Category: Culture

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chuàngzào

chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The Shēngmìng Láizì Chuàngzào Ma? ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (Lái·zì Came · From 来自 來自) (Chuàng·zào Initiating · {Making, Creating} → [Creating] 创造 創造) (Ma [? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? → [Was Life Created? (lc)]) (Was Life Created? (lc)) brochure and the Shēngmìng de Qǐyuán—Zhíde Sīkǎo de Wǔ Ge Wèntí ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (de ’s 的) (Qǐ·yuán {Rising → [Starting]} · Source → [Origin] 起源/原)—(Zhí·de Worth · Getting → [Worth] 值得) (Sī·kǎo {Thinking About} · Examining 思考) (de ’s 的) (Wǔ Five 五) (Ge [mw] 个 個/个) (Wèn·tí Asking · Subjects → [Questions] 问题 問題) → [The Origin of Life​—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)]) (The Origin of Life​—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)) brochure were originally published back in 2010, but recently, the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure was updated to the December 2022 Printing, and the Mandarin version of it was updated to the February 2023 Printing. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure are now in the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app. So, it would be good to consider some of the expressions used in the Mandarin versions of these publications that can be so helpful when discussing whether life was created.

How It Started

This week’s MEotW, which appears right in the title of the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure, is “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”. While this is basically a verb meaning “create”, it can also be used as a noun meaning “creation”. Such verbal/gerundial nouns were discussed in the MEotW post on “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)”:

One interesting thing to note about “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)” (and about “jiàoxun (teaching → [reprimanding | knowledge gained from an error] 教训 教訓)”, for that matter) is that their component morphemes seem to basically be verbs. In certain contexts, however, they are used as nouns. An example of this being done in English is that “teach” and “teaching” are verbs (e.g. “Jesus was teaching the crowd.”), but in certain contexts, “teaching” is used as a noun (e.g. “The crowd was amazed at the teaching Jesus shared with them.”). When a word is used this way, it’s called a verbal noun, or a gerundial noun. Verbal nouns are quite common in Mandarin.

How It Breaks Down

The “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” in “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)” is also used in “Chuàngshìjì (Chuàng·shì·jì {Initiating, Creating of} · {Generation → [World]} · Record → [Genesis] 创世记 創世記)”, and is associated with originality and creativity. For example, this “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” also occurs in “chuàngzuò (chuàng·zuò initiated; created; originated · {made [→ [written/composed]]} [(thing)] [→ [created; produced; written [(thing)]] [→ [creative work; creation]]] 创作 創作)” and in “chuàngzuò lì ((chuàng·zuò {to initiate/create/originate} · {to make [→ [to write/compose]]} → [to create/produce/write] 创作 創作) (lì power → [ability] 力) → [creative ability; creativity; originality])”, which can respectively mean “creative work” and “creativity”.

As for the “zào (make; build; create 造)” in “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”, it’s more associated with making and building, and it’s the same “zào (make; build; create 造)” that’s in “jiànzào (construct; build 建造)”. “Jiànzào (build 建造) fángwū (houses 房屋)”, for example, means “build houses”.

How It Comes Together

So, “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”, being made up of “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” and “zào (make; build; create 造)”, covers the entire process of coming up with the idea for something, and then actually making or building it. This is in contrast with the idea of theistic evolution, that God somehow got the ball rolling and then sat back and let the process of evolution develop all the wonderful living things in the natural world.

One person in particular whom I remember having such a viewpoint was my grade 7 teacher, who was actually quite smug about how her Catholic/personal beliefs had thus seemingly neatly reconciled the contradictions between the worldly “scientific” theory of evolution and the creation account in the Bible book of Genesis. However, the actual wording of the Genesis account, including how it is often translated into Mandarin, does not really go along with such a seemingly neat reconciliation with evolution.—Genesis 1:27 (English WOL, Mandarin WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus).

