Category: Culture

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Culture Experiences History Language Learning Science Theocratic

héchuáng

héchuáng+ (hé·chuáng river/stream·bed 河床 河床/牀) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

A few years back, I wrote up a brief web page listing reasons for producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), etc. material for the Imitate (ia) book. Some, especially some who grew up in the West, may have felt that this book is made up of “just stories”, and ones that they were already quite familiar with, at that. However, we must remember that Chinese Bible students may often have a different perspective regarding the Bible accounts that are made to come to life in the Imitate book. As that web page said:

  • Many Chinese people in the world have not been exposed to Bible accounts the way many Westerners have.
  • Also, I have heard that some, perhaps many, Chinese Bible students tend to approach their Bible studies like intellectual exercises for accumulating chōuxiàng (abstract) head knowledge as if for a school exam, rather than as training for their hearts for their own real lives.

Later, the web page touches on how some of the real-world benefits of good storytelling like that found in the Imitate book involve empathy:

  • …
    • The actress Natalie Portman once said, “I love acting. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to do. Your job is practicing empathy. You walk down the street imagining every person’s life.”
  • The Imitate book helps build Bible students’ empathy towards Bible characters, which in turn helps Bible students realize that others would feel empathy towards them as well if they imitated these Bible characters—not everyone will just think they’re crazy, like many worldly friends or family members might think.

While even fictional stories can have the benefits described in the links and the quote above, true stories from the Bible can have even greater benefits, including spiritual ones.

Besides the Imitate book, another book from Jehovah’s organization that relates Bible accounts is the Learn From the Bible (lfb) book. The letter from the Governing Body in this book says that, similarly to the Imitate book, the Learn From the Bible book also “brings the Bible accounts to life and captures the feelings of those depicted”, while, unlike the Imitate book, it “tells the story of the human family from creation onward”. While the Learn From the Bible book is especially suitable for children, the letter from the Governing Body in this book says that “it can also be used to help adults who desire to learn more about the Bible”. So, it would be good to consider on this blog some of the expressions used in the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book.

Correction

This week’s MEotW, “héchuáng+ (hé·chuáng river/stream·bed 河床 河床/牀)”, appears in Lesson 40 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book, which is entitled “Dàwèi (David 大卫 大衛) Yǒngzhàn+ (Yǒng·zhàn Bravely · Fights 勇战 勇戰) Gēlìyà (Go·liʹath 歌利亚 歌利亞)” (“David and Goliath”).

English:

David took his sling and went to a stream. He chose five smooth stones and put them in a pouch.

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

📖 📄 ➕ Dàwèi (David 大卫 大衛) cóng (from 从 從) héchuáng+ (hé·chuáng stream·bed 河床 河床/牀) shang (upon 上) jiǎnle (jiǎn·le {picked up} · {to completion} 捡了 撿了) wǔ (five 五) kuài ({pieces of} 块 塊) guānghua (guāng·hua {light → [bare]} · smooth → [smooth] 光滑) de (’s 的) shízǐr+ (shí·zǐ·r stone · {small and hard things} · {children → [(diminutive) non-syllabic retroflex suffix; pronunciation feature in Beijing dialect]} → [stones] 石子[儿] 石子[兒]) zhuāngjìn (zhuāng·jìn {(and made them) to play the role → [(and) packed (them)]} · {to be entering into} 装进 裝進) dàizi (dài·zi pouch · [suf for nouns] 袋子),

“Héchuáng (Hé·chuáng river/stream·bed 河床 河床/牀)”, as shown in the above quote, was added as part of a correction made in the current 2025-03 Printing of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book. Before, it had said that David had gone to “xiǎoxī (xiǎo·xī small · stream’s 小溪) páng (side 旁)”, the side of the stream, and chosen five smooth stones. However, the English New World Translation version of 1 Samuel 17:40 says that David “chose five smooth stones from the streambed”, which in Mandarin is “héchuáng (hé·chuáng river/stream·bed 河床 河床/牀)”.

