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Tǔ’ěrqí

Tǔ’ěrqí (Turkey 土耳其) ← 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.]

On February 6, 2023, strong earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, resulting in tens of thousands of people being killed (over 36,000 at the time of this writing), tens of thousands being injured, and hundreds of thousands being left homeless. So, as of this writing, the article “Devastating Earthquakes Strike Turkey and Syria—What Does the Bible Say?” is being featured on jw.org, and this week’s MEotW is “Tǔ’ěrqí  (Turkey 土耳其)”, the Mandarin word for “Turkey”. Knowing this will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about, talk about, and pray about Turkey in the time ahead.

Note that it is apparent that “Tǔ’ěrqí  (Turkey 土耳其)” was chosen to represent “Turkey” in Mandarin because of what it sounds like, not because of the meanings of the supposedly ideographic (representing meaning directly through visible symbols, bypassing speech) Chinese characters used to write it out (“Soil Ear It”??? 🤷🏻).

Some Related Mandarin Expressions

Here are some other Mandarin expressions from the above-mentioned article that should be useful to know regarding this situation:

  • Xùlìyà (Syria 叙利亚 敘利亞)
  • qiángzhèn (qiáng·zhèn strong; powerful · {quaking → [earthquake]} (abbr. for qiángliè dìzhèn) 强震 強震)
    • dà (big → [great] 大) dìzhèn (dì·zhèn earth·quake 地震)
  • wú‐jiā‐kě‐guī ((wú without 无 無/无)‐(jiā home 家)‐(kě {(that) can} 可)‐(guī {be returned to} 归 歸) → [homeless])
  • cǎnjù (cǎn·jù miserable; tragic · {theatrical work (drama, play, opera, etc.)} → [tragedy; calamity; disaster] 惨剧 慘劇)
  • ānwèi (ān·wèi calming · consoling; comforting 安慰)
    • 📖 📄 📘 “cì (gives 赐 賜) yíqiè (yí·qiè {one (whole)} · {corresponding (set of)} → [all] 一切) ānwèi (ān·wèi calming · comforting 安慰) de (’s 的) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝).”—Gēlínduō Hòushū ((Gēlínduō Corinth 哥林多) (Hòu·shū Later · Book 后书 後/后書) → [2 Corinthians]) 1:3 (Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) WOL; Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus).

“Tofu-Dreg Projects”

Some have wondered why so many even relatively new buildings failed to withstand these earthquakes. One news report explains:

experts said there is a mountain of evidence — and rubble — pointing to a harsh reality about what made the quakes so deadly: Even though Turkey has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings crumbled.

Buildings being poorly constructed, whether or not earthquake-engineering standards exist, is unfortunately not uncommon in this old system of things. There is even a Mandarin expression with its own Wikipedia page that describes such buildings:

“Tofu-dreg project” (Chinese: 豆腐渣工程; pinyin: dòufuzhā gōngchéng) is a phrase used in the Chinese-speaking world to describe a poorly constructed building, sometimes called just “Tofu buildings”. The phrase was coined by Zhu Rongji, the former premier of the People’s Republic of China, on a 1998 visit to Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province to describe a poorly-built set of flood dykes in the Yangtze River.[source] The phrase is notably used referring to buildings collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake disaster.[source][source][source][source][source][source]

In China, the term tofu dregs (the pieces left over after making tofu) is widely used as a metaphor for shoddy work, hence the implication that a “tofu-dreg project” is a poorly executed project.[source]

As we look forward to the new world that will no longer have such natural disasters as these earthquakes, nor the man-made conditions that make them even more deadly, may we keep our brothers and sisters in the affected areas in our prayers to Jehovah, the only true God and the “God of all comfort”—John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3.

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Culture Nations

chūshēng rìqī

chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date]) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “When Was Jesus Born?”. Considering that it’s getting to be the middle of December, that’s not surprising—while we Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Christmas, this relatively unusual stand means that we sometimes need to explain why we don’t celebrate this holiday that many in the world like so much. Knowing a bit about “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”, this week’s MEotW that’s used in the Mandarin version of the above-mentioned article, will help us to do so to Mandarin-speaking Bible students, etc.

One thing we should note is that “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” is subtly different from “shēngri  (shēng·ri {given birth to} · {sun → [day]} → [birthday] 生日)”, a common expression that many Mandarin field language learners likely have heard of. Comparing the English and Mandarin versions of the above-mentioned article, “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” corresponds with “birth date” or “date of birth”, while the one occurrence of “shēngri  (shēng·ri {given birth to} · {sun → [day]} → [birthday] 生日)” corresponds with “birthday”. The dictionaries I checked confirm this distinction.

Morphemes and Related Expressions

The morphemes in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” are relatively commonly used, but interesting.

Besides just meaning “out”, the “chū ({go/come/put… out}; out 出)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” can also mean “[a verb] out”, e.g., “go/come out”, “put out”, etc. For example, check out the literal meanings in these Mandarin expressions that contain this “chū ({go/come/put out}; out 出)” (Tap/click on the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression if the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” is not already visible.):

  • Chū’āijíjì (Chū’·āijí·jì {Going Out from} · Egypt · Record → [Exodus] 出埃及记 出埃及記)
  • chūbǎn (chū·bǎn {put out} · {printing block [of] → [edition [of]]} → [publish] 出版)

The “shēng ({give birth to}/{was given birth to}; {give life to} | grow | exist; live | {[is] living}; {[is] alive} | {[is] unripe} | {[is] raw}; {[is] uncooked} | {[is] unfamiliar}; {[is] strange} | {[is] unprocessed}; {[is] crude} | existence; life; living | {be afflicted with}; get; have | very; keenly; much | pupil; student; scholar | [n suf used in names of occupations] 生)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” is highly polysemous (having multiple meanings), as can be seen from its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard”. Some notable expressions that contain it are:

