The conceptual metaphors in law—a case analysis of PRC Company Law

Abstract It is said that metaphor is often than not ignored in forensic language in respect of legislation, judiciary, law enforcement and dissemination, as people think that law is a rigorous discipline and legal language is rigid, and that the use of metaphor can make the law lose its accuracy and authority. Then what is the truth? Based on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), this study aims to investigate the conceptual metaphor in the cognitive domain of law. The authors have conducted a text analysis and a follow-up review on Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC Company Law for short) and extracted five categories of conceptual metaphor centering on A COMPANY IS A LEGAL PERSON, including its identity, rights, obligations, liabilities and relationship with other companies.