Category: Language Learning

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sàng

sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The post about past MEotW “tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平)” refers to this article:

Screenshot of the article “Tired of Running in Place, Young Chinese ‘Lie Down’ ”, on the Sixth Tone website

This article in turn refers to an article about the culture of “sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪)”, this week’s MEotW.

What is sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) culture, or, in Mandarin, sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) wénhuà (wén·huà {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] 文化)?

Another article that I found provides this nice, simple description: (Note: The rest of the article contains some good information, but has a couple of curse words.)

A little Mandarin lesson here-

The character 丧 is a polyphone in mandarin Chinese. When it is pronounced sāng, it loosely translates to funeral or mourning. When as sàng, it could be referring to either losing certain things or people (“丧失”), or a conglomeration of negative emotions such as feeling depressed, angry, disappointed and vexed.

And the sàng culture we are talking about here really takes both meanings: it is, very vaguely, the idea that you’ve lost something and are feeling horrible about it.

Manifestations

This article also goes on to mention some ways in which sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) wénhuà (wén·huà {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] 文化) has been manifested:

Screenshot of the article “The Culture of sàng: a Generation Lying-down? | China Buzz Report”, on the Elephant Room website

As the above article mentions, and as shown in the above screenshot, one of the first manifestations of sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) wénhuà (wén·huà {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] 文化) was the “Gě Yōu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yōu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 优 優/优) (a Chinese actor)) tǎng ({lies down} 躺)” set of memes, viral content on the Chinese Internet. (Gě Yōu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yōu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 优 優/优) (a Chinese actor)) is a well-known Chinese actor, and the picture in the above screenshot is from the 1993 TV show Wǒ (I 我) Ài (Love 爱 愛) Wǒ (My 我) Jiā (Family 家), in which he plays the role of “a parasitical freeloader who was unemployed and broke and consistently failed in his filial responsibilities”, as one academic article put it.)

A translation of a Chinese article on sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) wénhuà (wén·huà {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] 文化) contains these comments about the image that the “Gě Yōu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yōu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 优 優/优) (a Chinese actor)) tǎng ({lies down} 躺)” memes are based on:

This image runs contrary to the positive, healthy and upwardly mobile mainstream views that people of all generations favor. It does, however, fit in well with the youth culture of today. His decadence, despair, pessimism and hopelessness are exactly the inner state of this group of masses who work overtime, eat overtime, are under constant pressure and are having a hard time making a living.

Speaking of making a living, one business named Sàng ({Lost (by Death)} [→ [Lost (Sth. Important) | Bereaved | Dejected; Frustrated; Disappointed; Discouraged]] 丧 喪) Chá (Tea 茶) (English name: Song Tea) is opportunistically riding the wave of sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) culture with a chain of tea shops that uses tongue-in-cheek black humour in the names of its drinks, such as this one featured on its USA blog:

Screenshot of the blog post “Love Overtime Love Being Broke Tea 加班不止加薪无望四季春 - 丧茶美国总代理Song Tea”, on the Song Tea USA website

From Feeling Bereaved to Lying Flat

The “tǎng ({lies down} 躺)” used in “Gě Yōu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yōu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 优 優/优) (a Chinese actor)) tǎng ({lies down} 躺)” is the same one as the one in “tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平)”, and “sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪)” is indeed related to “tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平)”. Perhaps it can be said that the feeling of sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) moves many of those experiencing it to take the action of tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lying; reclining · {[to be] flat} 躺平). As an above-mentioned article on tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平) says:

Unlike similar, previous terms to have had their time in the spotlight in recent years, tang ping is an action rather than a feeling — resolving to just scrape by, exerting the bare minimum effort at an unfulfilling job, as opposed to the futility of raging against the capitalist machine.

Echoing the West?

The title of one of the articles mentioned above, “Turn Off, Drop Out: Why Young Chinese Are Abandoning Ambition”, appears to be a play on the Western counterculture-era phrase “turn on, tune in, drop out”. In the 1960s, while the West was going through its counterculture era, China was in contrast undergoing its Cultural Revolution—a very different thing! Perhaps, similarly to how China is now racing off into space, and even to the moon, as the West did decades ago, it is now also in some ways changing in its popular culture, as the West did decades ago.

