《小王子》(Le Petit Prince)是安東尼奧．聖修伯里(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1900-1944)所撰之法國名著，用字簡潔，寓意深遠，富含人生哲理。根據成維安所翻譯的中文本，本文採取「意象基模」(image schemas, Lakoff & Johnson 1999)為分析架構，探討意象基模如何應用於此書篇章的解讀。透過分析，筆者發現《小王子》中蘊含諸多如容器基模(CONTAINER)、上／下基模(UP-DOWN)、循環基模(CYCLE)等意象基模，它們可用來詮釋篇章的結構，瞭解文中所要傳達的語意及隱喻概念。此外還說明如何將意象基模架構成複合意象基模(compound image schemas Kimmel 2005)，以做為《小王子》篇章的上層結構(superstructure, Dijk 1980)，協助讀者組織和詮釋篇章的內容。

The Little Prince, the French classic by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, conveys profound life philosophy by means of simple phrasing. This paper provides an analysis of Wei-an Cheng’s Mandarin translation of The Little Prince based on the theory of image schemas (Lakoff & Johnson 1999). We illustrate how image schemas are used for the interpretation of discourse in The Little Prince, and show that the work includes various image schemas, such as CONTAINER, UP-DOWN, and CIRCLE; these schemas can serve as the structures for metaphorical interpretations. We also demonstrate how these image schemas are integrated as a compound image schema (Kimmel 2005), which functions as the superstructure of the work (Dijk 1980), and how this is employed to structure the context and organize the readers’ interpretations.