The Metonymic Cognitive Basis of the Chinese “N zhōng de N” Construction

构式“N中的N”在汉语中广泛存在，其结构形式为“N1中的N2”，通常表示N2是N1的组成部分或特定类别。本文从认知语言学的角度，探讨“N中的N”构式的转喻理据。通过分析发现，该构式的形成依赖于转喻机制，即通过实体代性质的方式实现语义扩展。具体而言，N1作为整体或范畴，N2则通过转喻指代其内部的某种性质。这种转喻关系不仅反映了人类认知中的范畴化过程，还体现了语言的经济性和灵活性。本文通过语料分析，进一步验证了“N中的N”构式的转喻认知基础，并指出其在日常语言中的广泛应用及其认知理据的普遍性。The construction "N zhōng de N" is widely present in Chinese, with the structural form “N1 zhōng de N2”, typically indicating that N2 is a component or a specific category of N1. This paper explores the metonymic rationale of the “N zhōng de N” construction from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Through analysis, it is found that the formation of this construction relies on the metonymic mechanism, where semantic extension is achieved by substituting entities for properties. Specifically, N1 serves as the whole or category, while N2, through metonymy, refers to a certain property within it. This metonymic relationship not only reflects the categorization process in human cognition but also demonstrates the economy and flexibility of language. Through corpus analysis, this paper further validates the metonymic cognitive basis of the “N zhōng de N” construction and highlights its widespread application in everyday language and the universality of its cognitive rationale.