This paper is an attempt to show our understanding of "Mianzi" (face) by illustrating its metaphorical process from both a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. Sections 2 and 3 describe the historical process from "Mian" to "Mianzi", and define the "Mianzi" as some abstract social values in interpersonal relations. Sections 4 and 5 explain its process of conceptualization more systematically by examining the idiomatization of "inward face", such as "love face" and "lose face", and of "outward face", such as "give face" and "give no face". The conclusion is reached that the metaphorical categorization of "Mianzi" is motivated by the bodily experience, i.e. on the universal principle "mind-as-body".