qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} [→ [restore to initial state | reset (an odometer/clock/etc.) | empty (a bank account) | eradicate (a disease) | (computing) clear; remove (from memory)]] 清零) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”
[Note: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”, tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”.]
As of this writing, nearing the end of the year 2022, the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, on people’s minds now for a while. So, it would be good to be able to refer to things related to it in Mandarin when speaking to people in the Mandarin field, or when speaking to our brothers and sisters in the truth.
An electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19
NIAID
This week’s MEotW, “qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} [→ [restore to initial state | reset (an odometer/clock/etc.) | empty (a bank account) | eradicate (a disease) | (computing) clear; remove (from memory)]] 清零)”, was mentioned by the website The World of Chinese back in its Dec. 21, 2021 article “Words to Sum Up 2021”. Recently, though, the Chinese government’s zero-COVID policy represented by this expression has become a hot button issue, as demonstrations against it have erupted in several places across China, as well as elsewhere across the globe.
One news service’s YouTube video called these protests “the biggest wave of protests in China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests”. Time will tell what, if anything, becomes of these protests, and what effect, if any, they will end up having on our fellow workers in China.
Short For…
Note that “qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} → [eradicate (COVID)] 清零)” is apparently a shortened form representing either of two different longer Mandarin expressions that are used to refer to zero-COVID. For what it’s worth, the Simplified Chinese version of Wikipedia says that mainland China uses “dòngtài (dòng·tài moving · condition → [situation] 动态 動態) qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} → [eradicate (COVID)] 清零)” to refer to zero-COVID, while other places use “qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} → [eradicate (COVID)] 清零) zhèngcè (zhèng·cè government · {bamboo/wooden slip used for writing → [strategy]} → [policy] 政策)” to do so.
To Be Clear
The “qīng ({[is] clear}; {[is] pure}; {[is] clean} [→ [quiet]] | {clear up}; settle [→ [clean up; purge]] 清)” in “qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} [→ [restore to initial state | reset (an odometer/clock/etc.) | empty (a bank account) | eradicate (a disease) | (computing) clear; remove (from memory)]] 清零)” basically means “clear”, used as either an adjective (or stative verb, according to the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary) or a verb. The English word “clear” can similarly be used as a verb or as an adjective. For example, one might say, “I will clear (verb) my schedule so that it is clear (adjective).”
When it’s used to represent zero-COVID, “qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} [→ [restore to initial state | reset (an odometer/clock/etc.) | empty (a bank account) | eradicate (a disease) | (computing) clear; remove (from memory)]] 清零)” is evidently used as a verb. So, in this context, the “qīng ({[is] clear}; {[is] pure}; {[is] clean} [→ [quiet]] | {clear up}; settle [→ [clean up; purge]] 清)” in it would be used as a verb meaning “clear up”.
Incidentally, this “qīng ({[is] clear}; {[is] pure}; {[is] clean} [→ [quiet]] | {clear up}; settle [→ [clean up; purge]] 清)” is also used as the name of the Qīng ([Qing (dynasty that ruled China 1644–1911 C.E.)] 清) (Qing) dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 C.E. to 1911 C.E., and which ended up being the last of the dynasties.
Related Expressions
Some other Mandarin expressions that include the “qīng ({[is] clear}; {[is] pure}; {[is] clean} [→ [quiet]] | {clear up}; settle [→ [clean up; purge]] 清)” in “qīnglíng (qīng·líng {clear up} · {(to be) zero} [→ [restore to initial state | reset (an odometer/clock/etc.) | empty (a bank account) | eradicate (a disease) | (computing) clear; remove (from memory)]] 清零)” are:
- qīngbái (qīng·bái {[is] clear}; {[is] pure}; {[is] clean} · {[is] white} [→ [[is] innocent]] 清白)
- qīngchú (qīng·chú {clear away} · {get rid of}; eliminate; remove 清除)
- qīngchu ({[is] clear}; {is clear about} | clearly 清楚)