Stand Strong for These “Sheep Without a Shepherd”

If you are mourning your lack of progress in learning Mandarin despite your strenuous efforts to learn the traditionally mandated but extraordinarily and unnecessarily complex Chinese characters, please be assured that there is an alternative to just quitting the Mandarin field. Focusing on Mandarin SPEECH with the help of the simple and elegant Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) writing system can help you get a grip on understanding Mandarin speech, and on using it to give meaningful spiritual help to those in the worldwide field whose mother tongue is Mandarin.

As this look at sàng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 丧 喪) culture shows us, many of them are feeling the need for something beyond the selfish, materialistic, and ultimately meaningless rat race promoted by Satan’s world—they need the good news of God’s Kingdom, and they need people like us to share it with them in a language that they will understand and respond to from the heart.—Mr. 6:34.

Categories
Culture Current Events Language Learning

tǎngpíng

tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

I recently came across an interesting article on the website Sixth Tone*, about this week’s MEotW, “tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平)”.

Screenshot of the article “Tired of Running in Place, Young Chinese ‘Lie Down’ ”, on the Sixth Tone website

This Sixth Tone article is about how some cool cats are dropping out of the Chinese rat race.

The article briefly describes how this word is being used now by people in China:

China’s young people have coined yet another neologism to reflect their growing disillusionment with the country’s often oppressive work culture. Rather than trying to keep up with society’s expectations or fight them, many are resolving to simply “lie down.”

The new lifestyle buzzword, tang ping, stems from a now-deleted post on forum site Tieba. Unlike similar, previous terms to have had their time in the spotlight in recent years, tang ping is an action rather than a feeling — resolving to just scrape by, exerting the bare minimum effort at an unfulfilling job, as opposed to the futility of raging against the capitalist machine.

Chinese “Rat Race”

The above reference to China’s “often oppressive work culture” may remind one of the English term “rat race”, which is referred to later in the above-mentioned article. The Online Etymology Dictionary tells us about an early application of “rat race”:

A rat race is … a simple game of “follow the leader” in fighter planes. The leader does everything he can think of — Immelmanns, loops, snap rolls, and turns, always turns, tighter and tighter. [Popular Science, May 1941]

Of course, “rat race” also went on to refer to “fiercely competitive struggle”. Wikipedia describes it this way:

A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, in vain. It may also refer to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or routinely.

The term is commonly associated with an exhausting, repetitive lifestyle that leaves no time for relaxation or enjoyment.

The Most Rational Choice?

Continuing on, the Sixth Tone article goes into an interview with Huang Ping, a literature professor at East China Normal University who researches youth culture:

“The state is worried about what would happen if everyone stopped working,” said Huang. But he doesn’t necessarily agree with the media reactions. “Humans aren’t merely tools for making things,” he said.

To lie down is a rational choice rather than a negative attitude, Huang explained. For some young people, it’s a way for them to unburden themselves. “When you can’t catch up with society’s development — say, skyrocketing home prices — tang ping is actually the most rational choice,” he said.

…

According to Professor Huang, lying down can be seen as the opposite of involution — a decades-old academic term referring to societies becoming trapped in ceaseless cycles of competition that resurfaced last year as an online buzzword in China. [“Nèijuǎn (Nèi·juǎn inner · rolling → [involution] 内卷 內卷/捲)”, the Mandarin word for this, is a past MEotW.] “In a relatively good social environment, people may feel involuted, but at least they’re trying,” he said. “If it’s worse, people will tang ping.”

A Rational Reaction of Mandarin-Learners to Chinese Characters?

Many who are learning Mandarin to help in the Mandarin language field find the Chinese characters writing system to be unreasonably difficult to learn and use for regular human beings in their situation. So, kind of like the people mentioned above who are faced with China’s “often oppressive work culture”, they stop trying to deal with Chinese characters and tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平), some even ultimately leaving the Mandarin field because of this.

Is this a rational reaction? Besides just toughing it out, is there another alternative to just quitting the Mandarin field because of the extraordinary difficulties associated with Chinese characters?

Chinese characters are indeed so complex and haphazardly designed that trying to learn them (and also remember them) is an unachievably difficult ordeal for all but a talented/stubborn minority. So, for many, it may indeed be rational to tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平) when it comes to the traditionally mandated Chinese characters.

