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Zhōngdōng

Zhōngdōng+ (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East 中东 中東) 👈🏼 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 article “War in the Middle East—What Does the Bible Say?”. Where the English version of this article uses the expression “Middle East”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “Zhōngdōng (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East 中东 中東)”. For example, here are the English and Mandarin versions of the article’s title:

English:

War in the Middle East—What Does the Bible Say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Guānyú (Guān·yú {Closing → [Relating]} · to 关于 關於) Zhōngdōng (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East’s 中东 中東) Fāshēng (Fā·shēng {Issuing Forth} · {Coming to Life} → [Happening] 发生 發生) de (’s 的) Zhànzhēng (Zhàn·zhēng War · Contending → [War] 战争 戰爭), Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) de (’s 的) Guāndiǎn+ (Guān·diǎn {Looking at → [View]} · Point → [Viewpoint] 观点 觀點) Shì (Is 是) Shénme (Shén·me What · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼)?

Related Expressions

The “Zhōng ({within/among/[in] the midst of (it/them…)} | centre; middle | midst | amid | medium; intermediate 中)” in “Zhōngdōng (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East 中东 中東)” corresponds to “Middle”, and it also occurs in expressions such as past MEotW’s “Zhōngguó (Zhōng·guó Central · Nation → [China | Chinese] 中国 中國)” 🔗, “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)” 🔗, and “Zhōngyāng Zhǎnglǎo‐Tuán+ ((Zhōngyāng Central 中央) (Zhǎng·lǎo {Grown → [Elder]} · Old (Men) → [Elders] 长老 長老)‐(Tuán {Rolled into a Ball (Thing)} → [Group] → [Body] 团 團/糰) → [Governing Body])” 🔗. (Note that in these past MEotW’s, “Zhōng ({within/among/[in] the midst of (it/them…)} | centre; middle | midst | amid | medium; intermediate 中)” is really used to mean “Central”, which is a bit different from “Middle”.)

The “dōng (east 东 東)” in “Zhōngdōng (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East 中东 中東)” corresponds to “East”. For reference, here are the Mandarin expressions for the cardinal directions and the ordinal or intercardinal directions:

  • běi+ (north | northern 北)
  • dōngběi+ (dōng·běi {east | eastern} · {north | northern} → [north-east | north-eastern] 东北 東北)
  • dōng+ (east | eastern 东 東)
  • dōngnán+ (dōng·nán {east | eastern} · {south | southern} → [south-east | south-eastern] 东南 東南)
  • nán+ (south | southern 南)
  • xīnán+ (xī·nán {west | western} · {south | southern} → [south-west | south-western] 西南)
  • xī+ (west | western 西)
  • xīběi+ (xī·běi {west | western} · {north | northern} → [north-west | north-western] 西北)

Note how the Mandarin expressions for the ordinal or intercardinal directions use reverse word order compared to their English counterparts. For example, “xīběi (xī·běi {west | western} · {north | northern} → [north-west | north-western] 西北)” literally means “west · north”, in contrast to the English word “north-west”. This may remind one of how the Mandarin word for “compass”, past MEotW “zhǐnán‐zhēn ((zhǐ·nán {(points with) finger → [points]} · south 指南)‐(zhēn needle 针 針) → [compass])”, on a certain level of literalness means “points south needle”, in contrast to the Western view that a compass needle points north. Both are right—when one end of a symmetrical compass needle is pointing south, the other end is simultaneously pointing north—they’re just different ways of thinking about the same thing.

A Longer Usage Example

To provide a longer, more extensive example of how “Zhōngdōng (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East 中东 中東)” and some related expressions can be used in the ministry, here is some Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material based on the introductory paragraphs of the above-mentioned article:

English:

The world is anxiously watching the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Will the situation escalate into a wider war? Can governments avert disaster and achieve lasting peace?

Those familiar with Bible prophecy may wonder whether this Middle East conflict could be the start of the battle of Armageddon mentioned in the book of Revelation.

What does the Bible say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Měiguó (Měi·guó American · Nation → [USA] 美国 美國), Yǐsèliè (Israel 以色列), hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) Yīlǎng+ (Iran 伊朗) zhījiān (zhī·jiān them · among 之间 之間) de (’s 的) chōngtū+ (chōng·tū {dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} → [conflict] 冲突 衝突), nòngde (nòng·de {has played with → [has made]} · getting 弄得) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) gèdì (gè·dì various · lands 各地) rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {to be fearful → [to be anxious]} · {to be fearful → [to be anxious]} 惶惶). Zhèige (Zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) chōngtū (chōng·tū {dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} → [conflict] 冲突 衝突) huì (will 会 會) yǎnbiàn (yǎn·biàn perform · changing → [develop] 演变 演變) chéng ({to become} 成) dà (large 大)‐guīmó+ (guī·mó {compasses → [rules]} · model → [scale] 规模 規模) de (’s 的) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Zhèngfǔ (Zhèng·fǔ political · {seats of government} → [governments] 政府) yǒu ({do have} 有) nénglì (néng·lì ability · power 能力) píngxī+ (píng·xī {to make to be flat, level, even → [to make to be calm]} · {to stop} → [to calm/quiet down] 平息) chōngtū (chōng·tū {dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} → [conflict] 冲突 衝突), dàilái (dài·lái {to bring} · {to come} 带来 帶來) chángjiǔ (cháng·jiǔ long · {for a long time} 长久 長久) de (’s 的) hépíng (hé·píng {being (together) with (one another)} · {being flat, level, even} → [peace (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict)] 和平) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

