Acknowledgements:

　　The present work is the result of all joint efforts. So many people hada part in the making of this dissertation that it is hard to acknowledgethem all.

　　First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor BaiJiehong, supervisor of my dissertation, for having continually stimulatedme with her methodological concerns and persistent guidan够 in bothrealms of studies and life during the lengthy period of my writing thework, for having helped me with so many practical problems, andparticularly for having stirred my interest in cognitive linguistics when Ibegan my work on graduate program under her supervision.通 wish tothank her sincerely for her tolerance and openness which nurtured myinterest in the present work. Now I consider it a great privilege to havegot the benefit of her professional guidance.

　　I would like to thank the College of Foreign Studies, Hunan NormalUniversity, for providing a stimulating academic environment and varioussupport which promote my growth here. Thanks to the professors at theEnglish Department for their share in shaping my view of the relationshipbetween language and cognition. I particularly appreciate my interactionwith Professor Huang Zhengding for his philosophical ideas,ProfessorLiao Guangrong for his open-mindedness and encouragement to my ideas,Professor Deng Yunhua for her inspiring comments to my questions, andProfessor Qin Yuxiang, for his nice grammar book which fanned myinterest in Cognitive Grammar and his discerning comments on my work.

　　Special thanks to Professor Jiang Hongxin, who broadened my visionthrough his course on classics. His eloquent talks made me feel as if Iwere a literary student, and I was inspired to read so much beyondlinguistics.

　　I am deeply grateful to the College of Foreign Studies as a whole foroffering me a warm home for my explorations. Without her support, Iwouldn't have got the opportunity to pursue my study at the ForeignLanguage Education and Research Center, Beijing Foreign StudiesUniversity; nor could I have won the scholarship from China ScholarshipCouncil, which enabled me to study at University of Oregon. My year ofapprenticeship at Beijing Foreign Studies University had a considerableinfluence on my view of language and language studies. Special thanks toProfessor Chen Guohua, who as the supervisor of my visiting programallowed me a chance to go into the world of Case Grammar, an inspiringworld I still love to stay and explore. Warm thanks also to ProfessorWang Kefei, who spared his time to discuss my topic and gave me hisprofessional advice during my stay at Beijing.

　　I am greatly indebted to Professor Mark Johnson, who invited me toUniversity of Oregon for further studies. It was so nice an experienceattending his lectures. And it was he who first introduced me toneuroscience, and its relation to cognitive linguistics. His coherence inmultiple disciplines makes him a role model for researchers.

　　I want to say thank you to my best friends Zeng Yonghong, ChenMinzhe and Yang Quan for their persistent encouragement. Ours is aneverlasting world of friendship and brotherhood without which life wouldbe boring and monotonous, and also a lively forum for communicationsof questions and views, which, I believe, will always breed sm^pt answers.

　　Special thanks go to Professor Liu Zhengguang, Professer LiangXiaobo, and also Chen Yunjiang, who always give me insightfulcomments on my work, whether on public occasions or in private talks.

　　Great is my debt to my family. Warm thanks to my parents andparents-in-law for their consistent support and concern, and all kinds ofpractical help. Their generous help has accompanied me for so long, yet Ican only offer so little in return. To my wife I am most indebted for herlove and understanding, and her capability to manage all the matterswhen I feel helpless. She has the ability to put things in the right track.

　　Without her support, this work would simply not have been possible. I ammuch indebted to my son Max, who keeps asking me how soon I wouldcomplete the work, so that I could come back to a normal life full oflaughter, games and outdoor activities. His concern brings me warmencouragement and sweet joys when I feel frustrated at myself for mypoor performance in organizing both my life and study. Finally, I'd like tothank my brothers, whose frequent visits and calls remind me where Ibelong when I feel lonely.

　　Acknowledgements:

　　The writing of a PhD dissertation is not an easy task, especially for someone whohas just begun her academic journey. During the evolution of this dissertation. I amdeeply indebted to a number of people who have guided and supported me in manyways.

