Category: History

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Culture Experiences History Language Learning Theocratic

zài‐suǒ‐bùxī

zài‐suǒ‐bùxī ((zài in 在)‐(suǒ place 所)‐(bù·xī not · {cherish → [stint [on]]} 不惜) → [not grudge/balk [at]/stint [on]]) 👈🏼 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.]

Rather than dismissively thinking to ourselves that the songs produced by the organization are “just songs”, we should remember that the slave class takes seriously its responsibility to provide spiritual food to God’s people, and so it is going to make sure that the lyrics in its songs are spiritually correct, while also being emotionally moving.—Ezekiel 33:32; Matthew 24:45.

Not Balking

“zài‐suǒ-bùxī” _Pīnyīn_ Plus info, Song 161 (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

This week’s MEotW in the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

This week’s MEotW, “zài‐suǒ‐bùxī ((zài in 在)‐(suǒ place 所)‐(bù·xī not · {cherish → [stint [on]]} 不惜) → [not grudge/balk [at]/stint [on]])”, comes from the chorus of song 161, which is entitled “To Do Your Will Is My Delight” in English and “Wǒ (I 我) Lèyú (Lè·yú {Am Happy} · to 乐于 樂於) Zūnxíng (Zūn·xíng {Abide by} · {Walk → [Do]} 遵行) Nǐ de ((Nǐ You 你) (de ’s 的) → [Your]) Zhǐyì (Zhǐ·yì Will · {Meaning → [Will]} → [Will] 旨意)” in Mandarin:

English:

To do your will is my delight.
I give you all my strength and might.
This joy I feel; this joy is real.
I will walk on in your light.

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

📖 📄 📘 “Wǒ (I 我) lèyú (lè·yú {am happy} · to 乐于 樂於) zūnxíng (zūn·xíng {abide by} · {walk → [do]} 遵行) nǐ (your 你) zhǐyì (zhǐ·yì will · {meaning → [will]} → [will] 旨意)!”
Chíshǒu (Chí·shǒu {to hold → [to support]} · {to defend → [to abide by]} → [to hold fast to] 持守) zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning → [the truth] 真理), cùnbù (cùn·bù {Ch. inch (3⅓ cm) → [tiny]} · step 寸步)‐bù (not 不)‐lí ({to depart} 离 離/离),
Gānxīn (Gān·xīn {to be (of) sweet → [to be of willing]} · heart → [to be willing] 甘心) lèyì (lè·yì {to be (of) happy} · {meaning → [intention]} → [to be willing] 乐意 樂意), wúwèi (wú·wèi {to be without} · {fearing of} 无畏 無畏) jiānxīn (jiān·xīn {(things being) arduous} · {(things being) hot (in taste) → [(things being) hard]} → [hardships] 艰辛 艱辛),
Jìn ({to expend to the limit} 尽 盡) quánlì (quán·lì whole · strength 全力), zài‐suǒ‐bùxī ((zài in 在)‐(suǒ place 所)‐(bù·xī not · {to cherish → [to stint]} 不惜) → [not to balk]).

While not being a direct translation, “jìn ({to expend to the limit} 尽 盡) quánlì (quán·lì whole · strength 全力), zài‐suǒ‐bùxī ((zài in 在)‐(suǒ place 所)‐(bù·xī not · {to cherish → [to stint]} 不惜) → [not to balk])” seems to correspond with “I give you all my strength and might” in the above example. In this context, it seems that “zài‐suǒ‐bùxī ((zài in 在)‐(suǒ place 所)‐(bù·xī not · {cherish → [stint [on]]} 不惜) → [not grudge/balk [at]/stint [on]])” effectively means “not to balk” when faced with a certain situation. The delightfully awkward English word “balk” means “to stop short and refuse to go on”.

Getting Past the Great Wall of Characters

The Great Wall of China

Do we balk when faced with the Great Wall of Characters?

Some who are in the Mandarin field or considering joining it may balk at the prospect of dealing with the extaordinarily and inhumanly complex Chinese characters. However, while characters have been and can be like a Great Wall in the way of Mandarin language learners being able to function and contribute well in the Mandarin field, the historical experience of those who have braved the Mandarin field over the last few decades has been that Jehovah and his appointed King and Leader Jesus have evidently arranged for the Great Wall of Characters to be made manageable by those who take advantage of their provisions. For many years now, both official and unofficial resources have provided Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) alternative routes around and past the Great Wall of Characters, and many unofficial resources have also included English, Spanish, etc. meanings.