📖 📄 ➕ Yǒuxiē (Yǒu·xiē {(there) are having → [(there) are]} · some 有些) dúguo (dú·guo reading · {have passed} → [have read] 读过 讀過) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) yùyán+ (yù·yán {in advance} · sayings → [prophecy] 预言 預言) de (’s 的) rén (people (who) 人) kěnéng (kě·néng maybe · {being able} → [maybe] 可能) huì (will 会 會) dānxīn (dān·xīn {carry on a shoulder pole → [take on (a heavy)]} · heart → [worry] 担/耽心 擔/耽心), zài (in 在) Zhōngdōng (Zhōng·dōng Middle · East 中东 中東) fāshēng (fā·shēng {issuing forth} · {coming to life} → [happening] 发生 發生) de (’s 的) chōngtū (chōng·tū {dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} → [conflict] 冲突 衝突) huì (will 会 會) yǐnfā (yǐn·fā {draw (out)} · {to send out} → [lead to] 引发 引發) Hāmǐjíduōdùn (Armageddon 哈米吉多顿 哈米吉多頓) dàzhàn (dà·zhàn {big → [great]} · war 大战 大戰), cóng’ér (cóng’·ér {from (that)} · thus 从而 從而) dàilái (dài·lái bring · {to come} 带来 帶來) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) mòrì+ (mò·rì end · {sun → [day]} → [doomsday] 末日).

📖 📄 ➕ Nàme (Nà·me {(in) that (case)} · [suf] 那么/末 那麼/末), Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) de (’s 的) guāndiǎn+ (guān·diǎn {looking at → [view]} · point → [viewpoint] 观点 觀點) shì (is 是) shénme (shén·me what · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)?

Categories
Culture Language Learning Languages Science

Zhōngwén

Zhōngwén+ (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[This is a reposting of a post that was originally posted on October 26, 2020. It’s about something that is fundamentally important for Mandarin field language learners to understand correctly.]

As discussed in a previous MEotW, the expression “Zhōngguó+ (Zhōng·guó Central · Nation → [China] 中国 中國)” is commonly used to refer to China, since historically, China views itself as the centre of the world, so much so, in fact, that it is the only nation to name itself as such. We can see then that Mandarin expressions starting with “Zhōng (Central → [Chinese] 中)-” can refer to things related to China.

In that case then, are “Zhōnghuà (Zhōng·huà {Central → [Chinese]} · Speech 中话 中話)” or “Zhōngyǔ (Zhōng·yǔ {Central → [Chinese]} · Language 中语 中語)” used to refer to any Chinese language, similarly to how “pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話)” and “Guóyǔ (Guó·yǔ National · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Taiwan)] 国语 國語)” are used to refer to Mandarin? Apparently not, according to my dictionaries.

Instead, Chinese people commonly use “Zhōngwén+ (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)”—this week’s MEotW—to mean “Chinese language”. It should be noted, though, that although “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)” is often used to refer to Chinese speech (e.g., in “shuō (speak 说 說/説) Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)” (“speak Chinese”)), “wén (writing; script [→ [language | culture]] 文)” really means “writing”.

Why do so many Chinese people thus conflate writing with speech and language, when they, while related, are really distinctly different things? This seems to be a symptom of the deeply ingrained Chinese cultural conceit that the Chinese characters are the primary aspect of the Chinese languages—to many Chinese people, the characters are the language. This is contrary to the principle recognized by modern linguists (language scientists) that speech is the primary aspect of any language, not writing. The truth of this basic linguistic principle is shown by the fact that many languages don’t even have a writing system, showing that the required foundation of a language is its speech, not its writing.

Our Creator himself touches on this matter in his Word the Bible:

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.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

Yes, Jehovah God himself, the One who designed us with our ability to use language, emphasizes the primary importance of understandable speech when it comes to communicating with people, especially when communicating about the potentially life-saving good news of the Kingdom.

Chinese people, however, often have the mistaken view, based on nothing more than deeply ingrained human tradition and not a little cultural pride, that their characters writing system is the primary aspect of the Chinese languages. So, we must take that into consideration when they or people deferring to them erroneously tell us, with all sincerity, that we need to focus first on Chinese characters in our efforts to learn one or more of the Chinese languages. The truth, as testified to by both real language experts among humans and by the Creator himself, is that speech—both understanding speech and speaking understandably—should be our primary focus as Chinese field language-learners.

Regarding the expression “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)”, another thing I have noticed is that when Mandarin-speakers say “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)”, they mean Mandarin speech, but when Cantonese-speakers say “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)” in Cantonese, they mean Cantonese speech. As a Chinese person, I must reluctantly admit that with such habits, and with naming their nation “Zhōngguó+ (Zhōng·guó Central · Nation → [China] 中国 中國)”, the central nation of the world, many Chinese people have taken quite far the tendency of imperfect humans to consider themselves the centre of the universe!