Thankfully, though, the simple, elegant Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) writing system for Mandarin offers a reasonable alternative to Chinese characters in many situations. Some may be reluctant to use it because of being concerned about miànzi (miàn·zi face · [suf for nouns] [→ [reputation; prestige; esteem; honor]] 面子) (a past MEotW) in the eyes of character-loving Chinese traditionalists, but really, as ones who seek to walk on the narrow road Jesus spoke of, the approval of the tradition-loving majority should not be something we are overly concerned about.—Matthew 7:13, 14.

With the help of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and a proper focus on Mandarin speech instead of on the traditionally mandated Chinese characters (while just learning as many characters as they reasonably can), many who in all rationality have chosen to tǎngpíng (tǎng·píng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} 躺平) with regard to focusing on Chinese characters can still make a go of it in the Mandarin field.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

“Everything Was Futile”

Those caught up in getting ahead in this human world ruled by Satan indeed experience the truth of Solomon’s words at Ecclesiastes 1:14:

I saw all the works that were done under the sun,
And look! everything was futile, a chasing after the wind.

Thankfully, God also inspired Solomon to record these words at Ecclesiastes 12:13 that tell us what actually does give meaning and purpose to our lives:

The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole obligation of man.

 

* According to Wikipedia,

Sixth Tone is an online magazine owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, a state media company controlled by the Shanghai committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is published in English from China, and its readership is intended for people in Western countries.

It appears, though, that Sixth Tone is not purely China-boosting political propaganda. Vincent Ni, a senior journalist at the BBC World Service in London, commented as follows:

Mainstream outlets such as the BBC often cite Sixth Tone as their source when reporting on Chinese social stories… For foreign journalists, it has also shown a diverse and authentic side of China that rarely received much attention elsewhere.

…

The success of Sixth Tone might be explained by the bigger change happening in China’s media scene over the past few years. Although the Communist Party has intensified its control, it has also allowed many forms of media entrepreneurship. Anecdotally, this is, in part, because of a lack of impact overseas by traditional Chinese party-owned newspapers.

…

Nowadays, an investment in media is not something that can solely be done by the government. Private capital has also joined the game, and these firms are making profits.

…

This is a significant change in China’s media scene. While few would be able to fight the Communist Party’s stringent and increasingly sophisticated censorship rules, the abundance of funding has liberated Chinese journalists who have long been complaining about a lack of freedom and resources. These days, journalists working in start-ups say they have greater freedom to report on topics that would not be possible in well-established traditional media

I have found information on Sixth Tone that helps us to understand some of the things that people in China are concerned about. Perhaps such information can help us as we talk to people from China in our ministry. ^

Categories
Culture Language Learning

miànzi

miànzi (miàn·zi face · [suf for nouns] [→ [reputation; prestige; esteem; honor]] 面子) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Many who are reading this English-language blog are undoubtedly familiar with the English expression “lose face”. What many may not know, though, is that this English expression is actually a semantic loan translation from the Mandarin expression “diūliǎn (diū·liǎn lose · face 丢脸 丟臉)”. In support of this, Wikipedia cites no less an authority than the Oxford English Dictionary (OED):

8f. to save one’s face: to avoid being disgraced or humiliated. Similarly, to save (another’s) face. Hence save-face adj. = face-saving … Originally used by the English community in China, with reference to the continual devices among the Chinese to avoid incurring or inflicting disgrace. The exact phrase appears not to occur in Chinese, but ‘to lose face’ (diu lien), and ‘for the sake of his face’, are common.

Some of the Many Chinese Faces of “Face”

Besides “liǎn ({face (n)} [→ [[self-]respect; reputation]] 脸 臉)”, as used in the expression “diūliǎn (diū·liǎn lose · face 丢脸 丟臉)” mentioned above, another Mandarin word used to mean “face” is “miàn (face [→ [surface; top | cover; outside | side; aspect | personal esteem; reputation | superficial | face-to-face]] | {[wheat] flour} | {noodles (made with wheat flour)} 面/靣)”, as used in this week’s MEotW, “miànzi (miàn·zi face · [suf for nouns] [→ [reputation; prestige; esteem; honor]] 面子)”. Yet another Mandarin word used to mean “face” is “yán (face; countenance [→ [prestige; dignity; reputation; honour]] 颜 顏/顔)”.