Jesus did not balk at confronting the human traditions of his day that made it unnecessarily and unreasonably difficult to serve God, and evidently, neither are he and his heavenly Father content to allow modern-day human traditions like those surrounding Chinese characters to keep making things unnecessarily and unreasonably difficult for those who serve him today in the vast worldwide Mandarin field.—Mark 7:13; Matthew 13:38.

“How Much More Valuable”

While some may balk at the idea of using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) instead of the Chinese characters mandated by human tradition, we should consider how Jesus handled a situation involving the human tradtions of his day regarding the Sabbath, as recorded at Matthew 12:9–13:

After departing from that place, he went into their synagogue, and look! there was a man with a withered hand! So they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. He said to them: “If you have one sheep and that sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, is there a man among you who will not grab hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man: “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored sound like the other hand.

To adapt what Jesus spoke of to the modern day Mandarin field, suppose a businessman who is still learning Mandarin is negotiating a potentially lucrative business deal with some Mandarin-speaking people in China. If Chinese characters were making it difficult for him to understand those people and their proposed business contracts, would this businessman balk at using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to help him understand and use the language necessary to conduct this business, close this deal, and potentially make a lot of money? Probably not! Why leave money on the table? But, how much more valuable are human beings, Mandarin-speaking “sheep” whom we could help to gain everlasting life, than any amount of Old World money that will soon be worthless? Jesus used the power available to him to do a fine thing even though it was the Sabbath, so let us not allow mere human tradition to cause us to balk at using the empowering resources available to us to do fine things in the Mandarin field!—Matthew 25:31–46; Ezekiel 7:19.

And by the way, in a way, Chinese characters are seven times worse than the Sabbath traditions of Jesus’ day—those Sabbath traditions only made things unnecessarily difficult for God’s people one day a week, but in today’s world, Chinese characters place unnecessary burdens on Jehovah’s people seven days a week!

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the “Sing Out Joyfully” book is:

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

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Culture Current Events History Language Learning Technology

Gōngyè‐Dǎng

Gōngyè (Gōng·yè {Work → [Industry]} · {Engaged In (Thing) → [Industry]} → [Industrial] 共产 共產)‐Dǎng (Party 党 黨/党) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

In contrast to “Gòngchǎn (Gòng·chǎn {Commonly Possessing} · {Produced (Things) → [Property]} → [Communist] 共产 共產)‐Dǎng (Party 党 黨/党)”, which refers to the Chinese Communist Party, the only political organization currently tolerated in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), this week’s MEotW, “Gōngyè (Gōng·yè {Work → [Industry]} · {Engaged In (Thing) → [Industry]} → [Industrial] 共产 共產)‐Dǎng (Party 党 黨/党)”, refers, not to a political organization, but rather, to an intellectual movement. It is introduced this way in the Wikipedia article about it:

In China, Industrial Party (simplified Chinese: 工业党; traditional Chinese: 工業黨; pinyin: gōngyè dǎng, also translated as Industrialist or Technologist[source]) refers to a group of Chinese thinkers and Chinese people who support scientific thinking, advanced technology, techno-nationalism, and economic growth,[source] and reject liberalism, universal values, and free market.[source] In a narrow sense, it could also refer to the fan culture of Illumine Lingao, a Chinese time-travel novel.

Technology, Industry, and China

In recent years, the PRC has indeed placed much emphasis on developing its technology and industry, to much worldly success. However, while the technological pragmatism that Gōngyè (Gōng·yè {Work → [Industry]} · {Engaged In (Thing) → [Industry]} → [Industrial] 共产 共產)‐Dǎng (Party 党 黨/党) thinkers claim to support is evident to a degree in how modern China operates, it is insufficient to enable us to fully understand modern Chinese thinking and culture. For example, if the people of China were purely rational and pragmatic technologists, then Chinese characters would long ago have been replaced by Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), which is obviously the objectively superior writing technology from a technical standpoint. In reality, as discussed by a past post about the Needham Question, some unfortunate spiritual characteristics have plagued worldly Chinese culture, that have hampered its technological and industrial progress in the past and that perhaps continue to do so to some extent.

Also, there are signs that people in China are getting disillusioned with Gōngyè (Gōng·yè {Work → [Industry]} · {Engaged In (Thing) → [Industry]} → [Industrial] 共产 共產)‐Dǎng (Party 党 黨/党) thinking that prioritizes working hard for industrial and technological progress. For example, as discussed in a previous post on this blog, a significant number of young Chinese people are opting to tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie · {to be flat} 躺平), or “lie flat”, instead of persisting in the technological and industrial rat race.

