes.”
(Palmer 1996: 160-161)

The change of qi held in the viscera influences not only the human physiology but
also the psychological states. More specifically, qi influences the emotional states.
When the essences of the internal organs are exhausted, it may lead to the union of the
spirits from the external environment, which results in various emotional states, as
illustrated in the following discourse extracted from 黃帝內經 Huang Di Nei Jing
‘Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine’5.

黃帝內經素問/宣明五氣篇
黃帝內經素問 宣明五氣篇
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen/Xuan Ming Wu Qi Pian
五精所并：精氣并於心則喜，并於肺則悲，并於肝則憂﹝怒﹞，并於脾則畏
﹝思﹞，并於腎則恐，是謂五并，虛而相并者也。
wu jing suo bing：jing qi bing yu xin ze xi，bing yu fei ze bei，bing yu gan ze you
﹝nu﹞，bing yu pi ze wei﹝si﹞，bing yu sheng ze kong，shi wei wu bing，xu er
xiang bing zhe ye。
“The five spirits are equal to the five essences. When they are united they caused
joy to emanate from the heart; they cause pity to emanate from the lungs; they
cause grief to emanate from the liver; they cause anxiety to emanate from the
spleen; and they cause fears to emanate from the kidneys. This explains the unity
of the spiritual essences. When the essences are exhausted then the spirits should
unite.” (Veith 1982: 207)

On the contrary, the emotional states would cause qi to function abnormally, as

shown in the discourse from Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine:

黃帝內經素問/舉痛論
黃帝內經素問 舉痛論
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen/Ju Tong Lun
5
That Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine is written around Warring States (403-221 B.C.)
is regarded as the general opinion held by scholars. For a more detailed discussion, please refer to [蔡]
Cai (1997).

5
 百病生於氣也，怒則氣上…。
bai bing sheng yu qi ye，nu ze qi shang…。
“Every kind of sickness results from qi; anger causes qi to rush upwards.”

If one wants to cease the state of agitation, he should comfort qi in the body, as
exemplified in the following discourse extracted from the works of Zhuang Zi.

莊子/雜篇
莊子 雜篇/卷八上
雜篇 卷八上/第二十三
卷八上 第二十三 庚桑楚
Zhuang Zi/Za Pian/Juan Ba Shang/Di Er Shi San Geng Sang Chu
出怒不怒，則怒出於不怒矣；出為無為，則為出於無為矣。欲靜則平氣，欲
神則順心。
chu nu bu nu，ze nu chu yu bu nu yi；chu wei wu wei，ze wei chu yu wu wei yi。
yu jing ze ping qi，yu shen ze shun xin。
“Anyone who expresses anger but is not really angry will exhibit non-anger.
Anyone who acts yet is not really acting, his actions will be non-action. If he
wants to be still (calm his qi), he must be at peace. If he wants to be spiritual, he
must calm his heart. ” (Palmer 1996: 208)

As exemplified in the discourses extracted from Chinese classics during Warring

States, two points are singled out. First, in light of Chinese philosophy and medical
tradition, the lexeme qi is a polysemy which encompassed various definitions during
Warring States:

1. Qi is a form of energy in the universe.

2. Qi is an element influencing a person’s cultivation of righteousness.
3. Qi is the essence of the body influencing physiological states.
4. Qi is the essence of the body influencing emotional states.

Apparently, the definitions of qi have nothing to do with the concept of HEAT or

with the heated gas or vapor.
Second, during Warring States, the lexeme qi related to anger has nothing to do
with yin-yang or wu-xing, but has to do with the cultural theory of qi. The
physiological effects of qi causing anger or the emotional states causing the
hyperactivity of qi serve as the cognitive base of the common cultural model of anger.
The underlying cultural model forms the metaphorical system in which ANGER IS QI
is the most general conceptual metaphor. As illuminated in the discourses extracted
from philosophical and medical classics during Warring States, it is safe to claim that
the common cultural model for the metaphorical system of Chinese anger expressions

6
is the physiological effect of qi itself. The conceptualization of qi from the discourses
is summarized as follows:

Being careless about one’s qi may cause the emanating of various emotional
states, such as anger, happiness, sadness, fear and so on; in turn, emotional states
would lead to the impediment, restriction, growing and nourishing of qi.

