Yu provides an in-depth analysis of a single educational message (a non-commercial commercial, if you like) broadcast on Chinese national TV in terms of two conceptual metaphors whose purely verbal varieties have often been discussed: LIFE IS A JOURNEY and LIFE IS A STAGE. He shows how aspects of these metaphors, which in some passages are "blended" (Fauconnier and Turner 1998, 2002), surface in various modes. In several scenes, moreover, other conceptual metaphors such as UNDERSTANDING IS SEEING and SUCCESSFUL IS UP are shown to play a role, as well as a range of metonymies. The analysis makes clear that whereas thanks to the visuals, the "embodied" aspects of the metaphors are presumably universally comprehensible, many details can only be fully appreciated by viewers aware of specific Chinese myths and beliefs (cf. Forceville et al. 2006). (Charles Forceville and Eduardo Urios-Aparisi)