Category: Current Events

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kèchéng

kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course; curriculum] 课程 課程) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: 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”. 📖 📄 📘 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.]

As covered in the recent MEotW post on “āijiā‐āihù ((āi·jiā {one after another} · households 挨家)‐(āi·hù {one after another} · doors 挨户 挨戶) → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door; house[-/ ]to[-/ ]house])”, on September 1, we Jehovah’s Witnesses resumed house-to-house preaching. It is appropriate, then, that as of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “What Is the Bible Study Course Offered by Jehovah’s Witnesses?”. The Mandarin version of this article makes use of the expression “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course; curriculum] 课程 課程)”, perhaps preceded by “Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經)”, to correspond with the English expressions “Bible study course”, “Bible study program”, “Bible study”, “study”, “course”, “Bible course”, “Bible lessons” (from the title of the referenced Enjoy Life Forever!—Introductory Bible Lessons brochure), “study course”, “Bible study lessons”, and “lessons”.

Interestingly, “[Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經)] yánjiū (yán·jiū {grinding → [studying]} · {studying carefully} → [study] 研究)”, an expression that has long been used in the past to mean “[Bible] study”, does not appear at all in the above-mentioned article.

Related Expressions

The “kè (subject; course; class | lesson 课 課)” in “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course; curriculum] 课程 課程)” may be familiar to those who have used the Mandarin versions of publications like the Good News brochure and the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure/book, since that is the Mandarin word used to correspond with the English word “lesson”. For example, “Lesson 10” is “Dì‐10 ((Dì [pref to form ordinal numbers] 第)‐(Shí Ten 10) → [10th]) Kè (Lesson 课 課)”.

Besides “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course; curriculum] 课程 課程)”, another word that “kè (subject; course; class | lesson 课 課)” appears in is “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)”, which the above-mentioned article uses in reference to the Enjoy Life Forever! book that is now officially recommended for use on Bible studies. (Interestingly, the English version of the article does not use the word “textbook”, which is the main dictionary definition for “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)”. It does, though, refer to the Enjoy Life Forever! book as an “interactive Bible course”. So, “coursebook” may be a better match for “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)” in this case.)

As for the second morpheme in “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course; curriculum] 课程 課程)”, it is also used, perhaps unexpectedly, in “gōngchéng (gōng·chéng work · {procedure → [journey]} → [engineering | [engineering/work] project] 工程)” and in “gōngchéngshī (gōng·chéng·shī {work · {procedures → [journeys]} → [engineering]} · {master → [skilled person; expert; specialist]} → [engineer] 工程师 工程師)”.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course; curriculum] 课程 課程)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

Our Bible study program can help you to:

  • Have a happy life
  • Become God’s friend
  • Learn what the Bible promises for the future

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Wǒmen de ((Wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) (de ’s 的) → [our]) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course] 课程 課程) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) bāngzhù (help 帮助 幫助) nǐ (you 你):

  • 📖 📄 📘 Guò ({to pass} 过 過) kuàilè (happy 快乐 快樂) de (’s 的) shēnghuó (shēng·huó life · living 生活)
  • 📖 📄 📘 Gēn (with 跟) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) jiànlì (jiàn·lì {to build} · {to make to stand} → [to establish] 建立) yǒuyì (yǒu·yì friendly · friendship → [friendship] 友谊 友誼)
  • 📖 📄 📘 Liǎojiě (Liǎo·jiě {to understand} · {to untie → [to solve]} → [to understand] 了解 了/瞭解) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) gěi (gives 给 給) rén (people 人) de (’s 的) xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance) → [hoping]} → [hope] 希望)

English:

These interactive lessons answer some of life’s most important questions.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Zhèige (Zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動) shì (type 式) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · procedure → [course] 课程 課程) huì (will 会 會) huídá (huí·dá {circle back} · {to answer} 回答) yìxiē (yì·xiē one · {indefinite number of} → [some] 一些) zhòngyào (zhòng·yào weighty · important 重要) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · subjects → [questions] 问题 問題).

Categories
Current Events

cānzhàn

cānzhàn (cān·zhàn {take part in; participate in} · war 参战 參戰) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: 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”. 📖 📄 📘 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.]

About six months since Russia sent significant military forces into Ukraine in February, the resulting war continues to rage on. It is appropriate, then, that as of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “Christians and War—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article makes use of the expression “cānzhàn (cān·zhàn {take part in; participate in} · war 参战 參戰)”, this week’s MEotW.