The next question is that if the physiological effects of qi serve as an underlying

cognitive base for the metaphorical system of anger, then we have to survey the
linguistic data to support the claim that there are a large number of conventionalized
anger expressions which tie to the central metaphor ANGER IS QI instead of HEAT.
The conceptualization of qi indicating the emotion anger can be traced back to Han
Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), which will be expounded in the following section.

4. The metaphorical use of the lexeme qi for anger

A survey of philosophical and medical works of Warring States, and 漢 Han
dynasties shows that QI instead of HEAT dominates the metaphorical use of anger
expressions.
Qi stands in the prototypical meanings as a form of energy, an element, the essence
of the body during Warring States. The semantic extension of the lexeme qi referring
to anger is treated as its metaphorical use which occurred during Han Dynasty (206
B.C.-220 A.D.). As shown in the following discourses distributed chronologically,
anger expressions associated with the lexeme qi are quite productive.
(1) Warring States (403-221 B.C.)
The discourses extracted from Chinese classics testify that qi regarded as an
anger element in the body appeared around Warring States, as illustrated in 難經 Nan
Jing ‘the works of 秦越人 Qin Yue-ren’.

難經/難經本義卷下
難經 難經本義卷下/四十九難
難經本義卷下 四十九難 論正經自病與五邪所傷之別
Nan Jing/Nan Jing Ben Yi Quan Xia/Si Shi Jiu Nan Lun Zheng Jing Zi Bing
Yu Wu Xie Suo Shang Zhi Bie
恚怒氣逆上而不下則傷肝…
hui nu qi ni shang er bu xia ze shang gan
“If anger-qi goes up but does not come down, it will hurt the liver.”

(2) Warring States (403-221 B.C.) ~ Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.)
The following discourse extracted from 戰國策 Zhan Gou Ce is written around the
declining years of Warring States but edited during Han Dynasty. The metaphorical Qi

7
referred to as anger in the body occurred.

戰國策/卷十八
戰國策 卷十八~二一
卷十八 二一 趙策/卷二十一
趙策 卷二十一 趙四/趙太后新用事
趙四 趙太后新用事
Zhan Guo Ce/Juan Shi Ba~Er Yi Zhao Ce /Juan Er Shi Yi Zhao Si/Zhao
Tai Hou Xin Yong Shi
…願見太后，太后盛氣而揖之。
…yuan jian tai hou，tai hou sheng qi er yi zhi。
“…hope to see the mother of the emperor. The mother of emperor is full of anger
and waiting for him.”

(3) Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.)

The lexeme qi metaphorically used to refer to anger appeared in the discourses of
philosophical works during Han Dynasty, as presented in 淮南子 Huai-nan Zi.

淮南子/第十二卷
淮南子 第十二卷
Huai Nan Zi/Di Shi Er Juan
忿心張膽，氣如涌泉
fen xin zhang dan，qi ru yong quan
“The heart is filled with hatred; anger comes up like a spring.”

Meanwhile, Qi indicating an anger element in the body intensively appeared during

Han dynasty as shown in discourses from 春秋繁露 Chun-qiu Fan-lu, 說苑 Shuo
Yuan and 吳越春秋 Wu Yue Chun-qiu.

春秋繁露/第十一卷
春秋繁露 第十一卷/第四十四篇
第十一卷 第四十四篇 王道篇
Chun Qiu Fan Lu/Di Shi Yi Juan/Di Si Shi Si Pian Wang Dao Pian
怒氣…，天與人所同有也
nu-qi…，tian yu ren suo tong you ye
“Anger-qi … is possessed by heaven and human beings.”

說苑/第十九卷
說苑 第十九卷 脩文
Shuo Yuan/Di Shi Jiu Juan Xiu Wen
粗厲猛賁之聲動人，而怒氣應之；
cu li meng bi zhi sheng dong ren，er nu-qi ying zhi；
“To touch people with rough and violent sound would cause anger-qi.”

