xīshēng

xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

As the war Ukraine rages on, time marches on, and this year’s Memorial season is now upon us. As of this writing, the home page of jw.org now features a page inviting people to this year’s Memorial. Appearing in the title of the Mandarin version of that page is this week’s MEotW, “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”, which effectively means “sacrifice”.

Note that while the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” part of “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)” sounds like the word for “life”, and while Jesus did indeed give his life for us, in this case the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” used literally means “domestic animal”. When applied to Jesus’ sacrifice, we can take the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” part of “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)” to effectively mean “(as with a) domestic animal”. It’s understandable that this particular morpheme is used in “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”, since domestic animals were commonly used in sacrifices in ancient China, as they were in ancient Israel.

(It’s interesting to note, though, that an Internet search for “ancient China sacrifices” will turn up many references to human sacrifices in ancient China, as there were in ancient Canaan—let us be careful not to think more highly of worldly Chinese history and culture than they actually deserve!)

Referring to the Memorial in Mandarin

By comparing the English and Mandarin versions of the page on jw.org as of this writing inviting people to the Memorial, we can see that the organization is now translating “Memorial of Jesus’ Death” into Mandarin as “Yēsū (Jesus’ 耶稣 耶穌) Xīshēng (Xī·shēng {Sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) Domestic Animal} → [Sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲) Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [Memorial])”. This is in contrast to the past rendering “Yēsū (Jesus’ 耶稣 耶穌) Shòunàn (Shòu·nàn {Being Subjected to → [Suffering of]} · Calamity 受难 受難)‐Jìniàn (Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) Jùhuì (Meeting 聚会 聚會)” (km 2/2011) that the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) tells us about. (It also tells us about the current rendering, memtioned above.) For the Memorial, it does seem more relevant to emphasize Jesus’ sacrifice (“xīshēng (xī·shēng sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”) itself, as opposed to the suffering (“shòunàn (shòu·nàn {being subjected to → [suffering of]} · calamity 受难 受難)”) that he had to endure in the process of offering it.