Metonymy, as its name implies, is to borrow one thing to replace another, so most of the borrowed pronouns are nouns. When using it, we must consider the legitimacy and universality of substitution, try to simplify it as much as possible, and achieve smooth meaning. There are many methods of metonymy, mainly the following:

1. The part generates the whole: that is, the part representing the thing generates the ontology thing.

If the green hills on both sides of the strait are opposite, the lonely sails come from the sun. (Looking at Tianmen Mountain) Replace the boat with some sails.

For example, fog will rest at dawn, and apes and birds will sing wildly; Night is coming and the scales are sinking. Replace fish with fish scales.

2. Feature replaces ontology: that is, the name of ontology is replaced by the characteristics and signs of borrowing body (person or thing).

For example, Yamaraja was beheaded with a hundred thousand flags. (meiling three chapters) is a symbol-generating noumenon, which uses "standard" to replace the army or armed forces.

But the compasses are very uneven, showing disdain, as if mocking the French for not knowing Napoleon and the Americans for not knowing Washington. (Lu Xun's hometown) replaced Yang Er's extremely thin sister-in-law with a "compass" with thin feet.

3. Concrete generation abstraction:

For example, the South China Morning Post has a history of ten years. (meiling three chapters) The beacon smoke was originally a firework used to warn the police on the ancient border. Here it refers to war, which concretizes and visualizes the abstract concept of war.

4, tools to generate ontology:

For example, by the time the soil is turned over, eight out of ten households have already set fire to the hoard and can't open the pot. (Jade) "hoarding" is a tool for loading food, and "lighting the bottom of hoarding" means lack of food; A "pot" is a tool for cooking. If you can't open the pot, you will have no food.

5. Generation of proper names: replace the names of ontological things with the special names of typical people or things.

For example, if you kill a Li Gongpu, millions of Li Gongpu will stand up! (Final speech) The second "Li Gongpu" refers to people who are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice and fight for democracy and peace.

6. Replace the reason with the result:

For example, it's hilarious. Laughing is holding your stomach, and the reason for laughing is that there are jokes or funny things. Replacing "jokes" with the result of "laughter" makes people laugh.

7, image generation ontology:

For example, there are two grandfathers sitting on it, one in the east is a jacket and the other in the west is a suit.

Extended data:

Function of metonymy: Proper use of metonymy can arouse people's association, make sentences stand out, have distinctive features, be concise in writing, be concrete and vivid, and achieve remarkable results. The rhetorical effect of metonymy can be summarized in sixteen words: replacing complexity with simplicity, replacing emptiness with reality, replacing vulgarity with strangeness, and replacing affection with things.

A person who engraves his name on a stone, his name will rot before the body. (Cang Kejia, "Some People")

"Stone" is usually used as the material of monuments. The replacement of monuments with "stones" here implicitly reveals that the reactionary rulers are enemies of the people and their dreams of being remembered by future generations will eventually be shattered.

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