Category: Science

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Culture Experiences History Science Technology Theocratic

chuàngzào

chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The Shēngmìng Láizì Chuàngzào Ma? ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (Lái·zì Came · From 来自 來自) (Chuàng·zào Initiating · {Making, Creating} → [Creating] 创造 創造) (Ma [? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? → [Was Life Created? (lc)]) (Was Life Created? (lc)) brochure and the Shēngmìng de Qǐyuán—Zhíde Sīkǎo de Wǔ Ge Wèntí ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (de ’s 的) (Qǐ·yuán {Rising → [Starting]} · Source → [Origin] 起源/原)—(Zhí·de Worth · Getting → [Worth] 值得) (Sī·kǎo {Thinking About} · Examining 思考) (de ’s 的) (Wǔ Five 五) (Ge [mw] 个 個/个) (Wèn·tí Asking · Subjects → [Questions] 问题 問題) → [The Origin of Life​—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)]) (The Origin of Life​—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)) brochure were originally published back in 2010, but recently, the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure was updated to the December 2022 Printing, and the Mandarin version of it was updated to the February 2023 Printing. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure are now in the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app. So, it would be good to consider some of the expressions used in the Mandarin versions of these publications that can be so helpful when discussing whether life was created.

How It Started

This week’s MEotW, which appears right in the title of the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure, is “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”. While this is basically a verb meaning “create”, it can also be used as a noun meaning “creation”. Such verbal/gerundial nouns were discussed in the MEotW post on “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)”:

One interesting thing to note about “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)” (and about “jiàoxun (teaching → [reprimanding | knowledge gained from an error] 教训 教訓)”, for that matter) is that their component morphemes seem to basically be verbs. In certain contexts, however, they are used as nouns. An example of this being done in English is that “teach” and “teaching” are verbs (e.g. “Jesus was teaching the crowd.”), but in certain contexts, “teaching” is used as a noun (e.g. “The crowd was amazed at the teaching Jesus shared with them.”). When a word is used this way, it’s called a verbal noun, or a gerundial noun. Verbal nouns are quite common in Mandarin.

How It Breaks Down

The “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” in “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)” is also used in “Chuàngshìjì (Chuàng·shì·jì {Initiating, Creating of} · {Generation → [World]} · Record → [Genesis] 创世记 創世記)”, and is associated with originality and creativity. For example, this “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” also occurs in “chuàngzuò (chuàng·zuò initiated; created; originated · {made [→ [written/composed]]} [(thing)] [→ [created; produced; written [(thing)]] [→ [creative work; creation]]] 创作 創作)” and in “chuàngzuò lì ((chuàng·zuò {to initiate/create/originate} · {to make [→ [to write/compose]]} → [to create/produce/write] 创作 創作) (lì power → [ability] 力) → [creative ability; creativity; originality])”, which can respectively mean “creative work” and “creativity”.

As for the “zào (make; build; create 造)” in “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”, it’s more associated with making and building, and it’s the same “zào (make; build; create 造)” that’s in “jiànzào (construct; build 建造)”. “Jiànzào (build 建造) fángwū (houses 房屋)”, for example, means “build houses”.

How It Comes Together

So, “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”, being made up of “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” and “zào (make; build; create 造)”, covers the entire process of coming up with the idea for something, and then actually making or building it. This is in contrast with the idea of theistic evolution, that God somehow got the ball rolling and then sat back and let the process of evolution develop all the wonderful living things in the natural world.

One person in particular whom I remember having such a viewpoint was my grade 7 teacher, who was actually quite smug about how her Catholic/personal beliefs had thus seemingly neatly reconciled the contradictions between the worldly “scientific” theory of evolution and the creation account in the Bible book of Genesis. However, the actual wording of the Genesis account, including how it is often translated into Mandarin, does not really go along with such a seemingly neat reconciliation with evolution.—Genesis 1:27 (English WOL, Mandarin WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus).