　　I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my research supervisor. ProfessorShen Li for her sincere and selfless support, prompt and useful advice during myresearch. She gives me a lifetime unforgettable memory of her benevolence, patience,intelligence,diligence and erudition.

　　My gratitude also goes to Professor Chu Xiaoquan, Qu Weiguo and Shen Yuan ofthe Department of English, College of Foreign Languages and Literature, FudanUniversity. They gave me substantial suggestions for the refinement of thisdissertation during my pre-oral defense.

　　I would also like to thank Professor Zhang Chunbai of the College of ForeignLanguages, East China Normal University. Professor Huang Guowen of the Collegeof Foreign Languages, Zhongshan University and Professor Wang Tongshun of theCollege of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiaotong University, for careful review ofmy dissertation and their valuable comments.

　　I would like to extend my special thanks to Professor Wu Zhongwei ofInternational Cultural Exchange School. Fudan University. Being my supervisorduring the MA studies, he awakened my interest in SLA and TCSOL in particular. Thesame gratitude also goes to Professor Chen Liangmin of the Department of French,College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University. He introduced me theelegance of the French language which I chose as my major for bachelor's study and Iwould never forget what I have learnt from him.

　　My special thanks also go to my mentor Professor Shen Xiaoxiao ofInternational Cultural Exchange School. Fudan University. He provided metremendous guidance and support for my administrative work as master students'

　　counselor and built a perfect model of a teacher, an advisor and a leader.

　　I am also grateful to Mme Zhang Shiyu' Li Lin. Shen Anyi and He Shijin fortheir spiritual support during my project. I am always indebted to the encouragementsthey gave me.

　　Lastly and most importantly. I would like to acknowledge the endless support,encouragement patience and understanding of my family. They gave me the incentiveto do this work and have put up unquestioningly with the difficult person that I hadbecome in the last few critical months of finalizing this dissertation. I love themforever.

　　Acknowledgements:

　　It gives me great pleasure to express my gratitude to all the people who haverendered help to me during the time of my Ph D study. First I would like to expressmy heartfelt thanks to my supervisor Prof. Sun Yingchun, both for his insightfullectures and academic expertise and his constant encouragement and patient support.

　　Special thanks are due to Prof. Liu Shicong from Nankai University, who notonly encouraged me tremendously by showing great appreciation to my research topic,but also kindly provided me with the four-volume English version of the SelectedWorks published by FLP in the 1960s. I have also benefited greatly from Prof. Liu'slectures. My very grateful thanks go to Prof. Wang Hongyin from Nankai University,not only for his encouraging remarks about my research topic, but also for theinsightful advice and suggestions I have received from him throughout my Ph Dstudy.

　　I am particularly grateful to Prof. Jack Masson, Professor Emeritus of theUniversity of Alberta, who not only helped me obtain valuable materials related to myresearch, but also kindly edited my dissertation. The help and encouragement I havereceived from him is inestimable. Thanks are also due to Dr Christina Schaffner,DrKate Sturge and Dr. Stefan Baumgarten from Aston University, and Dr Mona Bakerfrom the University of Manchester for their genuine interest in my research and theirconstructive suggestions.

　　My heartfelt thanks go to Professor He Xianbin from Guangdong PolytechnicNormal University who kindly provided me with a copy of his very helpful book ontranslation and power relations. I would also like to thank Prof. Li Yuchen, Prof.GuoJide, Prof. Miao Xingwei, Prof. Wang Junju, Prof. Wang Keyou, Prof. Sun Changkun,Prof. Ji Yunxia and Prof. Lumin for their help and support in one way or anotherduring my Ph D study.

　　Finally I want to thank my parents and my husband for their love, support andpatience, without which the process of my Ph D study would have been unbearable. Iespecially want to thank my son, who not only endured my mental absence, but alsohelped me proofread the Chinese paragraphs contained in my dissertation.