Another thing that we can note from the above quotations is that the English version of the Learn From the Bible book just says that David “went to a stream” and chose the stones—it does not go into any detail about which part of the stream David chose the stones from. So, the detail that David chose the stones from the streambed is only mentioned in the Mandarin version. It’s good to know that Jehovah’s organization conscientiously corrects even such seemingly minor technical errors when they are found, even when they are “just” in the Mandarin text.

Contribution

David’s example shows us that while we servants of Jehovah—including us Mandarin field language learners—should ultimately rely on him for success, we should also do what we ourselves can do to contribute to success. As written in the MEotW post on “Gēlìyà+ (Go·liʹath 歌利亚 歌利亞)”:

Back in David’s time, it may have seemed to the Israelites facing Goliath that they had no option but to become slaves to the Philistines, because who could defeat the mighty Goliath? However, rather than being intimidated by this abnormally large but still limited and imperfect human, David put Jehovah first and really trusted in him, resulting in Jehovah blessing his efforts and helping him to soundly and decisively defeat Goliath. And yes, besides trusting in Jehovah, David did also contribute his own efforts—he both prepared to battle Goliath (for example, by carefully selecting “five smooth stones from the streambed”, stones that would come off his sling and fly through the air smoothly), and also actually stepped up and fought this battle.—1 Samuel 17:40.

汉字 / 漢字? Pīnyīn?

Today, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) can be one of our symbolic “smooth stones” that help us prepare for and successfully fight our personal battle to, with Jehovah’s help, defeat the cultural Goliath that is the characters, and learn to understand Mandarin and speak it understandably (and smoothly!) to the Mandarin-speaking people we meet in the field.

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Learn From the Bible book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Learn From the Bible 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 Learn From the Bible book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

búyì

búyì+ (bú·yì un·righteous[ness] 不义 不義) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

“Unrighteousness”

This week’s MEotW, “búyì (bú·yì un·righteous[ness] 不义 不義)”, is used in verse 6 (WOL) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_búyì_” in 1 Co. 13:6 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension. Other web browsers may also have extensions with similar functionality.)

For comparison, here are the current English and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus renderings of 1 Corinthians 13:6:

English:

It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.

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

📖 📄 ➕ bù (not 不) yīn ({because of} 因) búyì (bú·yì un·righteousness 不义 不義) ér (thus 而) huānxǐ+ (huān·xǐ {does be joyful} · {does be happy} 欢喜 歡喜), zhǐ (only 只 只/秖/衹/祇) yīn ({because of} 因) zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning → [the truth] 真理) ér (thus 而) gāoxìng (gāo·xìng (is with) high · enthusiasm → [is glad] 高兴 高興).

In the above examples, “búyì (bú·yì un·righteous[ness] 不义 不義)” corresponds to “unrighteousness”, and it does so pretty straightforwardly, right down to the literal meanings of its morphemes. Regarding righteousness, the Insight book’s entry on “Righteousness” says:

the original-language terms are at times translated “justice”

So, “unrighteous” can mean “unjust” or “unfair”.

Don’t Be Unfair

While a certain amount of knowledge about Chinese characters is obviously of some practical benefit in this world in which characters are “everywhere”, remember that ultimately, Chinese characters are only “everywhere” because of human tradition—linguistically speaking, there is actually no technical need for any of the Chinese languages to be written using Chinese characters. With regard to the Mandarin field specifically, this is exemplified by the fact that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) works well as a full writing system for Modern Standard Mandarin, meaning that anything that can be said in Modern Standard Mandarin, from the simpest expressions to the deepest, most advanced expressions, can be written with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). (In fact, Plan A for modern China was for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to eventually replace Chinese characters, but unfortunately, the B players have gotten their way in China so far.)

