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Translation and Foreign Language Learning

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ArticleInterdisciplinary Studies of Translation http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.09.020

The Place Image of Folk-custom Space in The Book of Songs from the Perspective of Imagology

Xun Zhao1, Guangwei Li2,*

1School of Languages and Literature, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, Hunan, China.

2University of South China, Hengyang 421001, Hunan, China.

*Corresponding author: Guangwei Li

This work was supported by National Social Science Fund Project “On the English Translation, Dissemination and Reception of The Book of Songs from the Perspective of Digital Humanities” (Project No.: 22BYY039)
Published: September 30,2025

Abstract

The notion of “folkloric space” serves as a pivotal conceptual framework within the interdisciplinary study of folklore, anthropology, and human geography, extending beyond physical locales to encompass culturally constructed realms that embody a community’s traditions, collective memory, social relations, and normative practices. This conceptualization highlights the dynamic interplay between spatial and cultural dimensions: physical spaces facilitate the generation, transmission, and performance of folk customs, while cultural practices recipro-cally imbue these spaces with social significance. Through an imagological lens examining the “Self-Other” dialectic, this study analyzes spatial imagery in The Book of Songs via three interconnected dimensions—material (physical signifiers like city walls and ritual vessels), affective (subjective associations including romantic sentiment and religious awe), and cultural (social constructs reflecting hierarchies and kinship systems)—to elucidate the transformation of physical spaces into cultural symbols and their subsequent influence on collective con-sciousness. The findings reveal a tripartite semiotic progression (material recogni-tion → emotional connection → cultural meaning) operating through reciprocal human-space interactions, ultimately demonstrating how these spatial representations function as cultural microcosms represent the living experiences, emotional paradigms, and social structures of early Chinese society.

Keywords

Imagology; The Book of Songs; Self-Other; Place images

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How to cite this paper

The Place Image of Folk-custom Space in The Book of Songs from the Perspective of Imagology

How to cite this paper: Xun Zhao, Guangwei Li. (2025). The Place Image of Folk-custom Space in The Book of Songs from the Perspective of Imagology. Translation and Foreign Language Learning1(2), 335-341.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.09.020