xúnhuán (xún·huán {following [of]} · {ring → [circle]} → [circulating; cycling | cycle] 循环 循環) 👈🏼 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.]
We in the Mandarin field should keep in mind that many Mandarin-speaking people were taught to believe in evolution, and thus tend to not believe in God. 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 they are still considered current publications, and relatively 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. So, it would be good for us to consider some of the expressions used in the Mandarin versions of the Was Life Created? and Origin of Life brochures, which can be so helpful when discussing the fundamentally important question of whether life was created.
Circles of Life
This week’s MEotW, which appears in the section of the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure entitled “Shēngjī (Shēng·jī Life · {Mechanism → [Being Organic]} → [Life] 生机 生機)‐Bóbó (Bó·bó Flourishing · Flourishing 勃勃) de (’s 的) Dìqiú (Dì·qiú Earth · Globe → [Earth] 地球)” (“The Living Planet”), is “xúnhuán (xún·huán {following [of]} · {ring → [circle]} → [circulating; cycling | cycle] 循环 循環)”:
Natural cycles that replenish and cleanse the planet’s air and water supply
Mandarin (WOL; Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus)
📖 📄 📘 Zìrán (Zì·rán naturally · so → [natural] 自然) xúnhuán (xún·huán following · {ring → [circle]} → [cycling] 循环 循環) xìtǒng (xì·tǒng {tied (things) → [systems]} · {gathered together (things) → [interconnected systems]} → [systems] 系统 系統)—jì (both 既) néng (able 能) bǔjǐ (bǔ·jǐ {to mend → [to restore]} · {to supply} → [to replenish] 补给 補給) yòu (also 又) néng (able 能) jìnghuà (jìng·huà {to be clean} · {to transform} → [to cleanse] 净化 凈/淨化) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe → [earth] 地球) de (’s 的) kōngqì (kōng·qì {(that which) is empty → [air]} · air → [air] 空气 空氣) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) shuǐyuán (shuǐ·yuán water · sources 水源)
As can be seen from the above quotes, the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure uses “xúnhuán (xún·huán {following [of]} · {ring → [circle]} → [circulating; cycling | cycle] 循环 循環)” in connection with “cycles”. Looking into the morphemic construction of “xúnhuán (xún·huán {following [of]} · {ring → [circle]} → [circulating; cycling | cycle] 循环 循環)”, we see that the first morpheme “xún (follow; {abide by}; {adhere to}; {comply with} 循)” in this context means “following [of]”. The second morpheme “huán (ring [→ [circle; loop; [(chain)] link | surround; encircle]] 环 環)” literally means “ring”, and in this context, it effectively means “circle”.
In the material that follows the above quotations, the Was Life Created? brochure goes into depth about how the water cycle, the carbon and oxygen cycles, and the nitrogen cycle cleanly, elegantly, and perfectly make it possible for life to continue to exist on the earth, in contrast to comparatively primitive and inelegant human systems that create huge amounts of toxic waste. That begs the question: If human systems like those that produce things like microplastics and nuclear waste obviously were designed by intelligent beings, then how about the obviously better-designed cyclic systems in “nature”?
Rings Around the Forbidden City
By the way, another use of the “huán (ring [→ [circle; loop; [(chain)] link | surround; encircle]] 环 環)” in “xúnhuán (xún·huán {following [of]} · {ring → [circle]} → [circulating; cycling | cycle] 循环 循環)” that many Mandarin-speaking people may be familiar with is in the Mandarin names of the ring roads of Beijing.
A map showing Beijing’s ring roads (source)
For example, Beijing’s 5th Ring Road (the 5th one from the centre, where the famous Forbidden City imperial palace complex is located) is named Wǔ (Five → [5th] 五) Huán (Ring 环 環) Lù (Road 路) in Mandarin.
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.