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fēicháng

fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) 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.]

“FēichĂĄng (Fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾)” was probably one of the first words you learned as a Mandarin field language learner. In fact, one of the first things your Mandarin instructor may have said to you in Mandarin may have been “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usually → [very] 非澾) hǎo (good ć„œ)!”, if you had just said something well in Mandarin. So, having learned that “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾)” means “very”, you may have been confused when seeing how “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾)” is used in the Mandarin New World Translation Bible at 2 Timothy 3:1:

2 Timothy 3:1 (WOL CHS+Pinyin)

“FēichĂĄng shĂ­qÄ« ((Fēi·chĂĄng un·ordinary 非澾) (shí·qÄ« {(particular) times} · periods 时期 時期) → [times of emergency])”? The corresponding term that the English NWT Bible uses in this scripture is “critical times”, but this Mandarin translation seems to mean “very times”, which doesn’t make sense. What’s going on here?

Breaking It Down

While especially as our Mandarin learning journeys begin we may want to keep things simple and mentally just have the view that this Mandarin word means that English word, eventually we encounter the more complex reality that Mandarin and English are two very different languages that come from different cultures, and that have different techniques and histories relating to how speech sounds are put together to convey meanings.

To help us get a grip on this sometimes messy reality, let us remember that while phrases and sentences can be broken down into words, words can in turn be broken down into morphemes. This excerpt from the introduction of a PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus resource briefly discusses Mandarin morphemes and how they are handled in PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus material:

As far as is practical, the meaning of each individual Mandarin morpheme (smallest unit of language sound with meaning) is translated literally according to how it is used in the context in which it appears. (In Mandarin, morphemes usually correspond with syllables, but some syllables are sound-only (without meaning) and thus not morphemes, and some morphemes have more than one syllable.)

The morphemes in “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾) ” are:

  • “fēi (not; no; non[-]; un[-]; in[-] 非)”
  • “chĂĄng (ordinary; common; normal | constant; invariable | often; usually; frequently ćžž)”

Putting It Together

So, while “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾)” as a whole word is often used to effectively mean “very”, a look at the literal meanings of the morphemes that make it up helps us to understand that it actually literally means “unusually” or “uncommonly” when it is used to effectively mean “very”. In the context of 1 Timothy 3:1, “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·ordinary 非澾)” is used as an adjective meaning “unordinary” or “uncommon”, and it is put together with “shĂ­qÄ« (shí·qÄ« {(particular) times} · periods 时期 時期)” to make up “fēichĂĄng shĂ­qÄ« ((fēi·chĂĄng un·ordinary 非澾) (shí·qÄ« {(particular) times} · periods 时期 時期) → [times of emergency])”, an expression that is used to effectively mean “times of emergency”.

Plus

The curious case of “fēichĂĄng (fēi·chĂĄng un·usual/common/ordinary | un·usually/commonly [→ [very [much]; extremely; highly]] 非澾)” in 1 Timothy 3:1 illustrates some of the advantages of PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus material (which you may have noticed is used in this blog) compared to older generations of Mandarin language-learning material, such as 3-line material.

In 3-line material, which was originally designed for paper printouts, all the English information was always visible, and it had to be practical to print out and use on paper. So, there was no room to show luxuriously long amounts of information like literal meanings in addition to effective meanings. In contrast, PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus material takes advantage of the dynamic displays of modern smartphones, tablets, etc. to put the English information (and other information too) in “flashcards” that can be hidden from view when they’re not needed. (Tap/click on a PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) word/expression to reveal its “flashcard”, tap/click on a “flashcard” or its PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) expression to hide the “flashcard”.) Thus, there is room for more and richer information—as Doctor Who fans would say, “I thought it’d be cleaner it’s bigger on the inside/smaller on the outside”!

The “dimensional transcendentalness” and flexibility of PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus material also make it possible for it to render compound expressions such as “fēichĂĄng shĂ­qÄ« ((fēi·chĂĄng un·ordinary 非澾) (shí·qÄ« {(particular) time} · period 时期 時期) → [time of emergency])”, which I believe no one was crazy enough to even attempt with 3-line material.

For reference and comparison, here is 2 Timothy 3:1 rendered in PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus format:

📖 📄 📘 Nǐ (you 䜠) yĂ o (must 芁) zhÄ«dĂ o (zhī·dĂ o know · {(the) way (of it)} → [know] 矄道), dĂ ole (dĂ o·le {having arrived at} · {to completion} 戰äș†) zuĂŹhĂČu (zuÏ·hĂČu most · afterwards → [last] æœ€ćŽ æœ€ćŸŒ) de (’s 的) rĂŹzi (rÏ·zi {suns → [days]} · [suf for nouns] æ—„ć­), huĂŹ ((there) will 䌚 會) yǒu ({be having} → [be] 有) nĂĄnyǐ (nĂĄn·yǐ hard · to 隟仄 難仄) yĂŹngfu (yĂŹng·fu {respond to} · {hand sth. over to} → [deal with] ćș”付 應付) de (’s 的) fēichĂĄng shĂ­qÄ« ((fēi·chĂĄng un·ordinary 非澾) (shí·qÄ« {(particular) times} · periods 时期 時期) → [times of emergency]).

