From the "Metaphor of Life" to the "Metaphor of Politics": The "Mastermind" Theory and the Dimensional Expansion of Bodily Metaphors in Traditional Chinese Literary Criticism

Abstract

This paper examines Li Yu's theory of the "mastermind" (zhunao), tracing its origins and the reasons for its choice of the term "brain." It argues that the "mastermind" is not a physiological claim about the brain's role in thinking, but a terminological innovation emerging from the growing structural self-awareness of narrative fiction in traditional Chinese literary criticism. Crucially, the rise of this theory does not imply the displacement of the "heart-mind" (xin); rather, it establishes a functional differentiation whereby the heart-mind governs emotion and intention, while the brain governs narrative organization. This division not only enriches our understanding of the well-known "anthropomorphic mode" of Chinese criticism—which habitually reads literary works as living organisms—but also uncovers a less recognized metaphorical layer within that same critical tradition, wherein bodily metaphors are mapped onto textual structures in ways that evoke governance and hierarchical order. By situating Li Yu's intervention within the broader intellectual currents of late imperial China, this study demonstrates how the mastermind concept reflects a shift from organicist to systematic modes of textual analysis. The paper further explores how this theoretical development contributed to the dimensional broadening of bodily metaphors in Chinese poetics, revealing an intricate interplay between corporeal imagery and principles of textual governance. Ultimately, this research offers new perspectives on the evolution of critical vocabulary in traditional Chinese literary theory and its enduring significance for understanding the relationship between embodied cognition and literary form.