Category: Theocratic

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Culture Theocratic

chéngfá

chéngfá (punishing; penalizing 惩罚 懲罰) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), entitled “Features of This Revision”, discusses vocabulary changes that have been made in the current revision, words that have been translated differently than before. As noted in various entries in the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE), Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) correspondingly discusses words that have been translated differently in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible, compared to how they had been translated before.

Since we base what we say in Jehovah’s service on his Word the Bible, the vocabulary used in it—and the way those vocabulary words are translated—should be reflected in how we speak in our ministry, at our meetings, etc. So, it is beneficial for us Mandarin field language learners to be familiar with the latest thinking from the organization on how Bible terms should be translated into Mandarin.

‘Punishing’ Differently in Mandarin

As Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) points out, this current version builds on the previous version’s efforts to avoid expressions that could easily be associated with false religious concepts.

One example that it points to is that in scriptures such as Psalm 103:10 (English, Mandarin), “bàoyìng (bào·yìng retribution · responding 报应 報應)” has been changed to “chéngfá (punishing; penalizing 惩罚 懲罰)”:

Psalm 103:10 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

Is It Karma?

So, what’s the deal with “bàoyìng (bào·yìng retribution · responding 报应 報應)”? The entries for “bàoyìng (bào·yìng retribution · responding 报应 報應)” in a couple of the dictionaries that are available to be installed in the Pleco app give us some clues. First, consider the entry for this expression in the Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) Chinese-English dictionary:

retribution (old translation); Insight article heading in Watchtower Library 2011 CHS. NWT-2019’s Appendix A2 notes 报应 changed to 应得的惩罚 or similar, to avoid conveying false-religious concepts (in this case perhaps the Buddhist concept of karma, see 因果报应, although that is not stated).

In partial confirmation, the CC-CEDICT dictionary contains these definitions for “bàoyìng (bào·yìng retribution · responding 报应 報應)”:

1 (Buddhism) divine retribution
2 karma

For reference, Wikipedia provides this summary regarding karma:

Karma…in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences.[source] In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called the principle of karma, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect):[source] Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths.[source][source]

The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism),[source] as well as Taoism.[source] In these schools, karma in the present affects one’s future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives—one’s saṃsāra.[source][source] This concept has also been adopted in Western popular culture, in which the events which happen after a person’s actions may be considered natural consequences.

Indeed, we definitely would not want people to think that any part of God’s Word the Bible is referring to the false religious concept of karma!

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Current Events History Theocratic

āijiā‐āihù

āijiā‐āihù ((āi·jiā {one after another} · households 挨家)‐(āi·hù {one after another} · doors 挨户 挨戶) → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door; house[-/ ]to[-/ ]house]) ← 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.]

As of this writing, the English version of jw.org is featuring this announcement:

BREAKING NEWS | House-to-House Preaching Will Resume on September 1, 2022

The Mandarin version of jw.org renders this announcement this way:

📖 📄 📘 JÍSHÍ (JÍ·SHÍ {(IMMEDIATELY) APPROACHING} · {(PARTICULAR) TIME} → [(OF NEWS) LIVE] 即时 即時) XĪNWÉN (XĪN·WÉN NEW · {(THAT WHICH) IS HEARD} → [NEWS] 新闻 新聞) | 2022 Nián (Year 年 年/秊) 9 Yuè (Moon → [Month] 月) 1 Rì (Sun → [Day] 日) Huīfù ({(There) Will Be Restored} → [(There) Will Be Resumed] 恢复 恢復) Āijiā‐Āihù ((Āi·jiā {One After Another} · Households 挨家)‐(Āi·hù {One After Another} · Doors 挨户 挨戶) → [House-to-House]) Chuándào (Chuán·dào Spreading · Way → [Preaching] 传道 傳道)

As can be seen from the above Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information, the organization is currently translating “house-to-house” into Mandarin as “āijiā‐āihù ((āi·jiā {one after another} · households 挨家)‐(āi·hù {one after another} · doors 挨户 挨戶) → [house-to-house])”, which literally means “one after another households one after another doors”.