“_Chuàngzào_” in Genesis 1:27 (NWT (nwtsty), WOL CHS+Pinyin), with “_zào_” in _Héhé Běn_

To represent how God caused humans to come into existence, the Mandarin New World Translation Bible uses “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造 創造)”, and the Héhé Běn ((Hé·hé Harmonious · {Closed → [United]} 和合) (Běn {Root or Stem} → [Edition] 本) → [Union Version (Chinese Bible)]) uses “zào (made; built; created 造)”. Both these expressions contain the sense of “made, created”, and perhaps “built”.

How the Py+ Material Is Going

A while ago, I got the feeling that I should shift focus to get to work on producing current-generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Was Life Created? brochure, which I had last produced older-style material for several years earlier. The official material for this brochure had also not been changed for several years, with the last Mandarin printing of it being dated 2016-12.

However, not long after I had started working on new Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for this brochure, I noticed that a new printing, dated 2022-12, had been put out for the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure, and then, a new printing, dated 2023-02, appeared in the JW Library app for the Mandarin version of this brochure. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure were added to the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app at around this time. It seems that Jehovah had decided that the time had come for renewed focus on these brochures, and it seems that the work of producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Was Life Created? brochure is privileged to be part of this renewed focus.

At the time of this writing, the old 3-line files (iPad-Letter-A4, XLP-iPhone-A5) together with the new Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource cover the entire Was Life Created? brochure. (The 3-line files were based on an older version of the brochure, though.) Also, the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource (which can be used offline in supporting browsers) contains no more Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-only material that has only been partially proofread—all the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-only material has now been fully proofread.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Was Life Created? brochure is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Was Life Created? brochure 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 Was Life Created? brochure will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows. Work is now underway to produce a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource for the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure as well.

Categories
Culture History Theocratic

Shàngtiān

Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven [→ [God]]} → [Heaven; Providence; God] 上天) ← 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 an invitation to attend an “Exercise Patience”! 2023 convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In one of the places where the English version of this invitation uses the word “God”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven [→ [God]]} → [Heaven; Providence; God] 上天)”, which literally means “Above’s Heaven”:

“Shàngtiān” used on jw.org, on the page inviting people to attend the 2023 convention

English:

If you pray to God for help, what can you expect?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Nǐ ((if) you 你) xiàng (to 向 向/曏/嚮) Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven → [God]} → [God] 上天) qiúzhù (qiú·zhù request · {helping → [help]} 求助), tā (he 他) huì (will 会 會) bāngzhù (help 帮助 幫助) nǐ (you 你) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

Note that this jw.org web page uses the personal pronoun “tā (he 他)” (“he”) to refer to “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven → [God]} → [God] 上天)”, showing that “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven → [God]} → [God] 上天)” here refers to a person, not to an abstract concept or to a place like heaven. Also, the wording shown in the above screenshot indicates that “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven → [God]} → [God] 上天)” here refers to “Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝)”, that is, God.

Addressing People Who Don’t Know God Well

Note also that this web page written using Chinese characters and invitating people to the convention is largely directed towards the Chinese people of the world, who may know God only as an abstract concept, and not so much as a person.

Another example of official material that uses “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven [→ [God]]} → [Heaven; Providence; God] 上天)” when addressing someone who did not know God well is the Mandarin New World Translation Bible’s rendering of Daniel’s words to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:26:

“Shàngtiān” in Daniel 4:26 (NWT (nwtsty), WOL CHS+Pinyin)

Here, “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven [→ [God]]} → [Heaven; Providence; God] 上天)” corresponds with the English expression “the heavens” in the phrase “after you come to know that the heavens are ruling”.—Daniel 4:26 (English).

The Chinese People’s View of God Over Time

As mentioned in the MEotW post on “Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝)”:

The Lasting Peace brochure has a box explaining how the concept of Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) has been viewed in China throughout its history.