“_Chuàngzào_” in Genesis 1:27 (NWT (nwtsty), WOL CHS+Pinyin), with “_zào_” in _Héhé Běn_

To represent how God caused humans to come into existence, the Mandarin New World Translation Bible uses “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造 創造)”, and the Héhé Běn ((Hé·hé Harmonious · {Closed → [United]} 和合) (Běn {Root or Stem} → [Edition] 本) → [Union Version (Chinese Bible)]) uses “zào (made; built; created 造)”. Both these expressions contain the sense of “made, created”, and perhaps “built”.

How the Py+ Material Is Going

A while ago, I got the feeling that I should shift focus to get to work on producing current-generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Was Life Created? brochure, which I had last produced older-style material for several years earlier. The official material for this brochure had also not been changed for several years, with the last Mandarin printing of it being dated 2016-12.

However, not long after I had started working on new Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for this brochure, I noticed that a new printing, dated 2022-12, had been put out for the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure, and then, a new printing, dated 2023-02, appeared in the JW Library app for the Mandarin version of this brochure. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure were added to the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app at around this time. It seems that Jehovah had decided that the time had come for renewed focus on these brochures, and it seems that the work of producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Was Life Created? brochure is privileged to be part of this renewed focus.

At the time of this writing, the old 3-line files (iPad-Letter-A4, XLP-iPhone-A5) together with the new Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource cover the entire Was Life Created? brochure. (The 3-line files were based on an older version of the brochure, though.) Also, the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource (which can be used offline in supporting browsers) contains no more Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-only material that has only been partially proofread—all the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-only material has now been fully proofread.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Was Life Created? brochure is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Was Life Created? brochure 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 Was Life Created? brochure will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows. Work is now underway to produce a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource for the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure as well.

Categories
Current Events Science Technology Theocratic

réngōng zhìnéng

réngōng (rén·gōng human · work → [artificial] 人工)
zhìnéng (zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [intelligence] 智能) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Artificial Intelligence—A Blessing or a Curse?—What Does the Bible Say?”. Where the English version of this article uses the expression “artificial intelligence”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “réngōng (rén·gōng human · work → [artificial] 人工) zhìnéng (zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [intelligence] 智能)”:

English:

Recently, world leaders, scientists, and technologists have commented on the power of artificial intelligence (AI). While acknowledging its value, they have also expressed concern over its potential misuse.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Jìnqī (Jìn·qī {near → [recent]} · {period of time} → [recently] 近期), xǔduō (xǔ·duō numbers · many 许多 許多) guójiā (guó·jiā nation · family → [national] 国家 國家) lǐngdǎorén (lǐngdǎo·rén leading · persons → [leaders] 领导人 領導人), kēxuéjiā (kē·xué·jiā {{branches of study} · learning → [science]} · -ists → [scientists] 科学家 科學家), yǐjí (and 以及) kējì (kē·jì {branches of study → [science]} · {skills → [technology]} → [technology] 科技) jīngyīng (jīng·yīng elite · {flowers → [outstanding persons]} → [elite] 精英) dōu ({all of them} 都) duì (towards 对 對) réngōng (rén·gōng human · work → [artificial] 人工) zhìnéng (zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [intelligence] 智能) (AI) de (’s 的) yòngtú (yòng·tú {to be used} · routes → [applications] 用途) shēn (deeply 深) biǎo ({have expressed} 表) guānzhù (guān·zhù {closing with (them) → [being concerned about (them)]} · {pouring into (them) → [concentrating on (them)]} → [paying close attention to (them)] 关注 關注). Suīrán (Suī·rán although · -ly 虽然 雖然) tāmen (tā·men he/she · [pl] → [they] 他们 他們) dōu (all 都) zàntóng (zàn·tóng favour · {are with} → [approve of] 赞同 贊/讚同) réngōng (rén·gōng human · work → [artificial] 人工) zhìnéng (zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [intelligence] 智能) yǒu (having 有) hěn (very 很) duō (many 多) yìchu (yì·chu beneficial · places → [benefits] 益处 益處), dàn (however 但) yě ((they) also 也) hěn ({very much} 很) dānxīn (dān·xīn {carry on shoulder poles → [bear (heavy)]} · hearts → [worry] 担/耽心 擔/耽心) zhèi (this 这 這) xiàng ({item of} 项 項) kējì (kē·jì {branches of study → [science]} · {skills → [technology]} → [technology] 科技) huì (will 会 會) bèi ([passive signifier] → [be] 被) lànyòng (làn·yòng {overflowingly → [indiscriminately]} · used → [misused] 滥用 濫用).

