On the concept of «sin» in chinese linguoculture

• Molodykh V.I.

  Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service
  Vladivostok. Russia

• Leontieva T.I.

  Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service
  Vladivostok. Russia

The purpose of this paper is to provide a complex, systematic description of the Chinese concept «sin», including its content parameters and verbal and non-verbal representation. Detailed analyses of this concept in all its manifestations have not been made yet, so the study of its semantic, lexical, syntactic and stylistic peculiarities will be a good contribution to this issue. The methodology of the analysis involves the origin of this phenomenon, people’s attitude to religious understanding of it, and a survey of the triad: sin, guilt, requital. But first of all, we deal with Chinese mentality and get acquainted with the widely spread religion of the Chinese – Confucianism. The latter is still strong in the Chinese nation. It is argued in the article that Western influence on the culture and particularly literature is baneful because it brings fatal traits to peaceful, hard-working and well-wishing people of China. Western tendencies of capitalism planted on the Chinese soil aggravate the hearty relations between people, bringing in boorishness, suicides, indifference and even spite. Sin is becoming a trivial thing. Chinese literature created of late gives every proof of it. The method of cognitive and linguo-semantic analysis of Chinese literary discourse displays the real linguistic world-image of the Chinese nation, and reveals the mysterious soul of our Oriental neighbor. An attempt to follow the lapse of a sinful person through his/her communicative-pragmatic behavior has been made.

Keywords: concept, ethno-linguistic differences, the feeling of guilt, mentality, sin, ethical norms, keep the face.