  • shēngmìng (life (both life in general and the life of an individual) 生命)
  • yǒngshēng (yǒng·shēng eternal; everlasting · life 永生)
  • xuésheng (xué·sheng learning · {growing (one) → [student]} → [student; pupil] 学生 學生)
  • fāshēng (fā·shēng {issue forth} · {come to life} → [happen] 发生 發生)
  • mòshēng (mò·shēng {(from) footpath between fields → [strange; unfamiliar; foreign]} · {unripe → [unfamiliar; strange]} → [strang; unfamiliar] 陌生)

Heavenly Bodies, Times, Radicals, and Japan

As for the “rì ({sun [→ [day]]} | {suns → [daily | daytime]} 日)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”, it literally means “sun”, but it is often used to mean “day”, since to us here on Earth it looks like the sun travels across the sky once a day. Similarly, “yuè (moon [→ [month | monthly]] 月)” literally means “moon”, but is often used to mean “month”, because we here on Earth see the moon go through all its phases in a month.

Speaking of “yuè (moon [→ [month | monthly]] 月)”, the character for it (月) is a radical that’s used in the character for the “qī ({period of time}; phase; stage [→ [issue (of a periodical); term (of a training class, etc.) | time]] | {scheduled time} 期 期/朞)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”. (Radicals are components of Chinese characters, that are a not very systematic system within the not very systematic system that is the characters. Thus, they can be justly thought of as a rabbit hole within a rabbit hole. Those who love characters often really love radicals, but otherwise, consider yourself warned!)

Changing the subject back to “rì ({sun [→ [day]]} | {suns → [daily | daytime]} 日)”, this morpheme appears in the Mandarin name for Japan, “Rìběn (Rì·běn Sun’s · {Root → [Origin]} → [Japan] 日本)”. This name literally means “Sun’s Root” (or “Sun’s Origin”), since from the point of view of China, the sun rises where Japan is, to the east. In turn, the English expression “Land of the Rising Sun” comes from this meaning.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

The Bible does not give a specific date for the birth of Jesus Christ…

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) bìng (actually 并 並/竝/并) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · has 没有 沒有) jìzǎi (jì·zǎi recorded · {written down} 记载 記載) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) Jīdū (Christ’s 基督) jùtǐ (jù·tǐ having · body → [specific] 具体 具體) de (’s 的) chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth])…

English:

“The exact date of Christ’s birth is not known.”—Encyclopedia of Early Christianity.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 “Méiyǒu (Méi·yǒu (there) not · {is having} 没有 沒有) rén (person 人) quèzhī (què·zhī truly · knowing 确知 確知) Jīdū (Christ 基督) de (’s 的) chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth]).”—Zǎoqī Jīdū Jiào Bǎikē Quánshū ((Zǎo·qī Early · Period 早期) {(Jīdū Christ 基督) (Jiào Teaching → [Religion] 教) → [Christianity]} {(Bǎi·kē {Hundred → [Numerous]} · {Branches of Study} → [Encyclopedic] 百科) (Quán·shū Complete · Book 全书 全書) → [Encyclopedia]} → [Encyclopedia of Early Christianity]) (Yīngyǔ (Yīng·yǔ English · language 英语 英語)).

Categories
Culture Current Events History Language Learning Names Nations Science

Wūkèlán

Wūkèlán (Ukraine 乌克兰 烏克蘭) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

On February 24, 2022, a few days before the date of this post, Russia sent significant military forces into Ukraine, resulting in the largest scale open warfare in Europe since World War II. So, this week’s MEotW is “Wūkèlán (Ukraine 乌克兰 烏克蘭)”, the Mandarin word for “Ukraine”. Knowing this will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about, talk about, and pray about Ukraine in the time ahead.

Note that it is apparent that “Wūkèlán (Ukraine 乌克兰 烏克蘭)” was chosen to represent “Ukraine” in Mandarin because of what it sounds like, not because of the meanings of the supposedly ideographic (representing meaning directly through visible symbols, bypassing speech) Chinese characters used to write it out (“Crow Overcomes Orchid”??? 🤷🏻).

Some Related Mandarin Expressions

Here are some other Mandarin expressions that should be useful to know regarding this situation:

  • Éluósī (Russia 俄罗斯 俄羅斯)
  • Sūlián (Sū·lián Soviet · {Uniting → [Union]} 苏联 蘇聯) – Make sure you don’t use this expression to refer to present-day Russia, since the Soviet Union no longer exists. Some say that a desire to restore the power and influence of the old Soviet Union is one of Russian president Putin’s main motivations for waging war on Ukraine.
  • Bái Éluósī ((Bái White 白) (Éluósī Russia 俄罗斯 俄羅斯) → [Belarus])
  • zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)
  • hépíng (peace | {[is] peaceful} (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict) 和平)

Neutrality

As pointed out in the article “Russia Invades Ukraine” on jw.org:

There are more than 129,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses living in Ukraine. Like the Witnesses in every other country, they imitate Jesus by remaining politically neutral and refusing to take part in war. (John 18:36)

There are also thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, who are being persecuted for their faith. We can be sure that like their Ukranian brothers and sisters, they are also remaining politically neutral and refusing to take part in war, such that none of the Russian military personnel currently attacking their neighbours (and maybe in some cases, friends and relatives) in Ukraine are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

May we keep our brothers and sisters in the affected areas in our prayers to Jehovah, the only true God and the “God of all comfort”—John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3.