With that in mind, and also remembering the scriptural counsel at 1 Corinthians 14:8–11, it follows then that just following the crowd and focusing in our Mandarin field language learning on the traditionally imposed but extraordinarily complex Chinese characters, and thus allowing them to distract from, hinder, and impede our efforts to learn to understand Mandarin speech and to use understandable Mandarin speech to praise Jehovah and help people spiritually, would be unfair in the following ways:

  • It would be unfair to people in the field and at the meetings who lose out on how we could have helped and encouraged them spiritually using understandable Mandarin speech.
  • It would also be unfair to us ourselves, because it makes it much harder than necessary for us to function in the Mandarin field, and we also lose out and get weakened spiritually because of not understanding Mandarin speech at the meetings, assemblies, etc. that we could have been strengthened and encouraged by if we had only understood it!
  • Last but not least, it would be unfair to Jehovah God, to whom we have dedicated our best, but who would not be getting our best, if we are giving our first devotion to the human traditions involving Chinese characters, and then just giving Jehovah whatever’s left over after we’ve let the characters drain us with their unnecessary and self-indulgent difficulties and vagaries.

Indeed, it just wouldn’t be right for us to let devotion to mere human tradition prevent us from serving Jehovah and helping people in the Mandarin field as well as we ought to be able to, based on how Jehovah actually made us to use language!

Categories
Culture Science Theocratic

jǐngjǐng‐yǒu‐tiáo

jǐngjǐng‐yǒu‐tiáo+ ((jǐng·jǐng {[is] neat; orderly} · {[is] neat; orderly} → [[is] methodical] 井井)‐(yǒu {[is] having} 有)‐(tiáo {sth. long and narrow; strip; slip} → [orderliness] 条 條) → [[is] in perfect order; shipshape; methodical; neat and tidy]) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Not that long ago, the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! magazine was featured in the Teaching Toolbox of the JW Library app. This week’s MEotW, “jǐngjǐng‐yǒu‐tiáo ((jǐng·jǐng {[is] neat; orderly} · {[is] neat; orderly} → [[is] methodical] 井井)‐(yǒu {[is] having} 有)‐(tiáo {sth. long and narrow; strip; slip} → [orderliness] 条 條) → [[is] in perfect order; shipshape; methodical; neat and tidy])”, occurs in the second paragraph (that is, the first regular paragraph) of the article in that issue entitled “Yǔzhòu+ (Yǔ·zhòu Universe · {All Time, Past, Present, and Future} → [The Universe] 宇宙) Gàosu (Tells 告诉 告訴) Wǒmen (Wǒ·men Us · [pl] 我们 我們) Shénme (Shén·me What · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼)?” (“What the Universe Tells Us”):

English:

The universe is organized. “Galaxies are not randomly splayed out across the sky but instead follow a weblike pattern,” according to an article in Astronomy magazine. How is this possible? Scientists believe that the secret may lie in an invisible material known as dark matter. This dark matter has been called “a kind of unseen scaffolding upon which . . . galaxies, galaxy clusters, and galaxy superclusters . . . are aligned and supported.”

