Abstract This research examines the philosophical foundations of the Daodejing and its cultural model of dao . Under the framework of the multilevel view of conceptual metaphor and cultural cognition, this paper analyses the hierarchically structured conceptual metaphors of dao in the text. Four conceptual metaphors of dao , including (1) dao is mu ; (2) dao is zi ; (3) dao is way and (4) dao is water are identified. Together, those four conceptual metaphors form a cultural model of dao , along with the comparison between yin and yang reveal the close relationship between Daoist beliefs and the advocacy of yin -centered philosophy 1 in the Daodejing .
Ying Zhang (Fri,) studied this question.