Abstract
This paper studies the development of directionals in Southern Min from the sixteenth century to the present based on earlier playscripts and modern folktales. We can tease out the paths of the development of these directionals by studying the vicissitudes of three types of directionals. Directional complements triggered by their collocated non-movement verbs underwent a change from denoting spatial movement to non-spatial aktionsart function. This is achieved by the mechanism of metaphor in human cognitive process. An attempt has been made to succinctly compare directionals in Southern Min and Mandarin in typological perspective.