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Culture Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

zhēnlǐ

zhēnlǐ+ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

What Do You Rejoice In?

This week’s MEotW, “zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理)”, is used in verse 6 (WOL) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_zhēnlǐ_” in 1 Co. 13:6 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension. Other web browsers may also have extensions with similar functionality.)

For comparison, here are the renderings of 1 Corinthians 13:6 in the current English and Mandarin versions of the New World Translation Bible:

English:

It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.

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

📖 📄 (not 不) yīn ({because of} 因) búyì (bú·yì un·righteousness 不义 不義) ér (thus 而) huānxǐ+ (huān·xǐ {does be joyful} · {does be happy} 欢喜 歡喜), zhǐ (only只/秖/衹/祇) yīn ({because of} 因) zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning → [the truth] 真理) ér (thus 而) gāoxìng (gāo·xìng (is with) high · enthusiasm → [is glad] 高兴 高興).

The individual morphemes in “zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理) literally mean “true” and “reasoning; logic”. When these morphemes are put together in “zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理)”, the resulting expression effectively means “truth”, or “the truth”.

Linguistic Untruths Fill the “Air”

This world ruled by Satan, “the father of the lie”, is full of linguistic idolatry and mythology (e.g., the myths discussed in the book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy) surrounding Chinese characters, and it is full of misinformation and disinformation about the Chinese languages in general. (Ephesians 2:2; John 8:44) We Mandarin field language learners need to learn the truth about these things that are such huge factors in our Mandarin learning, and we should ‘rejoice with the truth’ about these things, similarly to how we rejoice over spiritual truth.

Yes, godly love doesn’t just know the truth, it rejoices with the truth, so it chooses the truth. Showing that he lacked godly love, the first man Adam knew the truth, but he loved Eve more, and so he chose to join Eve in rebellion against Jehovah. (1 Timothy 2:14) Also, as we have been reminded by the video series The Good News According to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day had every reason and opportunity to know the truth, but consumed by pride, they loved their tradition and position and status more, and so they chose to bitterly oppose Jesus to the point of eventually brutally murdering him.

What Side Are You On?

At John 18:37, Jesus said:

For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.

In this blog and in other places, I have endeavoured to share the truths that I have learned about the Mandarin language and how to best learn it for use in the Mandarin field. If you as a Mandarin field language learner have come to know some of these truths, what are you going to do about it? Are you “on the side of the truth” regarding these matters? According to 1 Corinthians 13:6, if you are motivated by godly love, you will rejoice with the truth about these things, and you will naturally show your love by happily making use of these Mandarin language-learning truths to better share spiritual truths with Mandarin-speaking people you meet. And as Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name”.

Categories
Experiences Science Technology Theocratic

wēixíng “jīqì”

wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型)jīqì+ (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器 機器) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Not that long ago, the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! magazine was featured in the Teaching Toolbox of the JW Library app. This week’s MEotW, “wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) ‘jīqì (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器 機器)’ ”, occurs in the caption of the picture at the top of the article in that issue entitled “Shēngmìng+ (Life 生命) Gàosu (Tells 告诉 告訴) Wǒmen (Wǒ·men Us · [pl] 我们 我們) Shénme (Shén·me What · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼)?” (“What Life Tells Us”):

English:

The yeast cell is incredibly complex. It has a well-organized nucleus with DNA and microscopic machines that sort, transport, and modify molecules—all of which are vital for the life of the cell.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 Jiàomǔ+ (Jiào·mǔ yeast · mother → [yeast] 酵母)jūn (fungus 菌) de ( 的) jiégòu+ (jié·gòu {tying → [forming]} · constructing → [structure] 结构 結構) fēicháng (fēi·cháng un·commonly → [extremely] 非常) fùzá (fù·zá {is turned around → [is complex]} · {is mixed} → [is complex] 复杂 複雜). (it 它) yǒu (has 有) (one 一) ge ([mw]個/个) bāohán (bāo·hán wraps · {keeps in the mouth} → [contains] 包含) DNA de (’s 的) xìbāo+ (xì·bāo tiny · womb → [cell] 细胞 細胞)+ ({pit (of a fruit)} → [nucleus]核/覈), háiyǒu (hái·yǒu (there) also · {are having → [are]} 还有 還有) yìxiē (yì·xiē one · {indefinite number of} → [some] 一些) wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型)jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器 機器)”, zhèixiē (zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些 這些)jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器 機器)néng (can 能) jìnxíng (jìn·xíng advance · {walk → [carry out]} 进行 進行) fēnzǐ+ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子) de ( 的) fēnlèi (fēn·lèi {separating → [differentiating]} · types → [sorting] 分类 分類), yùnshū (transporting 运输 運輸), ({(together) with} → [and]和/龢) zhuǎnhuà+ (zhuǎn·huà {to be turned → [to be changed]} · transforming → [transforming] 转化 轉化), ér (and 而) zhèixiē (zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些 這些) bùzhòu (bù·zhòu steps · {to be trotted} → [steps] 步骤 步驟) shì (are 是) wéichí (wéi·chí {to maintain} · {to hold → [to sustain]} → [to sustain] 维持 維持) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · womb’s → [cell’s] 细胞 細胞) shēngmìng (life 生命) (certainly 必)bùkě (bù·kě not · can → [cannot] 不可)shǎo ({be missing} 少) de ({’s (steps)} 的).