吳越春秋/句踐伐吳外傳第十
吳越春秋 句踐伐吳外傳第十/句踐二十一年
句踐伐吳外傳第十 句踐二十一年
Wu Yue Chun Qiu/Gou Jian Fa Wu Wai Zhuan Di Shi/Gou Jian Er Shi Yi

8
 Nian
見敵而有怒氣…．
jian di er you nu-qi
“One is anger-qi because of seeing the enemy.”

The historical development of the lexeme qi from a prototypical meaning as a form

of energy of all things to a specific one indicating anger itself is roughly schematized
as below.

500 B.C. 1 A. D. 500 A. D.

Warring States Qin Han

qi as a form of energy in the universe

qi as the essence causing various emotions
qi as an anger element
qi as anger

Figure 1. The historical development of different senses of qi.

As Figure 1 shows, qi is a polysemous lexeme during Warring States. Its

prototypical meanings stand in a form of energy, an element and the essence of the
body. The metaphorical use of anger expressions associated with the lexeme qi
occurred during Han Dynasty. Therefore, it is safe to claim that ANGER IS QI is the
central metaphor of anger in Chinese culture in light of a diachronic perspective.
To conclude, the discourses from Warring States to Han Dynasties illustrated above
support the claim that diachronically the metaphor ANGER IS QI dominates a large
number of anger expressions. Anger expressions tied to body HEAT are not found in
Chinese classics before Han Dynasty. Qi originally functions as a lexeme meaning a
form of energy possessed by all things in the universe. Then qi is specified as the
essence circulating in the body where the impediment of the essence would cause the
emanating of various emotional states. It is the conceptualization of qi causing anger

9
that motivates the development of the lexeme qi indicating energy to the metaphorical
use as anger.

5. Compounding of X + the lexeme qi

The central metaphor ANGER IS QI is extremely productive in that the
compounding of a receding word in combination with the lexeme qi can elaborate the
conceptual metaphor. In other words, there are a large number of anger expressions
related to the compounding of X + the lexeme qi which tie to the metaphor ANGER
IS QI. The compound 生氣 sheng-qi ‘generate qi; active qi’ or 受氣 shou-qi ‘receive
qi’ is a good example.

5.1 The compound 生氣 sheng-qi

Besides a free noun, the lexeme qi can form compounds in combination with a
preceding word. The lexeme 生 sheng means either ‘generate’ or ‘active.’ The
compound 生氣 sheng-qi ‘generate qi; active qi’ is construed as the most general
form used to express anger in contemporary Chinese. Chronologically, its prototypical
meaning is related to the cultural theory of qi.
(1) Warring States (403-221 B.C.)
The following discourse is from Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine.
The compound is used to indicate “the spirit of life” (Veith 1982: 104) in the body.

黃帝內經素問/四氣調神大論篇
黃帝內經素問 四氣調神大論篇
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen/Si Qi Tiao Shen Da Lun Pian
唯聖人從之，故身無奇病，萬物不失，生氣不竭…
Wei sheng ren cong zhi， gu shen wu qi bing，wan wu bu shi， sheng-qi bu jie…
“The sages followed the laws [of nature] and therefore their bodies were free
from strange diseases; they do not lose anything (which they has received by
nature) and their spirit of life was never exhausted.” (Veith 1982: 104)

(2) South and North Dynasties (420-589 A.D.)

The compound sheng-qi indicating the external spirit in some circumstances
occurred in 後漢書 hou han shu ‘the Book of Eastern Han Dynasty’ written around
South and North Dynasties.

後漢書/列傳
後漢書 列傳/卷五十一
列傳 卷五十一
hou han shu/lie zhuan/Juan Wu Shi Yi
孤兒寡婦，哭號空城…雖含生氣，實同枯朽。
gu er gua fu，ku hao kong cheng…sui han sheng qi，shi tong ku xiu。

10
 “The orphans and the widows are crying in the deserted city…It may contain the
spirit of life but in fact, it is decayed and rotten.”

(3) Yuan Dynasty (1206-1370 A.D.) ~ Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A. D.)