Abbreviated

One interesting thing to note about “cānzhàn (cān·zhàn {take part in; participate in} · war 参战 參戰)” is that it can be thought of as an abbreviation for “cānyù ({take part in; participate in} 参与 參與/預) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)”, the result of putting together the first morphemes of those expressions. Indeed, “cānzhàn (cān·zhàn {take part in; participate in} · war 参战 參戰)”/“cānyù ({take part in; participate in} 参与 參與/預) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)” occur multiple times in the above-mentioned Mandarin article, each time meaning the same thing.

Usage examples

Here are some examples of “cānzhàn (cān·zhàn {take part in; participate in} · war 参战 參戰)”/“cānyù ({take part in; participate in} 参与 參與/預) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

Christians and War—What Does the Bible Say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Jīdūtú (Jīdū·tú Christ · Followers → [Christians] 基督徒) Gāi (Should 该 該) Cānzhàn (Cān·zhàn {Take Part in} · War 参战 參戰) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) Zěnme (Zěn·me What · [suf] 怎么 怎麼/麽) Shuō ({Does Say} 说 說/説)?

English:

Should Christians take part in war? What does the Bible say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Jīdūtú (Jīdū·tú Christ · Followers → [Christians] 基督徒) yīnggāi (should 应该 應該) cānyù ({take part in} 参与 參與/預) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) zěnme (zěn·me what · [suf] 怎么 怎麼/麽) shuō ({does say} 说 說/説)?

English:

The Bible shows that those who truly follow Jesus Christ do not engage in warfare.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) shuō (says 说 說/説), nèixiē (nèi·xiē that · {indefinite number of} → [those] 那些) zhēnzhèng (zhēn·zhèng truly · properly 真正) gēnsuí (following 跟随 跟隨) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) de (’ 的) rén (persons 人) búhuì (bú·huì not · will → [will not] 不会 不會) cānyù ({take part in} 参与 參與/預) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭).

English:

Is it realistic for Christians to avoid engaging in warfare today? Yes.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Jīntiān (Jīn·tiān present · {sky → [day]} → [today] 今天), Jīdūtú (Jīdū·tú Christ · Followers → [Christians] 基督徒) zhēnde (zhēn·de really · ’s 真的) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) bǎochí (bǎo·chí protect · hold → [maintain] 保持) zhōnglì (zhōng·lì middle · standing → [neutrality] 中立), bù (not 不) cānyù ({take part in} 参与 參與/預) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Kěyǐ (Kě·yǐ (they) can · [suf] 可以).

Categories
Culture Current Events

hūxī

hūxī (hū·xī {breathing out}; exhaling · {breathing in}; inhaling → [breathing] 呼吸) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Hūxī (Hū·xī {breathing out}; exhaling · {breathing in}; inhaling → [breathing] 呼吸), the Mandarin word for “breathe”, literally translates as “breathe out breath in”. This is an interesting contrast to the English expression “breathe in, breathe out”, which refers to the same thing, just in a different culturally selected order.

Another example of East and West coming at the same thing from different directions is that in the English-speaking world, a “compass” is generally thought of as pointing north, whereas “zhǐnán‐zhēn ((zhǐ·nán {(points with) finger → [points]} · south 指南)‐(zhēn needle 针 針) → [compass])” (a previous MEotW)”, the Mandarin word for the same thing, in contrast means a needle that points south.

In both the above examples, neither the Eastern view nor the Western view is wrong—they’re just different.

“The Ballad of East and West”

Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Ballad of East and West” begins with these lines:

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

The first line quoted above is often referred to in order to emphasize how the gap between East and West can seem insurmountable. (By the way, “twain” is an archaic term for “two”. So, “never the twain shall meet” means “never the two shall meet”.) However, there is more to the poem.

The other lines quoted above express that individuals who are spiritually strong enough to do so can overcome any differences in culture, nationality, race, class, place of birth, etc. that may happen to exist between them. And, as we know, this is especially true when those individuals let themselves be taught by the God of peace, who “will judge to the ends of the earth”.–Isaiah 54:13; 1 Samuel 2:10.

So, in this unusually hot summer when the world is figuratively and literally on fire, let us take a moment, hūxī (hū·xī {breathe out} · {breathe in} → [breathe] 呼吸), and take in Jehovah God’s instruction, like that which is included in the sessions of the 2022 “Pursue Peace”! convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.