THE CONCEPT OF “OLD AGE” IN THE MIRROR OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE PHRASEOLOGY

Abstract

The article deals with the phraseological units associated with the concept of “old age” (“老年”) in the Russian and Chinese language pictures of the world. It presents the classification of these phraseological units, which includes eleven thematic groups. Within each group, a comparative analysis of Russian and Chinese phraseological units is carried out using the methods of linguoculturology. As a result, both common and unique reflections of “old age” in Russian and Chinese language pictures of the world are revealed and described. The article suggests that, when nominating elderly people, euphemization is the main strategy, as the need to indirectly point out a person’s age has led to the emergence of numerous metonyms and metaphors. Forming phrseological units, those metonyms and metaphors anchor one or another attribute of age in the national picture of the world. In Russian linguistic culture, the negative assessment of old age mostly prevails, and physical weakness and unpleasant character traits in older people are especially criticized. In Chinese linguistic culture, positive characteristics of old age are more common, which correlates with the fundamental Chinese cultural principle of “filial piety.”