Categories
Current Events Experiences History Language Learning Technology Theocratic

lìliang

lìliang+ (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量) 👈🏼 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.]

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Hùdòng Shì Shèngjīng Kèchéng ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Hù·dòng {Each Other} · Moving → [Interactive] 互动 互動) (Shì (Type 式) (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)) book. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

This week’s MEotW, “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)”, occurs in subtitle 69 of the transcript for the video for lesson 16, point 6 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

Someone touched me,

for I know that power went out of me.

Mandarin:

68
00:03:30,620 → 00:03:32,038
📖 📄 ➕ Yídìng (Yí·dìng {(with) one} · {setting fixedly} → [definitely] 一定) yǒurén (yǒu·rén {(there) was having → [(there) was]} · person (who) 有人) mō (touched 摸) wǒ (me 我)—

69
00:03:32,038 → 00:03:34,207
📖 📄 ➕ wǒ (I 我) juéde (jué·de {to wake to → [to feel]} · got → [got to feel] 觉得 覺得) yǒu ({(there) was having} → [(there) was] 有) lìliang+ (lì·liang power · quantity 力量) cóng (from 从 從) wǒ (me 我) shēnshang (shēn·shang {body → [self]} · upon 身上) chūqu (chū·qu {having gone out} · {to go} 出去).

Here, “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)” is used as the Mandarin word for “power”. Speaking of God’s power and the vocabulary used to talk about it in Mandarin, “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)” appears in “shénshèng lìliang+ ((shén·shèng godly · holy 神圣 神聖) (lì·liang force · quantity 力量) → [holy spirit])”, the expression currently used in the publications of Jehovah’s organization to translate “holy spirit”. (Interestingly, comparing the English and Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) versions of song 112 in the “Sing Out Joyfully” book, we see that there, “we ask you for your spirit” is translated as “kěnqiú (kěn·qiú (we) earnestly · request 恳求 懇求) nǐ (you 你) cìyǔ ({to give} 赐予/与 賜予/與) lìliang+ (lì·liang force · quantity → [(as per the English lyrics, this may be an abbr. for shénshèng lìliang (holy spirit))] 力量)”. I suppose it’s possible, though, that this apparent abbreviation of “shénshèng lìliang ((shén·shèng godly · holy 神圣 神聖) (lì·liang force · quantity 力量) → [holy spirit])” to “lìliang (lì·liang force · quantity → [(this may be an abbr. for shénshèng lìliang (holy spirit), e.g., in the lyrics for song 112)] 力量)” was just something done to fit the song’s rhythm.)

“Power Had Gone Out of Him”

The above-mentioned video—and the Bible account it was based on—simply refers to “power”, translated into Mandarin as “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)”. However, considering the miraculously beneficial results of this flow of “power”, much more must have been involved than what humans typically think of when they think of power.

Power flowing out of Jesus may make some imagine something happening like what happens when contact is made that completes a circuit with a battery, like when one tries to jump-start a car. When that’s done properly and the power flows, the result can be the safe and gratifying starting up of the previously unstartable car. I once had an experience, though, that didn’t go as expected, when I helped to jump-start an old Nissan that for some reason had the colours on its battery posts reversed from the usual practice, such that the post that I thought was the negative post was actually the positive post, and vice versa. The result in that case was a runaway flow of power that caused the jumper cable to rapidly heat up and catch fire! (Fortunately, I was able to grab a long wooden stick I had in the trunk of my car for chipping away at road ice, and use it to forcibly break the cable, which by then had been weakened by the extreme heat.)

So, power alone is not enough to ensure good results. Indeed, power alone can destroy rather than make things better. Besides my misadventure with that confusingly designed car battery, another obvious example is what happened when huge amounts of power were released by the explosions of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In the case of the sick woman who touched Jesus’ outer garments, Jesus only knew that “power had gone out of him”—he didn’t know this woman and didn’t understand her situation until she explained things to him after the fact. So, even without Jesus’ active participation and direction, the “power” that went out from him displayed

  • recognition of the woman’s faith and of the rightness of helping her, even if she was technically in violation of the Mosaic Law,
  • understanding of the nature of her sickness and of the technical process required to completely and immediately heal her of it,
  • and willingness to help her in this way.

Power, Beneficially Applied

It is evident from what happened in this situation that, as corroborated by the rest of God’s Word, God’s almighty power is always used along with his abundant justice, wisdom, and love—it never runs amok on its own, like a runaway electric current or an exploding bomb.

While humans in Satan’s world continue to fight wars and otherwise hungrily seek power for its own sake, it’s good to know of Jehovah God’s unmatched power, and of how he always uses it justly, wisely, and lovingly. In the Mandarin field, we have the privilege of helping people in what’s probably the largest language field ever to also come to an appreciation of the impressive and moving ways in which Jehovah God uses power.

Chart: Languages by First-Language Speakers—2019

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! book 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 Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.