Here is a quote from that box that relates how the Chinese came to view the “Tiān (Heaven [→ [God]] 天)” in “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven [→ [God]]} → [Heaven; Providence; God] 上天)”, and how that affected their understanding of Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝):

…according to Chinese historical records, between three and four thousand years ago, during the Xia and Shang dynasties, the Chinese were already worshipping one supreme deity. The book The Religious History of China explains that they “reckoned that between heaven and earth there was a principal God who stood supreme and had absolute control over all things. . . . This supreme deity came to be called Di, or Shang-di, during the Shang Dynasty, and was known as Tien [heaven], or Tien-di [Emperor in Heaven], during the Zhou Dynasty [11th century to 256 B.C.E.].” Thus, the ancient Chinese believed in the existence of a Supreme Sovereign of the universe.

During the Spring and Autumn period (c. 722-481 B.C.E.) and the Warring States period (c. 480-221 B.C.E.), Confucianism and Taoism gained ascendancy. Influenced by these two schools of thought, the worship of Shang-di was gradually replaced by the abstract idea of reverence for Tien. By the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.–221 C.E.), under the dominance of Confucianism, the Chinese became engrossed in moral culture and social order, and the concept of Shang-di suffered another setback. With the spread of Buddhism into China, the Chinese no longer held to the belief of a Creator who is in control of the universe, but they accepted Heaven, or Providence, as the first cause of all things. Since then, the concept of God, or Shang-di, has become something completely foreign to most Chinese.

Since Chinese people in the world have this historical and cultural background that stretches back for millennia, it is understandable why the organization uses “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven → [God]} → [God] 上天)” to refer to God when addressing them. Perhaps we can think of “Shàngtiān (Shàng·tiān Above’s · {Heaven → [God]} → [God] 上天)” as an acceptable stepping stone between the impersonal “Tiān (Heaven [→ [God]] 天)” and “Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝)”. Hopefully, we will be able to help many more Chinese people to get to know and appreciate Jehovah God as a person, and to eventually get accustomed to referring to him as “Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝)”, and as “Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華)”.

Categories
Culture Current Events Theocratic

jiēlián

jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) ← 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 “Shocking Gun Violence Worldwide—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” to express how cases of gun violence just seem to keep on occurring.

The First Morpheme About Connecting Connects to…

The “jiē ({come into contact with}; {come close to} [→ [connect; join; put together; continue | take hold of [(the baton next)]; catch | answer (the phone) | meet; welcome | receive | take over; succeed to]] 接)” in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” seems to have possible basic meanings of “come into contact with”, or “come close to”, and it seems that from these can be derived meanings such as “connecting; joining; continuing”, that seem to apply in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)”.

This “jiē ({come into contact with}; {come close to} [→ [connect; join; put together; continue | take hold of [(the baton next)]; catch | answer (the phone) | meet; welcome | receive | take over; succeed to]] 接)” also appears in many other Mandarin expressions, such as:

  • jiēchù (jiē·chù {come into contact with} · touch; contact [→ [get in touch with; engage with]] 接触 接觸)
  • jiē ({come into contact with} → [answer] 接) diànhuà (diàn·huà electric · {spoken words} → [phone] 电话 電話)
  • jiējìn (jiē·jìn {come close to} · {to be near/close | approach} 接近)
  • jiēshòu (jiē·shòu {come into contact with → [receive]} · receive; accept → [receive; accept] 接受)
  • jiē ({coming into contact with} → [taking hold of] (the baton next) 接) xialai (xia·lai down · {to come} 下来 下來)
  • jiēzhe (jiē·zhe {coming into contact with → [taking hold of] (the baton next)} · being → [next; after that] 接着 接着/著)

    • While conducting meetings, brothers might use this expression or the previous one in relation to the part on the programme that’s coming up next.

…the Next Morpheme About Connecting

The “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} [→ [even; including | continuously; in succession; one after another]] 连 連)” in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” also relates to connecting, with possible basic meanings of “linking to”; “joining”; “connecting to”. One interesting use of this morpheme is that “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} → [even] 连 連)…” can mean “even…”.

