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Lǐ Huá

Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李)
Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Citing national security concerns, the American government recently passed a law banning the popular social media app TikTok. Ironically (some would say hilariously), many American TikTok users, whom many are calling “TikTok refugees” (“TikTok nànmín (nàn·mín calamity · {persons of a certain occupation} → [refugees] 难民 難民)”), have defiantly responded in protest by migrating to an even more overtly Chinese social media app, Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) (also called RedNote), in such numbers (more than 700,000 in just two days) that Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) became the most-downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store for a while.

On Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), many regular Chinese people have found it moving and rewarding to be able to make friends with regular American people, and vice versa. Many Americans have even expressed and shown interest in learning Mandarin to better connect with their new Chinese wǎngyǒu (wǎng·yǒu {net → [network] → [Internet]} · friends 网友 網/网友) (Internet friends).

With all this happening on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), the topic of “Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)”, this week’s MEotW, has come up. This expression is a person’s name, with “Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李)”, which literally means “Plum”, being the surname, and a very common one at that. “Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)” is an interesting expression that is discussed in the MEotW post on “Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語)”.

So, why are people on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) talking about Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)?

Imaginary Pen Pals Magically Coming to Life

Here is a TikTok video containing this week’s MEotW, that explains how many Chinese Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) users feel about all the American people who have recently joined the app:

@jasmeizhang As a Chinese, what do we feel about foreigners joining RedNote? #tiktokrefugee #rednote #xiaohongshu #chinese ♬ original sound – jasmeizhang

(For any who cannot access this video, the gist is that when taking exams, students in China often encounter a question that asks them to assume the role of Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) and write a letter in English to an imaginary foreign pen pal, perhaps about Chinese cuisine or some other topic related to China. So, for many Chinese people, encountering so many Americans and their comments on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) recently feels like the imaginary foreign pen pals they wrote to so many times over the years as Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) magically came to life and finally wrote back. She concludes by saying, “Thank you for coming over, trying to post in our language, talking to us, interacting with everyone. It makes us feel like we’re not alone in this world. After all, we’re all human, and deep down, humans are more alike than we’re different.”)

After a while, I was also able to find the same video on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), so here it is coming from there, as a backup in case TikTok really ends up going away and not coming back for users in America or other places:

Here are some of the comments on TikTok in response to this video:

Many of us spent our childhoods “digging to China” in sandboxes, on beaches and in backyards. We were always meant to be friends, Li Hua. 🩵 so much love from all of us

Dear Li Hua, sorry we couldn’t write back sooner! Our bosses are kinda jerks. But we’re working on that! We’re all really happy to see your lives and pets and culture! Love, your American pen pal ❤️

Why am I crying so much at this story 🤧 I felt it would be disrespectful to invade your space but hearing this other side of things, I’m gonna join rednote now and start learning mandarin.

I’m learning mandarin on Duolingo. So far, I can only order hot water and soup. I’m so excited to one day be able to speak your language as beautifully as you speak mine. 🥲

Here is a video I found on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), with a reply from the American side to Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華):

[The original post can be found here.]

As an example of the cross-cultural exchange taking place, here is another video that I found on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), by a fellow who very likely had often written letters as Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) when he was in school:

[The original post can be found here. Here is a rough translation of the introductory blurb: “40-year-old middle-aged retired military officer’s only post-retirement joy; among family members who understands?”]

Wild Beasts and a Great Wall

Unfortunately, as alluded to above, the politics of this Devil-ruled world, with its bitter and sometimes murderous power struggles, work to divide people, in spite of how people naturally desire to make friends and live in peace (and enjoy music). While many Chinese people on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) feel like a Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) who after many years actually got replies from foreign pen pals, and while many American people who just joined Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) feel like they finally got to China and met some really nice, friendly people after digging holes to China as kids, their respective governments are in God’s eyes like wild beasts competing for territory and influence, warily circling each other, and preparing for vicious, bloody battle. (Indeed, even in the world, the USA is often symbolically portrayed as an eagle, and China is often symbolically portrayed as a dragon.)

The proud human cultural tradition mandating the use of the abnormally difficult-to-learn-and-remember Chinese characters to write Mandarin also puts a Great Wall between Chinese people and Mandarin learners in other nations who would like to write text messages to each other, leave comments on social media posts, etc. Many turn to tools like Google Translate for help, but these are really just coping mechanisms, band-aid solutions, while the basic problem of the characters remains.

The Great Wall of China

Chinese characters continue to act as a Great Wall dividing people who naturally want to be friends.

Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) technically works as a simple, easy-to-learn full writing system for reading and writing Mandarin, so it is technically ideally suited for texting, commenting, etc., but the stubbornly embedded traditional cultural primacy of characters and the related cultural prejudice against Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) will unfortunately dissuade most people from beneficially using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in these ways.

(In my limited time so far on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), I have happened to come across a couple of comments containing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). One of these comments (from a user in the United States) renders the same message in English on one line, in simplified Chinese characters on another line, and then in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) on yet another line, Rosetta Stone-style. The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) was even well-formatted, not just as with a pronunciation aid, but as with a full writing system, with tone marks, word separation, and punctuation.)

As shown above, audio and video technology also now enable people to just talk (and sing!) to communicate across distance and time, but even in this regard, many Mandarin learners have allowed the visually intricate characters to stunt their Mandarin speech skills by distracting them from properly focusing on invisible sound, which is what Mandarin speech (and singing!) is actually made of. As discussed in other MEotW posts, this is effectively linguistic idolatry.

Spiritual Family in the Mandarin Field

As Mandarin field language learners, this whole situation with regular Chinese and American people enjoying making friends with each other on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) may remind us of all the wonderful new friends we made when we joined the Mandarin field. As Jehovah’s people serving in the Mandarin field, or in any congregation or group with people from different cultural backgrounds, we are not only aware of the possibility of making friends with people of other nations and cultures, we also know that every human being is really part of the one human family descended from the same ancestors and created by God. Additionally, we know that Jehovah has assigned us to help people from all the nations to join us in his spiritual paradise, in which they can become our spiritual brothers and sisters and live in peace with us forever on a paradise earth. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Let us, then, not let the world’s politics or human traditions prevent us from doing this life-saving, uniting, God-assigned work as well as we ought to.

Categories
Current Events Science Theocratic

jíduān tiānqì

jíduān (jí·duān extreme · extremity → [extreme] 极端 極端)
tiānqì (tiān·qì {sky → [weather]} · {air → [weather]} → [weather] 天气 天氣) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Extreme Weather—Can the Bible Help You to Cope?”. To correspond with the English expression “extreme weather”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “jíduān (jí·duān extreme · extremity → [extreme] 极端 極端) tiānqì (tiān·qì {sky → [weather]} · {air → [weather]} → [weather] 天气 天氣)”.

Interesingly, the “jí (extremity | extreme (adj) | extremely; {to the extreme} 极 極)” in “jíduān (jí·duān {[is] extreme} · end; extremity → [[is] extreme; exceedingly; absolute | extreme; extremity | exceedingly; extremely] 极端 極端)” is also used in “Běijí (Běi·jí North · {Extremity → [Pole]} 北极 北極)” (“North Pole”) and in “Nánjí (Nán·jí South · {Extremity → [Pole]} 南极 南極)” (“South Pole”).

Extreme Weather Expressions in Context

Here are the English and Mandarin versions of the above-mentioned article’s first paragraph, which contains many expressions related to the topic of extreme weather:

English:

Are you one of the millions who have been affected by extreme weather? Dangerous weather and its damaging effects come in many forms. Hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, and tornadoes often cause storm surges, flooding, or wind damage. Heavy rain may trigger landslides, and storms can bring lightning strikes that start destructive wildfires. Droughts, heat waves, and winter storms can be equally devastating.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Quánqiú (Quán·qiú (across) entire · globe → [worldwide] 全球) chéngqiān (chéng·qiān {coming to be} · {thousands} 成千)‐shàngwàn (shàng·wàn {up to} · {tens of thousands} 上万 上萬) de (’ 的) rén (people 人) shòudào (shòu·dào {have been subjected to} · {arriving at} 受到) jíduān (jí·duān extreme · extremity → [extreme] 极端 極端) tiānqì (tiān·qì {sky → [weather]} · {air → [weather]} → [weather] 天气 天氣) yǐngxiǎng (yǐng·xiǎng relfections · sounds → [affecting] 影响 影響), nǐ (you 你) yě (also 也) shì (are 是) qízhōng (qí·zhōng them · among 其中) zhī (’s 之) yī (one 一) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Jíduān (Jí·duān extreme · extremity → [extreme] 极端 極端) tiānqì (tiān·qì {sky → [weather]} · {air → [weather]} → [weather] 天气 天氣) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) dàilái (dài·lái bring · {to come} 带来 帶來) gèzhǒng (gè·zhǒng various · {kinds of} 各种 各種) zāihài (zāi·hài calamities · harm 灾害 災害), zàochéng (zào·chéng make · {to come to be} 造成) yánzhòng (yán·zhòng {tight → [severe]} · {weighty → [serious]} → [severe] 严重 嚴重) de (’s 的) pòhuài (pò·huài damaging · {to be ruined} 破坏 破壞). Lìrú (Lì·rú examples · like → [for example] 例如), jùfēng (jù·fēng hurricane · winds → [hurricanes] 飓风 颶風), táifēng (tái·fēng typhoon · winds → [typhoons] 台风 颱風), qìxuán (qì·xuán air · circlings → [cyclones] 气旋 氣旋), hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) lóngjuǎn‐fēng ((lóng·juǎn dragon · spool → [tornado] 龙卷 龍捲)‐(fēng winds 风 風) → [tornadoes]) jīngcháng (jīng·cháng regularly · often 经常 經常) huì (will 会 會) zàochéng (zào·chéng make · {to come to be} 造成) fēngbào‐cháo ((fēng·bào wind · {being violent} → [storm] 风暴 風暴)‐(cháo tides 潮) → [storm surges]), hóngshuǐ (hóng·shuǐ flood · waters → [floods] 洪水), hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) fēngzāi (fēng·zāi wind · disasters → [wind damage] 风灾 風災); dàyǔ (dà·yǔ {big → [heavy]} · rain 大雨) kěnéng (kě·néng maybe · {being able} → [possibly] 可能) yǐnfā (yǐn·fā {will draw (out)} · {to send out} → [will trigger] 引发 引發) ní‐shí‐liú ((ní mud 泥)‐(shí rock 石)‐(liú flows 流) → [landslides]) (tǔ‐shí‐liú ((tǔ soil 土)‐(shí rock 石)‐(liú flows 流) → [debris flows (Tw)])); léidiàn (léi·diàn thunder · {electricity → [lightning]} 雷电 雷電) kěnéng (kě·néng maybe · {being able} → [possibly] 可能) yǐnfā (yǐn·fā {will draw (out)} · {to send out} → [will spark] 引发 引發) yánzhòng (yán·zhòng {tight → [severe]} · {weighty → [serious]} → [severe] 严重 嚴重) de (’s 的) huǒzāi (huǒ·zāi fire · disasters → [wildfires] 火灾 火災); hànzāi (hàn·zāi drought · disasters → [droughts] 旱灾 旱災), rèlàng (rè·làng heat · waves 热浪 熱浪), yǐjí ({as well as} 以及) bàofēng‐xuě ((bào·fēng violent · wind → [storm] 暴风 暴風)‐(xuě snows 雪) → [snowstorms]) yě (also 也) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) dàilái (dài·lái bring · {to come} 带来 帶來) yánzhòng (yán·zhòng {tight → [severe]} · {heavy → [serious]} → [serious] 严重 嚴重) de (’ 的) pòhuài (pò·huài damaging · {to be ruined} 破坏 破壞).

Individual Extreme Weather Expressions

While the above paragraphs show several English and Mandarin expressions related to extreme weather used in context, below is a table of several of the individual English expressions used above, along with their corresponding Mandarin expressions:

English Mandarin
extreme weather jíduān (jí·duān extreme · extremity → [extreme] 极端 極端) tiānqì (tiān·qì {sky → [weather]} · {air → [weather]} → [weather] 天气 天氣)
hurricanes jùfēng (jù·fēng cyclone; hurricane; typhoon · winds → [hurricanes; typhoons] 飓风 颶風)
typhoons táifēng (tái·fēng typhoon · winds → [typhoons] 台风 颱風)
cyclones qìxuán (qì·xuán air · circlings → [cyclones] 气旋 氣旋)
tornadoes lóngjuǎn‐fēng ((lóng·juǎn dragon · spool → [tornado; waterspout] 龙卷 龍捲)‐(fēng winds 风 風) → [tornadoes; twisters | cyclones; hurricanes])
storm surges fēngbào‐cháo ((fēng·bào wind · {being violent} → [storm] 风暴 風暴)‐(cháo tides 潮) → [storm surges])
flooding hóngshuǐ (hóng·shuǐ flood · waters [→ [floods]] 洪水)
wind damage fēngzāi (fēng·zāi wind · disaster; calamity [→ [wind damage]] 风灾 風災)
heavy rain dàyǔ (dà·yǔ {big → [heavy]} · rain 大雨)
landslides ní‐shí‐liú ((ní mud 泥)‐(shí rock 石)‐(liú flows 流) → [mud-rock flows; rockslides; mudslides; landslides]) (tǔ‐shí‐liú ((tǔ soil [→ [land]] 土)‐(shí rock 石)‐(liú flows 流) → [debris flows (Tw); mud-rock flows; rockslides; mudslides; landslides]))
lightning léidiàn (léi·diàn thunder · {electricity → [lightning]} 雷电 雷電)
wildfires huǒzāi (huǒ·zāi fire · calamities; disasters [→ [wildfires]] 火灾 火災)
droughts hànzāi (hàn·zāi drought · disasters; calamities → [droughts] 旱灾 旱災)
heat waves rèlàng (rè·làng heat · waves 热浪 熱浪)
winter storms bàofēng‐xuě ((bào·fēng violent · wind → [storm] 暴风 暴風)‐(xuě snows 雪) → [snowstorms; blizzards])