Related Expressions

The “zhìnéng (zhì·néng wisdom; knowledge; intelligence; resourcefulness; wit; cleverness · ability → [intelligence; intellectual power/ability | smart(phone, etc.)] 智能)” in “réngōng (rén·gōng human · work → [artificial] 人工) zhìnéng (zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [intelligence] 智能)” also appears in “zhìnéng shǒujī ((zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [smart] 智能) (shǒu·jī hand · machine → [mobile phone] 手机 手機) → [smartphone])”, which is used in China to mean “smartphone”. As pointed out by the Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) resource, this expression appears in the November 2009 issue of Awake! magazine, on page 3.

It’s also noteworthy that the “zhì (wisdom; knowledge; intelligence; resourcefulness; wit; cleverness 智)” in “réngōng (rén·gōng human · work → [artificial] 人工) zhìnéng (zhì·néng intelligence · ability → [intelligence] 智能)” appears in “zhìhuì (zhì·huì wisdom · intelligence → [wisdom] 智慧)”, the Mandarin word for “wisdom”. It also appears in “zhōngxìn (zhōng·xìn faithful · {believing → [having faith]} → [faithful] 忠信) ruìzhì (ruì·zhì {having foresight} · {(having) wisdom} 睿智) de (’s 的) núlì (slave 奴隶 奴隸)”, the Mandarin expression for “faithful and discreet slave”.—Matthew 24:45 (English; Mandarin).

A Beginning? Or Not?

Regarding intelligence, artificial or otherwise, it’s illuminating to consider these verses in Proverbs:

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge.
Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.
—Proverbs 1:7

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom,
And knowledge of the Most Holy One is understanding.
—Proverbs 9:10

To show true knowledge and wisdom—and indeed, intelligence—in life, we need to consider all the factors that are relevant in life, and we especially need to not have insufficient regard for the biggest, most relevant factor of all in life—Jehovah God, who created human intelligence (which was perfect in the first human couple, but which that couple caused to become imperfect and corrupted). Humans who do not have fear of (or “reverence for”, as per the footnote for Pr. 1:7) Jehovah—the Creator of human life and human intelligence—do not even begin to have true knowledge or wisdom, and thus are not equipped to develop artificial intelligence with true knowledge or wisdom.

Indeed, while humans can now store, read, and perform some basic processes on data, even huge amounts of data, human researchers have limited understanding about, and disagree about, how a system like the human brain or an artificial intelligence system can truly—not just appear to—know or understand something, or have wisdom (scientific paper, Medium article) about something. This may help to partly explain why a significant percentage of the time, current artificial intelligence systems output incorrect statements with complete confidence, as if they were true.

Yes, while many are now fascinated by, and/or concerned about, the increasing power of artificial intelligence, people should be focusing first on Jehovah God’s divine intelligence, the most powerful intelligence in the entire universe, that thankfully is motivated by love, guided by wisdom, and dedicated to justice.—1 John 4:8; Romans 11:33; Deuteronomy 32: 3, 4.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science

duōyú

duōyú (duō·yú {(too) much/many} · surplus; excess → [unnecessary; surplus; superfluous; uncalled-for; redundant | excessive] 多余 多餘) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Following on from last week’s MEotW post that discussed unnecessary ceremony, this week’s MEotW is “duōyú (duō·yú {(too) much/many} · surplus; excess → [unnecessary; surplus; superfluous; uncalled-for; redundant | excessive] 多余 多餘)”, which means “unnecessary; surplus; superfluous; uncalled-for; redundant”, or “excessive”.