Some other Mandarin expressions that contain “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} [→ [even; including | continuously; in succession; one after another]] 连 連)” are:

  • liánjiē (lián·jiē {linking [to]; joining; connecting [to]} · {coming into contact [with] [→ [connecting; joining; linking [to] | connection; conjunction | link (on a web page) | continuously]]} 连接 連/聯接)

    • Note that this expression uses the same morphemes as “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)”, but in reverse order. It does not seem to have the exact same meanings as “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)”, however.
    • Perhaps of interest to readers of this web page, this expression can be used to refer to a link on a web page.
  • liánxiě (lián·xiě linking; joining; connecting · write → [join syllables in Pīnyīn, etc. (so they are not separated by a space) | write Chinese characters with linked strokes] 连写 連寫)

    • This is the actual expression used in the official Chinese government rules for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography, to refer to writing syllables together without a space between them. This expression is used because in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), sometimes there is no space between syllables, and sometimes spaces are used.
      • Unlike Chinese characters, which are written like bricks in the Great Wall with no spaces at all between them, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) uses spaces to divide groupings of syllables into separate words, like English, French, Spanish, etc. do. This is yet another thing that makes Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) much easier to learn and use, compared to characters.
  • liánxù (lián·xù linking; joining; connecting · continuing; {being continuous/successive}; extending; joining [→ [continuous; successive; in a row; running; serial; consecutive]] 连续 連續)

    • liánxù jù ((lián·xù linking · continuing → [serial] 连续 連續) (jù drama 剧 劇) → [TV series; serialized drama])
  • yìlián (yì·lián (with) one · linking; joining; connecting → [in a row; in succession; running] 一连 一連)

    • yìlián‐chuàn ((yì·lián (with) one · linking; joining; connecting → [in a row; in succession; running] 一连 一連)‐(chuàn {stringing together of} 串) → [series/string/chain/succession of])

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

Shocking Gun Violence Worldwide

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Qiāngjī (Qiāng·jī Gun · Striking → [Shooting] 枪击 槍擊) Àn ({Long, Narrow Tables or Desks} → [Cases] 案) Jiēlián (Jiē·lián {Are Coming into Contact → [Are Continuing]} · {Are Linking} → [Are in Succession] 接连 接連)‐Búduàn (Bú·duàn Not · {Breaking off} → [Continually] 不断 不斷)

English:

Terrible gun violence continues to take a tragic toll on many around the world.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shìjiè (Shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) gèdì (gè·dì various · lands 各地) jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact → [continuing]} · {linking → [one after another]} 接连 接連) fāshēng (fā·shēng {are having issue forth} · {are having come to life} → [are having happen] 发生 發生) chíqiāng (chí·qiāng holding · gun 持枪 持槍) bàolì (bào·lì violent · force → [violence] 暴力) shìjiàn (shì·jiàn incidents · [mw] 事件), niàngchéng (niàng·chéng {brewing to → [leading to]} · {coming to be} → [leading to] 酿成 釀成) shāngwáng (shāng·wáng injuries · {dyings → [deaths]} 伤亡 傷亡) cǎnjù (cǎn·jù tragic · {theatrical works (dramas, etc.)} → [tragedies] 惨剧 慘劇).

All Connected?

Speaking of connected things, are all these cases of gun violence somehow connected? Well, the Bible does reveal to us that this whole system of things is under the influence of Satan the Devil, the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 1 John 5:19). Those who perpetrate gun violence certainly reflect the spirit of the ruler of this world that they are part of.

Also, the Bible shows us that this world ruled by Satan is now in its last days, and so, things are especially bad now. As the above-mentioned article says:

The Bible describes our time as “the last days,” a time when people would act in fierce, brutal, and savage ways. (2 Timothy 3:1, 3)

Thankfully, since these are “the last days” of this wicked system of things, we can look forward to the time when Jehovah God replaces it with a new system under the rulership of his own Kingdom government.—Matthew 6:10.