Blasts from the Past

Chinese field “old-timers” may remember that this wasn’t always the expression used to translate “house-to-house”. Here are some expressions that have been used to do so in the past:

  • āijiā‐zhúhù ((āi·jiā {one after another} · households 挨家)‐(zhú·hù {one by one} · doors 逐户 逐戶) → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door; house[-/ ]to[-/ ]house (old translation)])

    • Regarding this expresison, the Referenced Theocratic Expressions (RTE) resource says: “from house to house (old translation); Acts 5:42 NWT(2001-C 1984-E, 2013 not checked) +pinyin “from house to house”; w11 2/1 p.13 ∼传道 “door-to-door preaching”. Without the hanzi, it seems this is not recognisable to most Chinese; one suggested 每家都去 (měi jiā dōu qù); 2019-NWT uses 挨家挨户 āijiā’āihù (which is in ABC [the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary])”
    • “Zhúhù (Zhú·hù {one by one} · doors → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door] 逐户 逐戶)” on its own has been used in the past.
      • RTE says about this expression: “house-to-house; w08 7/15 1st std article title (dict.cn “door to door”). See also 挨家逐户. Without the hanzi, it seems this is not recognisable to most Chinse, so try using 每家都去 instead.”
  • zhújiā‐zhúhù ((zhú·jiā {one by one} · households 逐家)‐(zhú·hù {one by one} · doors 逐户 逐戶) → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door; house[-/ ]to[-/ ]house (old translation)])

    • RTE: “house-to-house; 2009 songbook song 101; g00 7/8 p.30. See also 逐户, 挨家逐户, 挨家挨户 (ABC dictionary), and 逐家.”
    • As with “zhúhù (zhú·hù {one by one} · doors → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door] 逐户 逐戶)”, “zhújiā (zhú·jiā {one by one} · households → [house[-/ ]to[-/ ]house (old translation)] 逐家)” has also been used on its own in the past.

      • RTE: “house-by-house; my 108 (Paul entering one house after another to persecute). In 2009 songbook song 101 as part of 逐家逐户 (hence wtl09 doesn’t find this occurrence if you search for just 逐家)”

Sticking with False “Perfection” vs. Progress

While the older expressions mentioned above are not technically wrong or incorrect, the currently used expression “āijiā‐āihù ((āi·jiā {one after another} · households 挨家)‐(āi·hù {one after another} · doors 挨户 挨戶) → [door[-/ ]to[-/ ]door; house[-/ ]to[-/ ]house])” is the best one the organization knows of at this time for translating the English expression “house-to-house”.

Some criticize Jehovah’s organization for sometimes changing rather than somehow being completely perfect from the beginning, but change is required for progress. The alternative for any imperfect humans in this system of things is to continue being less correct, less good than they could be, e.g. continuing to believe in hellfire, the Trinity, etc., and continuing to meddle in politics, to support the wars of human nations, etc. We can be thankful then that Jehovah’s organization continues to pursue better and better ways of thinking, speaking (and translating), and doing. As the Bible says at Proverbs 4:18:

But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light
That grows brighter and brighter until full daylight.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Technology Theocratic

zuìchū

zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} [→ [initial[ly]; prime; [at] first; original[ly]]] 最初) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: “PyP” is short for “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus”. 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.]

“Zuìchū (Zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} [→ [initial[ly]; prime; [at] first; original[ly]]] 最初)” is the very first expression that occurs in the current Mandarin New World Translation Bible, at Genesis 1:1 (WOL; PyP):

📖 📄 📘 Zuìchū (Zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} 最初), Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) chuàngzàole (chuàng·zào·le {initiated · made, created → [created]} · [indicates a change] 创造了 創造了) tiāndì (tiān·dì heavens · earth 天地).

At Revelation 2:4 (WOL; PyP), the current Mandarin NWT Bible also uses “zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} [→ [initial[ly]; prime; [at] first; original[ly]]] 最初)” when it talks about not leaving “the love you had at first”:

📖 📄 📘 Búguò (Bú·guò not · {do pass} → [however] 不过 不過), yǒu ({(there) is having} 有) yì (one 一) diǎn (point (regarding which) 点 點) wǒ (I 我) yào (must 要) zébèi (zé·bèi reprove · prepare → [reprove] 责备 責備) nǐ (you 你), jiùshì (jiù·shì (which) exactly · is 就是) nǐ (you 你) ràng ({have allowed} 让 讓) zìjǐ (selves’ 自己) zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} → [at first] 最初) de (’s 的) nèi (that 那) fèn ({portion of} 份) ài (love 爱 愛) lěngdàn (lěng·dàn {to be(come) cold} · {to be(come) bland → [to be(come) indifferent]} 冷淡) xialai (xia·lai down · {to come} 下来 下來).

“Original Intention”? “Beginner’s Mind”?

While “zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} [→ [initial[ly]; prime; [at] first; original[ly]]] 最初)” appears multiple times in the current Mandarin NWT Bible, the expression “chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [original desire/aspiration/intention | (Zen Buddhism) beginner’s mind (attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject)] 初心)”, which may seem somewhat related, does not appear in the current Mandarin NWT Bible.