The compound sheng-qi has undergone a semantic extension and takes on the
metaphorical meaning ‘ruffle’ or ‘be angry’ occurring in the novel 三國演義 San Guo
Yan Yi written around the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1370 A.D.), but edited during Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644 A. D.):

三國演義/第五十一回
三國演義 第五十一回
San Guo Yan Yi/Di Wu Shi Yi Hui
程普恐瑜生氣
Cheng Pu kong Yu sheng-qi
“Cheng Pu is afraid that Yu would ruffle [be angry].”

(4) Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.)

The compound sheng-qi metaphorically used to refer to ‘ruffle’ or ‘be angry’
intensively appeared in the novels during Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.).

醒世姻緣/第二回
醒世姻緣 第二回
Xing Shi Yin Yuan/Di Er Hui
…要我生氣，我倒沒有這許多閒氣生來。
yao wo sheng-qi，wo dao mei you zhe xu duo xian qi sheng lai
“…to make me ruffle [be angry]. I have no surplus anger to generate.”

The compound sheng-qi becomes the most general form to express anger. It is also
viewed as a colloquial form in contemporary Chinese. The historical development of
the compound sheng-qi from a prototypical meaning related to the spirit of life to a
specific one indicating anger is roughly shown as below.

Warring States (403-221 B.C.)

the spirit of life in the body

North and South Dynasties (420-589 A.D.)

the external spirit of life

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A. D.)

ruffle [be angry]

Figure 2. The historical development of different senses of 生氣 sheng-qi

11
5.2 The Compound 受氣 shou-qi
Another compound 受氣 shou-qi is also a general form to express anger in
contemporary Chinese in which the lexeme 受 means ‘receive.’ Its prototypical
meaning is also related to the cultural theory of qi.

(1) Warring States (403-221 B.C.)

As illustrated in the following examples during Warring States, 受氣 shou qi was
a verb phrase indicating ‘receiving energy’ from Yin Yang’ or the internal organs
‘receiving the life-giving force.’

莊子外篇/卷六下
莊子外篇 卷六下/第十七
卷六下 第十七 秋水
Zhuang Zi Wai Pian/Juan Liu Xia/Di Shi Qi Qiu Shui
受氣於陰陽
shou qi yu yin yang
“receive energy from Yin Yang”

黃帝內經素問/玉機真藏論
黃帝內經素問 玉機真藏論
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen/Yu Ji Zhen Zang Lun
肝受氣於心，傳之於脾，氣舍於腎，至肺而死．心受氣於脾，傳之於肺…
gan shou qi yu xin，chuan zhi yu pi，qi she yu shen，zhi fei er si，xin shou qi yu
pi，chuan zhi yu fei…

“When the liver receives the life-giving force from the heart, it is from there
transmitted to the spleen, whence it is passed on to the kidneys; here it reaches it
utmost, so that it meets death when it arrives at the lungs. When the heart
receives the life-giving force from the spleen, it is from there transmitted to the
lungs…”(Veith 1982: 179)

(2) Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A. D.)

The verb phrase shou qi ‘receive qi’ connected with the emotion anger meaning
‘receive one’s anger’ is found to occur in the novel 三遂平妖傳 San Sui Ping Yao
Zhuan:

三遂平妖傳/第七回
三遂平妖傳 第七回
San Sui Ping Yao Zhuan/Di Qi Hui
老爺出廳了，你快些躲避，莫累我們受氣。
lao ye chu ting le，ni kuai xie duo bi，mo lei wo men shou qi。
“The venerable sir is coming to the hall. Hide yourself out of his sight so that we

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 won’t receive his anger.”

(3) Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.)

The compound shou-qi is metaphorically used to indicate ‘ruffle’ or ‘be angry’
intensively occurred in the novels during Qing Dynasty such as 桃花扇 Tao Hua
Shan and 醒世姻緣 Xing Shi Yin Yuan.

桃花扇/卷三
桃花扇 卷三/第二十二齣
卷三 第二十二齣 守樓
Tao Hua Shan/Juan San/Di Er Shi Er Chu/Shou Lou
知你拒絕田仰，動了大怒…下官怕你受氣，特為護你而來。
zhi ni ju jue tian yang，dong le da nu…xia guan pa ni shou-qi，te wei hu ni er lai。
“I know you refuse Tian Yang and are very angry…I am afraid you ruffle [are
angry] and come to protect you.”

