A Metaphorical Exploration of the "Fish" and "Cat" Imagery in Jin Yucheng's Blossoms

Abstract

This paper investigates the metaphorical significance of the "fish" and "cat" imagery in Jin Yucheng's acclaimed novel Blossoms, with attention to their layered cultural resonances across both Eastern and Western traditions. Through a method of close textual analysis, the study demonstrates how these two motifs function not merely as symbolic figures but as dynamic narrative agents, contributing to both plot progression and character development. As an imagery system marked by contradiction and symbiosis, "fish" and "cat" underpin a concealed narrative framework and serve as metaphors for the existential predicaments faced by individuals amid the turbulence of social change. The interplay of these images articulates the tension between resistance and adaptation within grand historical narratives, and affirms the enduring human impulse toward survival. Jin's work conveys a philosophical depth that reconfigures the dialogue between tradition and modernity, individual and history, through a lens shaped by existential awareness and a cyclical conception of life. In doing so, Blossoms offers a compelling interpretive pathway for rethinking the philosophy of life in contemporary Chinese literature.