As can be seen from above, where the English article refers to the “microscopic machines” inside living cells, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW “wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) ‘jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器 機器)’ ”. Digging down to the morphemes used in this expression, we find that they literally mean “tiny mould machine devices”.

Exquisite and Amazing Molecular Machines

Note also that the above quote mentions that these “microscopic machines” or “tiny mould machine devices” work on molecules inside cells. Thus another term that can be applied to them is the more technical term “molecular machines”. Long-time readers of this blog may recall that a while back, there was an MEotW post on “fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ body體/体/躰) [(protein) molecular machine])”, the expression used in the Mandarin version of another Awake! article to translate “molecular machine”.

Here are a couple of quotations from that MEotW post on the topic of these exquisite and amazing little machines inside our cells:

To give us an idea of what some molecular machines are like, here is a video I came across that uses computer animation to help us visualize how tiny molecular machines inside our cells copy DNA:

If one came across an artificial molecular machine, one would undoubtedly conclude with certainty that it had been intelligently designed—something that tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional obviously could not have developed by chance! As microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)}) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲 鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) concluded, the tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional biological molecular machines that inspired humans to create artificial molecular machines similarly must have had an intelligent Creator.

Categories
Culture History Theocratic

Fúyīn‐Shū

Fúyīn‐Shū+ ((Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音)‐(Shū Writing → [Book]) [Gospel]) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols 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 video series The Good News According to Jesus (Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) de ( 的) Yìshēng (Yì·shēng {One → [Whole]} · Life 一生) in Mandarin). In its description of this video series, jw.org uses this week’s MEotW “Fúyīn‐Shū+ ((Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音)‐(Shū Writing → [Book]) [Gospel])”:

English:

See the Gospels come to life in this exciting video series about Jesus Christ.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 Zhèige (Zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) jīngcǎi (jīng·cǎi {(having) spirit → [excellent]} · {(having) colour → [splendid]} → [marvelous] 精彩 精彩/采) de ( 的) xìliè+ (xì·liè {series of} · {lined up (thing) of → [series of]} → [series of] 系列) yǐngpiàn (yǐng·piàn images · {slices of → [mw]} [videos] 影片) shēngdòng (shēng·dòng living · moving → [vivid] 生动 生動) de (-ly 地) chéngxiàn+ (chéng·xiàn presents · shows → [presents] 呈现 呈現) chū (out 出) Fúyīn‐Shū+ ((Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音)‐(Shū Writings → [Books]) [the Gospels]) de ( 的) nèiróng (nèi·róng inside · {contained (things)} → [contents] 内容 內容), bāngzhù (helping 帮助 幫助) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) gèng (more 更) liǎojiě (liǎo·jiě {to understand} · {to untie → [to solve]} → [to understand] 了解 了/瞭解) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) Jīdū (Christ 基督).

The Morphemes

The Glossary in the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY tells us that “the [English] word ‘gospel’ is derived from the old English godspel, which means ‘good news; good tidings’.” Looking at the morphemes in “Fúyīn‐Shū ((Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音)‐(Shū Writing → [Book]) [Gospel])”, we see that the first one, “Fú ({good fortune}; blessing [→ [happiness]] 福)”, is the fairly well-known one that means “blessings”. The second morpheme “yīn (sound [→ [musical note/sound; tone; pronunciation | syllable | news; tidings]] 音) literally means “sounds”, but in this context it has an effective meaning of “news”. And while many of us Mandarin field language learners are used to using the third morpheme “Shū (write | writing [→ [book | letter | document | style of calligraphy; script]]) to mean “book”, we can note that this is an effective meaning derived from a literal meaning of “writing”. (This literal meaning of “writing” is why, for example, “qíngshū+ (qíng·shū {feelings; affection; emotion → [love]} · {writing → [letter]} 情书 情書) is the Mandarin expression meaning “love letter”.)

The official video for the Jacky Cheung song “Qíngshū+ (Qíng·shū {Feelings → [Love]} · {Writing → [Letter]} 情书 情書)

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

As an additional usage example, the below sentence from the jw.org page for the above-mentioned video series shows how “Fúyīn‐Shū ((Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音)‐(Shū Writing → [Book]) [Gospel]) relates to the Mandarin versions of the names of the Bible books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John:

English:

Dialogue is taken directly from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Mandarin:

📖 📄 Duìbái+ (Duì·bái facing · {white (parts) → [plain (parts)] → [spoken parts in opera/etc.]} → [dialogue] 对白 對白) zhíjiē (zhí·jiē {being straight} · connecting → [directly] 直接) yǐnzì+ (yǐn·zì {is drawn → [is quoted]} · from 引自) Mǎtài Fúyīn ((Mǎtài Matthew’s 马太 馬太) (Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音) [The Good News According to Matthew]), Mǎkě Fúyīn ((Mǎkě Mark’s 马可 馬可) (Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音) [The Good News According to Mark]), Lùjiā Fúyīn ((Lùjiā Luke’s 路加) (Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音) [The Good News According to Luke]), Yuēhàn Fúyīn ((Yuēhàn John’s 约翰 約翰) (Fú·yīn Blessings · {Sounds → [News]} 福音) [The Good News According to John])