In its article on “Face (sociological concept)”, Wikipedia lists several Mandarin expressions based on the above-mentioned words.

Another way to see expressions based on the above-mentioned words is to use Pleco’s Wildcard Search. The excellent Sinosplice blog has a recent post about this handy feature of Pleco.

Face with Regard to Chinese Characters

Preoccupation with “miànzi (miàn·zi face · [suf for nouns] [→ [reputation; prestige; esteem; honor]] 面子)” in the eyes of worldly Chinese people can lead to a preoccupation with Chinese characters, since worldly Chinese people are so proud of these quintessential symbols of worldly Chinese culture, and many of them look down on those who don’t share this proud view of theirs. However, is focusing on Chinese characters really the key to glorifying Jehovah in the Mandarin field, as opposed to glorifying worldly human Chinese culture, or glorifying ourselves in the eyes of proud worldly Chinese people?

The Bible itself actually shows us that the key to glorifying Jehovah and reaching hearts in any language field, including the Chinese language fields, is actually understandable speech:

8 For if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you with the tongue use speech that is easily understood, how will anyone know what is being said? You will, in fact, be speaking into the air. 10 It may be that there are many kinds of speech in the world, and yet no kind is without meaning. 11 For if I do not understand the sense of the speech, I will be a foreigner to the one speaking, and the one speaking will be a foreigner to me.
—1 Corinthians 14:8–11

In accordance with long-established Chinese tradition, many may assume that focusing on Chinese characters is the way to eventually master Mandarin speech. Actually, though, as a writing system, Chinese characters are technically one of the most difficult conceivable ways to represent Mandarin speech. True, Chinese characters are “everywhere”, but this ubiquity and cultural prevalence of theirs does not change the reality that they are so inherently complex and haphazardly designed, and thus exceptionally difficult and time-consuming to learn and remember.

As a tool for learning, reading, and writing modern Mandarin speech, simple and elegant Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) obviously works much better compared to the complex, convoluted Chinese characters. Historically, Plan A for modern mainland China was actually to eventually replace Chinese characters with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). Of course, that has not happened, but that’s not because Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) doesn’t work well as a writing system for modern Mandarin—it does. The reasons why modern mainland China has continued to mainly use Chinese characters have more to do with human pride, prejudice, apathy, and tradition than with the actual relative merits of Chinese characters compared to Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音).

As for Chinese characters being “everywhere” in the Chinese world, this cultural dominance of Chinese characters in the wider Chinese world makes the current relative abundance of official and unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-containing material based on the publications of Jehovah’s organization seem kind of miraculous. Considering the way that Jehovah and Jesus have directed the development of the worldwide Mandarin field, perhaps it is not so far-fetched to think that extensive practical benefits to the preaching work in the worldwide Mandarin field have been allowed to outweigh mere human pride, prejudice, apathy, and tradition.

_Enjoy Life Forever!_ Bk., Lesson 1 (WOL CHS+Pinyin)

_Enjoy Life Forever!_ Br., Lesson 1 (Pīnyīn Plus)

Considering the cultural dominance of Chinese characters in the Chinese world, it’s kind of miraculous that there is now so much official and unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-containing material based on the publications of Jehovah’s organization.

(The official material shown above is spiritual food for helping people learn spiritual things; the unofficial material shown above is not spiritual food, but rather, language-learning material for helping people learn the Mandarin language, so that they can be more effective in the Mandarin field.)

Don’t Follow the Pharisees

Like many worldly Chinese people throughout history and down to the present day, many of the Jews in Jesus’ day were excessively concerned with what Jesus called “glory from men”:

41 I do not accept glory from men, 42 but I well know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in the name of my Father, but you do not receive me. If someone else came in his own name, you would receive that one. 44 How can you believe, when you are accepting glory from one another and you are not seeking the glory that is from the only God?
—John 5:41–44.

As Jesus pointed out, unfortunately for those Jews, their preoccupation with “glory from men”, “glory from one another”, prevented them from ‘having the love of God in them’, and it prevented them from “seeking the glory that is from the only God”. So, rather than being preoccupied with miànzi (miàn·zi face · [suf for nouns] [→ [reputation; prestige; esteem; honor]] 面子) like many in Satan’s world are, let us instead be like Jesus in pursuing, not “glory from men”, but rather, glory from, and for, Jehovah God himself.