醒世姻緣/第七十六回
醒世姻緣 第七十六回
Xing Shi Yin Yuan/Di Qi Shi Liu Hui
…孩子不是他公公骨血…狄員外因此受氣
…hai zi bu shi ta gong gong gu xie…di yuan wai yin ci er shou-qi
“The officer Di ruffles [is angry], for the child is not his.”

As shown in the discourses, the verb phrase 受氣 shou qi ‘receive qi’ has
undergone a semantic extension and becomes polysemous. In modern Chinese, it
connotes either an action in which someone receives another’s anger or ‘ruffle’ itself.
Diachronically the verb phrase ‘receive qi’ takes on the metaphorical use meaning
‘ruffle’ during Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.).
The lexeme 受 shou ‘receive’ functioning as a verb combines with the lexem qi
‘energy’ and then becomes a compound used to indicate anger, as roughly
schematized as below:

Warring States (403-221 B.C.)

receive energy from the universe

receive essence from certain internal organ

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A. D.)

receive someone’s anger

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.)

ruffle [be angry]

Figure 3. The historical development of different senses of 受氣 shou-qi.

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 We have delved into the chronological distributions of the common compounds
used to indicate anger in modern Chinese. The points singled out here are as in the
following:

1. The compounds become conventionalized and are metaphorically used to refer

to anger in the novels written around Ming and Qing dynasties.
2. The source of the compound is relevant to the cultural theory of physiological
effects of qi in the body. The underlying cultural theory of qi provides a
cognitive base for the metaphorical use of the lexeme qi in construction with a
preceding word.
3. The central metaphor ANGER IS QI is extremely productive in that the
compounding of a preceding word in construction with the lexeme qi
elaborates the central metaphor.

6. Conclusion
Different from previous studies on Chinese metaphors of anger (Shyu 1989, Yu
1998, Cheng 1999), we have verified the central metaphor ANGER IS QI based on
the philosophical and traditional medical works. The multiple definitions of the
lexeme qi are manifested in the classics during Warring States. The prototypical
meaning of the lexeme qi has nothing to do with heated gas or vapor but the essence
that exists and circulates through the body. Based on the discourses extracted form the
classics, it is also found that the physiological effects of qi ‘the essence of the body’
exerts influence on a person’s emotional state. In turn, anger would cause the
hyperactivity of qi. The conceptualization of qi as the essence of human physiology
causing variable emotional states associated with anger feelings is prevailing in
Chinese culture. It is affirmative that the physiological effects of qi serve as the
underlying cultural model for the metaphorical system of anger in Chinese. The
underlying cultural model of physiological effects of qi ‘essence of body’ exerts
influence on language, which develops a number of anger expressions associated with
the lexeme qi.
Diachronically, the sources of two metaphors QI and FIRE are not two subversions
of ANGER IS HEAT. ANGER IS QI, instead of ANGER IS HEAT, is the central
metaphor in the metaphorical system. Based on the data current during 403 B.C. to
1900 A.D., beginning in Warring States and continuing through Han, Song, Yuan,
Ming dynasties to Qing dynasty, we have shown that the metaphorical use of the
lexeme qi referring to anger is found to occur during Han dynasty. There are a large
number of anger expressions which tie to the central metaphor ANGER IS QI.
Therefore, it is QI, instead of HEAT, dominates the metaphorical use for anger in

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Chinese.
In light of the discourses drawn from Chinese classics and novels distributed
chronologically, the compounds related to qi indicating anger are also related to the
cultural theory of qi and are very productive. The compounds undergo semantic
extension and are referred to as metaphorical anger. In sum, the cultural theory of qi
plays a crucial role in the expressions of anger. In Chinese, it is common for anger to
be metaphorized as QI. The lexeme qi referring to anger and the compounds related to
the lexeme qi indicating anger in contemporary Chinese are deeply rooted in Chinese
conceptual system.

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