A Critical Discourse Analysis of Visual Frame Metonymy of Chinese Environment Day Posters

This study is conducted to elucidate the mechanism of visual frame metonymy in Chinese environmental governance posters and discloses their functions in environmental governance issues. The study takes 142 posters advertised on Environment Day in 2023 as a corpus. It first identifies and describes what scenes are metonymically referred to by the visual elements in the posters. It then explores the mechanism of visual frame metonymy from a critical discourse perspective and finally evaluates its functions. The study reveals that the posters predominantly construct visual frames of mountain-river landscapes, city-townscape, human actions, ecological reserves, rare species, new technology projects, and national cultural heritages. The frames invoked by specific visual semiotics underscore the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. The mechanism of visual metonymy employed in the posters offers an insight into understanding what nature is and what harmonious coexistence is. Furthermore, the study considers the function of visual frames in affecting public attitudes and behaviours in daily life. It concludes that the discursive practice of the “Two Mountains” concept of environment governance, which draws upon the traditional Chinese landscape philosophy, evokes emotional resonance among the public and stimulates their imagination of what harmonious coexistence is. This, in turn, can motivate their environmental protection actions.