Yes, technical capability is necessary, but it is insufficient on its own to bring about a perfect society, a paradise earth. A basic flaw of focusing mainly on technology and industry is that doing so focuses on physical things, and neglects necessary spiritual things. As 1 Corinthians 2:14, 15 says:

But a physical man does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know them, because they are examined spiritually. However, the spiritual man examines all things, but he himself is not examined by any man.

Technology, Industry, and Jehovah’s People

Even just measuring according to technology and physical infrastructure, Jehovah God has produced the best technology and physical infrastructure in the universe, far surpassing what humans have accomplished, whether in China or in the West. A few examples of this that come to mind are:

  • The molecular machines in our cells
  • Beavers and the ecological infrastructure they produce instinctually
  • The sun, a working, immensely powerful, yet safe and reliable nuclear fusion reactor that has been providing energy for the earth since before humans existed (Matthew 5:45)

How about Jehovah’s people? That technical capability is of some importance even for those who prioritize spiritual things can be seen from how Jehovah arranged for certain ones among the Israelites to be given the knowledge and skills needed to produce things that were necessary for his worship at that time.—Exodus 35:30–36:2.

Looking at the big picture, Jehovah God has trained us to understand that to truly succeed, we must first be motivated by the kind of love spoken of at 1 Corinthians 13, and he has trained us to understand that without such love, we ultimately “do not benefit at all”, regardless of our technical abilities. At the same time, just as “faith without works is dead”, love also must not be just a feeling in our hearts, but rather must be followed through with and expressed by what we do. (James 2:26) May we use well the technology available to us, and thus show our godly love by accomplishing the best we can for Jehovah God and for the people we can help.—Malachi 1:6–14.

Categories
Culture Experiences History Language Learning Names Science Theocratic

Lǎhé

Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合) 👈🏼 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.]

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.

Same Characters, Different Pronunciations

This week’s MEotW, “Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合)”, appears in the title of Lesson 30 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:

English:

Rahab Hid the Spies

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

📖 📄 📘 Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合) Ràng (Made 让 讓) Tànzi (Tàn·zi {(Ones) Trying to Find Sth. Out → [Spies]} · [suf for nouns] 探子) Cáng ({to Be Hidden} 藏) Qilai (Qi·lai Up · {to Come} 起来 起來)

The Mandarin Learn From the Bible book here uses “Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合)” to correspond with “Rahab” in English. The current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (Study Edition) also uses “Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合)” this way. For example, here is how it renders Joshua 2:1, which mentions Rahab:

Joshua 2:1 in the Mandarin _NWT_ Study Bible, in the JW Library app

Joshua 2:1 in the Mandarin NWT Study Bible, in the JW Library app

Note, though, that the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) for this used to be “Lāhé (Raʹhab (old pronunciation) 喇合)”, with the same characters, as can be seen in this screenshot of Joshua 2:1 in the PDF for the old printed Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) NWT Bible:

Joshua 2:1 in the PDF for the old printed _Pīnyīn_ _NWT_ Bible

Joshua 2:1 in the PDF for the old printed Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) NWT Bible

Why was this pronunciation changed, even though the same characters are used? Perhaps this was done to align with the common pronunciation of this name. For example, in CC-CEDICT, a public-domain Chinese-English dictionary, the entry for this expression says that the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) for it is “Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合)”, and that the definition is “(Protestantism) Rahab, mother of Boaz”. In turn, perhaps there is some connection with the ABC Dictionary’s definition of “lǎ ({prostitute (slang)} | horn; bugle; trumpet; loudspeaker | lama 喇)” as “(slang) prostitute”, which, as many know, is what Rahab worked as before she joined Jehovah’s people.

Context Is King, Not Characters

Anyway, what we have here are homographs, different expressions that are written the same way. In fact, my dictionaries say that the character “喇” that’s used in “Lǎhé (Raʹhab 喇合)” can represent different expressions which can be pronounced “lā”, “lá”, “lǎ”, or “la”. If one encounters the character “喇” then, which of its multiple possible pronunciations is the right one? And, which of its multiple possible meanings is the right one? It depends on the context, which is the same as the situation with homophones written in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). (Actually, in a way, a character like “喇” is more ambiguous than a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression like “lǎ ({prostitute (slang)} | horn; bugle; trumpet; loudspeaker | lama 喇)”, because at least the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression literally spells out its pronunciation, whereas with a character like “喇”, both its meaning and its pronunciation are ambiguous, even if one knows and can remember the character.)

So, while advocates of characters often make a fuss about the homophones in Mandarin that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) would write the same way, the corresponding problem of homographs plagues the characters!

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.