In normal Mandarin usage, “chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [original desire/aspiration/intention] 初心)” effectively means “original desire/aspiration/intention”. We should be aware, though, that the expression “chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [original desire/aspiration/intention | (Zen Buddhism) beginner’s mind (attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject)] 初心)” (shoshin in Japanese) is also used in Zen Buddhism to mean “beginner’s mind”, an attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject.

While “chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [(Zen Buddhism) beginner’s mind (attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject)] 初心)”, as used in Zen Buddhism, apparently refers to one’s own unprejudiced mental approach to learning about a reality, “zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} [→ [initial[ly]; prime; [at] first; original[ly]]] 最初)”, as used in the Bible, refers to the very beginning of a reality itself, prior to any possible subsequent deviation or corruption. It seems that following the Bible’s example of focusing on the truth of the original reality of something naturally produces the beneficial openness and freedom from preconceptions referred to by the Zen Buddhist usage of “chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [(Zen Buddhism) beginner’s mind (attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject)] 初心)”, especially when we do so with the courage and humility that the Bible often encourages us to cultivate.—2 Timothy 1:7; Joshua 1:9; Proverbs 18:12; 22:4.

Remembering where Zen Buddhism came from and where the Bible came from can help us to understand the difference between the Zen Buddhist concept of chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [(Zen Buddhism) beginner’s mind (attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject)] 初心) and the concept of zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} [→ [initial[ly]; prime; [at] first; original[ly]]] 最初) that is often mentioned in the Bible. Having come from imperfect, limited humans, the Zen Buddhist concept of chūxīn (chū·xīn beginning; original; initial; {first (in order)} · heart; mind → [(Zen Buddhism) beginner’s mind (attitude of openness, free of preconceptions, when studying a subject)] 初心) is unsurprisingly about how an imperfect, limited human can view something—that’s ultimately all it can really be about anyway. On the other hand, the Bible shares with us God’s views of things, and God was actually there at the zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} 最初) time of literally everything in the universe. Also, he has seen how everything has developed since that zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} 最初) time, and he can also perfectly foresee how everything will turn out in the future.

Holding On to Mandarin Field First Love

How might someone leave ‘the love he had at first’ in the Mandarin field? A publisher may have originally entered the Mandarin field with pure motivations, out of love for God and neighbour. Over time, though, with repeated exposure to proud worldly Chinese traditional culture, might some self-glorifying pride creep in regarding knowledge of that worldly Chinese culture, and regarding having gone far down the rabbit hole of the notoriously complex Chinese characters? If so, then the original love that had motivated that publisher may eventually get corrupted, and perhaps even left behind, leaving pride as his main motivation. May we never let that happen to us!

First Things First in Language Learning

The way God made us, zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} 最初), language-wise, there was speech. Only later did imperfect humans eventually come up with some writing systems to visually represent and record some forms of speech. Indeed, there have been, and there still are, many speech-only languages, with no corresponding writing system. Ethnologue, a resource on world languages, says:

Ethnologue (24th edition) has data to indicate that of the currently listed 7,139 living languages, 4,065 have a developed writing system. We don’t always know, however, if the existing writing systems are widely used. That is, while an alphabet may exist there may not be very many people who are literate and actually using the alphabet. The remaining 3,074 are likely unwritten.

Technological First Priority

Writing systems are technologies. About writing, linguist Gretchen McCulloch says:

It really is a technology. It’s a thing you do on top of language to do stuff with language, but it’s not the language itself. There are thousands and possibly millions of languages that have never been written down in the history of humanity. We have no idea. We’ve never met a society of humans, or heard of a society of humans, without language. But those are spoken and signed languages, which are just kind of there. Writing, by contrast, was invented somewhere between 3 and 4 times in the history of humanity.

As with any technology, under-engineering and over-engineering in writing systems are by definition bad. Chinese characters are obviously over-engineered—full of “ceremony”, way more complicated than necessary to fulfil their original purpose of representing Chinese speech. In fact, in the minds of many, Chinese characters have culturally become a thing on their own, the most important thing about Chinese languages, even. Thus, characters have been allowed to improperly overshadow Mandarin, etc. speech, which is actually of primary importance. As the English saying goes, that’s putting the cart before the horse.

Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is sometimes ridiculed for being just for beginners, but the simplicity and elegance with which it fulfils its zuìchū (zuì·chū most · {at the beginning} → [original] 最初), original purpose of representing Mandarin speech are actually very good things. As Leonardo da Vinci is alleged to have said, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.