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Yǔzhòu (Yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [the universe] 宇宙) shì (is 是) jǐngrán+ (jǐng·rán orderly · correct → [methodical] 井然)‐yǒuxù+ (yǒu·xù having · order → [systematic] 有序) de ({’s (thing)} 的). Tiānwén‐Xué+ ((Tiān·wén Heavens’ · {Natural Phenomena} → [Astronomy] 天文)‐(Xué Studying 学 學) → [Astronomy]) zázhì (zá·zhì miscellaneous · records (publication) → [magazine] 杂志 雜志/誌) de (’s 的) yì (one 一) piān ({piece of an} → [mw for paper, book leaves, articles, chapters, Psalms, etc.] 篇) wénzhāng (wén·zhāng writing · composition → [article] 文章) shuō (said 说 說/説): “Xīngxì+ (Xīng·xì {of stars} · {tied (things) → [systems]} → [galaxies] 星系) zài (in 在) tàikōng (tài·kōng highest · {(that which) is empty → [space]} → [outer space] 太空) zhōng (within 中) de (’s 的) fēnbù (fēn·bù {being divided → [being distributed]} · {being spread} → [distribution] 分布 分布/佈) bú (not 不) shì (is 是) záluàn+ (zá·luàn mixed · random → [disorderly] 杂乱 雜亂)‐wú (without 无 無/无)‐zhāng (sections → [structure] 章) de ({’s (thing)} 的), ér ({but (rather)} 而) shì (is 是) jǐngjǐng‐yǒu‐tiáo+ ((jǐng·jǐng orderly · orderly → [methodical] 井井)‐(yǒu having 有)‐(tiáo strips → [orderliness] 条 條) → [methodical]) de ({’s (thing)} 的).” Wèi‐shénme ((Wèi for 为 為)‐(shén·me what · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼) → [why]) huì ({would (it)} 会 會) zhèyàng (zhè·yàng (be) this · {pattern → [way]} 这样 這樣) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)? Kēxué‐jiā+ ((Kē·xué {branches of study} · learning → [science] 科学 科學)‐(jiā -ists 家) → [scientists]) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identify · {(it) to be} 认为 認為), qízhōng (qí·zhōng {them (the reasons)} · among 其中) de (’s 的) guānjiàn (guān·jiàn {closing → [key part]} · key → [key] 关键 關鍵) zàiyú (zài·yú exists · in → [lies in] 在于 在於) yì (one 一) zhǒng ({kind of} 种 種/种) kàn‐bujiàn ((kàn {looked at} 看)‐(bu·jiàn not · {is seen} 不见 不見) → [invisible]) de (’s 的) dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing] 东西 東西), jiàozuò (jiào·zuò called · {to be} 叫做) àn+ (dark 暗)‐wùzhì+ (wù·zhì matter · substance → [matter] 物质 物質). Àn (dark 暗)‐wùzhì (wù·zhì matter · substance → [matter] 物质 物質) hǎobǐ (hǎo·bǐ well · {is compared to} → [may be likened to] 好比) “yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) kàn‐bujiàn ((kàn {looked at} 看)‐(bu·jiàn not · {is seen} 不见 不見) → [invisible]) de (’s 的) kuàngjià+ (kuàng·jià frame · rack → [frame] 框架)…ràng (making 让 讓) xīngxì (xīng·xì {of stars} · {tied (things) → [systems]} → [galaxies] 星系), xīngxì (xīng·xì {of stars} · {tied (things) → [system]} → [galaxy] 星系)‐tuán ({rolled into balls (things)} → [clusters] 团 團/糰), hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) chāo‐xīngxì‐tuán ((chāo {jumping/leaping over} → [super-] 超)‐(xīng·xì {of stars} · {tied (things) → [system]} → [galaxy] 星系)‐(tuán {rolled into balls (things)} → [clusters] 团 團/糰) → [galaxy superclusters])…liú (stay 留 留/畱) zài (in 在) gùdìng (gù·dìng {being firm → [firmly]} · set 固定) de (’s 的) wèizhi (wèi·zhi {places → [positions]} · placed → [positions] 位置) shang (upon 上)”.

As can be seen from above, where the English article says that galaxies are distributed according to a pattern, the Mandarin version says that the distribution of galaxies in space is “jǐngjǐng‐yǒu‐tiáo ((jǐng·jǐng orderly · orderly → [methodical] 井井)‐(yǒu having 有)‐(tiáo strips → [orderliness] 条 條) → [methodical])”. Yes, here is yet another Mandarin expression that we can use to express that the universe is highly organized.

Whether or not dark matter really exists or there is some other explanation for the effects currently attributed by many to dark matter, the bottom line is that with all the forces, phenomena, natural laws, etc. at play, the galaxies, etc. in the universe are not randomly and chaotically distributed, but rather, are very methodically ordered and arranged. This testifies to the existence of “some organizing principle”, as one influential astronomer quoted in the above-mentioned article put it, or God, as the Bible puts it.—Genesis 1:1.

“A…Pattern”

Many in the world are scouring the heavens looking for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, for example, as part of the SETI initiative. Well, as the Awake! issue mentioned above shows, and as the Bible says at Psalm 19:1:

The heavens are declaring the glory of God;
The skies above proclaim the work of his hands.

The truth is that the universe is full of patterns, like the orderly distribution of the galaxies, that are far from random, and that realistically could only have come from God, who technically qualifies as an Extraterrestrial (outside the earth) Superintelligence (an intelligence beyond that of humans). Unfortunately, Satan’s world has brainwashed even highly intelligent scientists with preconceived ideas and prejudices that make them just reflexively filter out and dismiss patterns that are right in front of them, but that are “natural”!