A list of the currently available PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) Plus resources can be found at tiandi.info/pyp.

Categories
Culture Current Events Language Learning

sĂ ng

sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The post about past MEotW “tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł)” 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 “sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș)”, this week’s MEotW.

What is sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) culture, or, in Mandarin, sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) wĂ©nhuĂ  (wĂ©n·huĂ  {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] æ–‡ćŒ–)?

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

And the sĂ ng 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 sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) wĂ©nhuĂ  (wĂ©n·huĂ  {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] æ–‡ćŒ–) 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 sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) wĂ©nhuĂ  (wĂ©n·huĂ  {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] æ–‡ćŒ–) was the “Gě Yƍu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yƍu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 䌘 ć„Ș/䌘) (a Chinese actor)) tǎng ({lies down} èșș)” set of memes, viral content on the Chinese Internet. (Gě Yƍu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yƍu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 䌘 ć„Ș/䌘) (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 柶), 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 sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) wĂ©nhuĂ  (wĂ©n·huĂ  {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] æ–‡ćŒ–) contains these comments about the image that the “Gě Yƍu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yƍu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 䌘 ć„Ș/䌘) (a Chinese actor)) tǎng ({lies down} èșș)” 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 SĂ ng ({Lost (by Death)} [→ [Lost (Sth. Important) | Bereaved | Dejected; Frustrated; Disappointed; Discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) ChĂĄ (Tea 茶) (English name: Song Tea) is opportunistically riding the wave of sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) 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 ćŠ ç­äžæ­ąćŠ è–Șæ— æœ›ć››ć­Łæ˜„ - äž§èŒ¶çŸŽć›œæ€»ä»Łç†Song Tea”, on the Song Tea USA website

From Feeling Bereaved to Lying Flat

The “tǎng ({lies down} èșș)” used in “Gě Yƍu ((Gě [surname] 葛) (Yƍu Ample; Abundant [→ [Excellent; Superior]] | Actor; Actress 䌘 ć„Ș/䌘) (a Chinese actor)) tǎng ({lies down} èșș)” is the same one as the one in “tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł)”, and “sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș)” is indeed related to “tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł)”. Perhaps it can be said that the feeling of sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) moves many of those experiencing it to take the action of tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lying; reclining · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł). As an above-mentioned article on tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł) 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 PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) 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 sĂ ng ({lost (by death)} [→ [lost (sth. important) | bereaved | dejected; frustrated; disappointed; discouraged]] 䞧 ć–Ș) 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

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

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

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. [“NĂšijuǎn (NĂši·juǎn inner · rolling → [involution] ć†…ć· ć…§ć·/æČ)”, 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 tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł), 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 tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł) when it comes to the traditionally mandated Chinese characters.

Thankfully, though, the simple, elegant PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) 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 miĂ nzi (miĂ n·zi face · [suf for nouns] [→ [reputation; prestige; esteem; honor]] 靱歐) (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 PÄ«nyÄ«n (PÄ«n·yÄ«n {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] æ‹ŒéŸł) 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 tǎngpĂ­ng (tǎng·pĂ­ng lie; recline · {[to be] flat} èșșćčł) 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.

Update, 2026-03-15: While the above may have been true when it was posted in 2021, it seems that the situation for Sixth Tone has changed since then. The Wikipedia page for Sixth Tone now says:

In 2022, following the sudden lifting of China’s prolonged zero-COVID measures, Sixth Tone published a year-in-review feature highlighting key terms like “baby bust,” “housing crisis,” “gender violence,” and “COVID”.[source] [source] This feature, deemed as being critical to the country’s COVID policy, faced criticism from China nationalists who accused the outlet of having an editorial bias akin to Western media, citing its frequent reception of international awards from The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) as proof. In response, Shanghai authorities requested senior editors to engage in self-reflection. Consequently, the outlet stopped submitting entries for international awards like SOPA due to fear of repercussions.[source]

In 2023, the publication had new management installed following repeated attacks by nationalists on Weibo.[source]

So, while the Sixth Tone article mentioned and quoted in this post is still online and apparently unchanged, readers may want to keep in mind that Sixth Tone has more recently been forced to project ‘the image of a lovable China.’ ^