Here are the usage examples for this expression provided by the Pleco app’s built-in dictionary:

📖 📄 📘 Shāndiào (Shān·diào delete · {to be dropped → [away]} 删掉 刪掉) duōyú (duō·yú {(too) many} · excess → [superfluous] 多余 多餘) de (’ 的) cíyǔ (cí·yǔ words · expressions 词语 詞語)

cut out superfluous words and phrases

📖 📄 📘 Zài (in 在) jíshì (jí·shì {gathered (things) → [country market]} · market → [country market] 集市) shang (upon 上) chūshòu (chū·shòu {put out} · {to sell} 出售) duōyú (duō·yú {(too) many} · surplus → [surplus] 多余 多餘) de (’s 的) nóng (farming 农 農) chǎnpǐn (chǎn·pǐn {given birth to → [produced]} · products 产品 產品)

sell surplus farm products in the market

📖 📄 📘 Shìshí (Shì·shí matters · {being solid} → [facts] 事实 事實) zhèngmíng (zhèng·míng proved · {to be clear} 证明 證明) wǒmen de ((wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) (de ’s 的) → [our]) dānxīn (dān·xīn {carryings on a shoulder pole → [bearings of (heavy)]} · hearts → [worryings] 担/耽心 擔/耽心) shì (were 是) duōyú (duō·yú {(too) many} · excess → [uncalled-for] 多余 多餘) de (’s 的).

Facts proved that our worries were uncalled-for.

Speaking of “unnecessary”…

Are Chinese Characters Necessary?

This question may be downright heretical to Chinese culture purists, who would say things like “Of course characters are necessary!” and “Chinese culture without the characters would be inconceivable, just inconceivable! Yes, that would be totally and utterly inconceivable!”

If one’s goal is to fit in with the current Chinese world, especially if one is living in a place where the characters are used in everyday life, government services, etc., then of course one will need to know at least some characters, eventually. But, does that mean that Chinese characters should be the primary focus of Mandarin field language learners from day one?

Both modern linguistics (language science) and God’s Word the Bible itself testify against this. A basic principle of modern linguistics is that speech is primary, not writing, and at 1 Corinthians 14:8–11, the Bible emphasizes the primary importance of understandable speech, not even mentioning writing when it does so:

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.

So, while the characters seem necessary from the point of view of traditional worldly Chinese culture that’s intent on glorifying and perpetuating itself, someone whose primary goals in learning Mandarin are to praise Jehovah and to reach the hearts of Mandarin-speakers with the good news of the Kingdom should really primarily focus on understanding Mandarin speech and speaking Mandarin understandably, from the very beginning:

Your first linguistic goal should be to “utter speech easily understood.” [emphasis added] (1 Corinthians 14:8-11) Though people may be tolerant, mistakes or a heavy accent may distract them from listening to your message. Giving attention to proper pronunciation and grammar right from the start will prevent you from forming bad habits that are hard to break.
—“Serving With a Foreign-Language Congregation”, in the March 15, 2006 Watchtower.

A Simple, Elegant, Effective Alternative

The above quote also appears in the article “SPEECH is Top Priority, Not Characters”, which contains other information as well showing why it is that characters and their visual extravagances and traditional complexities are often duōyú (duō·yú {(too) much} · excess → [excessive] 多余 多餘) for Mandarin field language learners. Here is an excerpt:

Publishers need to learn to understand Mandarin speech to benefit spiritually from Mandarin meetings, because the talks, comments, etc. at such meetings are made of Mandarin speech, not characters. In fact, focusing on characters makes this problem worse because it makes learning Mandarin speech harder and slower. At the very least, it distracts from learning Mandarin speech.

In contrast, the simple, elegant Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) writing system handily does the job of representing Mandarin speech in written form without the unnecessary complexities and ceremonial baggage of the characters. When you do need to use a writing system for Mandarin, then, use Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) when you can, and just use characters when you have to. Seriously, doing so is not inconceivable!