ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Chinese classifiers from an etymological perspective and identifies the embodied experiential bases from which Chinese classifiers are likely to have been generated. Many Chinese characters are depictions of physical objects as well as environmental surroundings, social conventions, and experiences. Based on the etymological meaning of characters, the chapter separates the Chinese classifiers into the following natural categories: body parts; bodily actions; plants, trees, and bamboo; architecture, constructions, and buildings; textiles; ritual vessels, cooking, and drinking implements; vehicles; and soil and rocks. The chapter provides the main body parts and bodily actions are utilized in the Chinese classifier system: head; face; neck; hand; leg; whole body actions; hand actions; and leg actions. The intimate relationship between people and plants makes it possible for people to use the various parts of plants to comprehend and represent the outside world both cognitively and linguistically.