Hopefully, the information in this post will help you to be better equipped to speak with Mandarin-speaking people who are concerned about climate change (qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候) biànhuà (biàn·huà changing · transforming 变化 變化)) and about the increasingly frequent and extreme extreme weather we are seeing in these last days.

Categories
Culture Current Events Science Technology Theocratic

ǒurán

ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Hùdòng Shì Shèngjīng Kèchéng ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Hù·dòng {Each Other} · Moving → [Interactive] 互动 互動) (Shì (Type 式) (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)) book. This week’s MEotW, “ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然)”, appears in the first paragraph of lesson 6 of this book:

English:

Some people think that life came from random, undirected events. If that is true, then we exist only because of an accident.

Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus):

📖 📄 📘 Yǒuxiē (Yǒu·xiē {(there) are having → [(there) are]} · some 有些) rén (people 人) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identifying · {(it) to be} 认为 認為), shēngmìng (life 生命) shì (was 是) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {given birth to → [produced]} · {given birth to → [caused to exist]} → [brought into being] 产生 產生) de ({’s (thing)} 的). Rúguǒ (Rú·guǒ if · {fruit → [if indeed]} 如果) zhè (this 这 這) shì (is 是) zhēn (true 真) de ({’s (thing)} 的), wǒmen de ((wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) (de ’s 的) → [our]) cúnzài (cún·zài existing · {being present} 存在) jiùshì (jiù·shì exactly · is 就是) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) ǒurán (ǒu·rán {by accident} · so (thing) → [accident] 偶然).

Idols, Accidents, and Implications

Interestingly, the first morpheme in “ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然)” is also the first morpheme in “ǒuxiàng (ǒu·xiàng idol · {(instance of) being like → [image]} 偶像)”, where it means “idol”. However, in “ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然)”, it has an apparently unrelated meaning of “by chance” or “by accident”. (I guess one perhaps accidental connection between “idol” and “by accident” is that “by accident” is about the only way that an idol can actually do anything, unless one allows belief in an idol to influence one’s own thoughts and actions.—Psalm 115:4–8.)

The second morpheme in “ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然)” means “so” or “like that”, and it can act like “-ly” in English, marking adverbs. Usually, then, “ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然)” means “by chance”, “accidental”, or “accidentally”. Occasionally, it can also mean “occasionally” or “incidentally”. Thus, according to dictionaries, this expression is a stative verb, an adjective, or an adverb.

In the example from the Enjoy Life Forever! book shown above, though, “ǒurán (ǒu·rán {[is] by chance/accident [→ [occasionally]]} · {so | -ly} [(thing/event/occurrence/etc.) → [accident]] 偶然)” is used as a noun. In such cases, there’s an implied “thing/event/occurrence/etc.” after this expression’s morphemes’ literal meanings of “by accident so”. This works out to “by accident so (thing/event/occurrence/etc.)”, or “accident”. In cases like this, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material puts the implied word or words in parentheses.

A Meaningless Accident?

Was it just an accident that life came to exist? That would be the case if the claims of evolutionists are correct. Yes, spiritually, that emptiness and meaninglessness are all that evolution has to offer. In stark contrast, the Bible’s creation account speaks of an origin springing from loving intention. As the Enjoy Life Forever! book goes on to say after the passage quoted above:

If Jehovah God created life, it would have a purpose, would it not?

While many people in this world are desperately looking around for meaning from outside themselves from things like artificial general intelligence and artificial superintelligence, aliens, etc., we Mandarin field language learners have the privilege of sharing a positive, heartening, evidence-based message with the Mandarin-speaking people we meet: Jehovah God is the Divine Superintelligence who created the universe, including us, and he loves us and has a wonderful future in store for us!—Jeremiah 29:11.

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.