Tag: Awake!

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Current Events Theocratic

shìwēi kàngyì

shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威) kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議) ← 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, perhaps because of the pro-Palestinian protests taking place on campuses across the US, jw.org was featuring the Awake! article “Is Protest the Answer?”. Where the English version of this article uses the word “protest”, the Mandarin version (for which official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is available) uses this week’s MEotW, “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威) kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)”. For example, the article’s title is rendered in English and Mandarin as follows:

English:

Is Protest the Answer?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shìwēi (Shì·wēi Demonstrating · Strength → [Holding Demonstrations] 示威) Kàngyì (Kàng·yì Opposing · Commenting → [Protesting] 抗议 抗議) Néng (Can 能) Jiějué (Jiě·jué {Untie → [Solve]} · Decide → [Solve] 解决 解決) Wèntí (Wèn·tí Asking · Problems → [Problems] 问题 問題) Ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

Breakdown

The “shì (show; indicate; notify; instructing; reveal; manifest; demonstrate 示)” in “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” can mean “show” or “demonstrate”, and other expressions in which it appears include “biǎoshì (biǎo·shì indicate; express · show 表示)”, “xiǎnshì (xiǎn·shì {to be evident/obvious} · show 显示 顯示)”, “shìfàn (shì·fàn {showing; demonstrating [of]} · pattern; model; example → [demonstrating; setting an example | demonstration] 示范 示範/范)”, and “Qǐshìlù (Qǐ·shì·lù {Opening → [Enlightening]} · Showing · Record → [Revelation] 启示录 啟示錄)”.

The “wēi (might; power; strength; force 威)” in “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” means “might; power; strength; force”, and it also appears in expressions such as “quánwēi (quán·wēi authority · power 权威 權威)” and “wēixié (wēi·xié {(with) power} · {upper part of the human body → [coerce; force] → [threaten]} → [threaten; menace; imperil; intimidate] 威胁 威脅)”.

So, “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” can mean “demonstration of strength”, as when people hold a demonstration to show how strongly supported their cause is. In different contexts, it can alternately mean “putting on a show of force”.

In “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)”, “kàng (resist; fight; oppose; defy 抗)” means “resist; fight; oppose; defy”, and other expressions that use it include “dǐkàng (dǐ·kàng resist; withstand · {resist; fight; combat; defy} 抵抗)”, “duìkàng (duì·kàng facing · resisting 对抗 對抗)”, “fǎnkàng (fǎn·kàng {turn over → [oppose]} · resist 反抗)”, and “kàngjù (kàng·jù resist; fight; defy · resist; repel; {ward off} 抗拒)”. The other morpheme “yì (discussing; conferring; {exchanging views}; {talking over}; commenting; remarking [→ [(exchanged) opinion; view]] 议 議)” can mean “discuss” or “comment on”, and it’s also used in “jiànyì (jiàn·yì {build; construct → [propose; advocate]} · discussing → [propose; suggest; recommend] | {building; constructing of → [proposing; advocating of]} · discussing → [proposal; suggestion; recommendation] 建议 建議)” and in recent MEotW “zhēngyì (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議)”.

So, “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)” can mean something like “commenting about opposing”, and indeed, a protest is intended to make a statement about opposition to something.

Verbs? Nouns?

The two expressions “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” and “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)” can each be used on its own, but, as mentioned earlier, they are used together in the above-mentioned Awake! article to correspond with the English word “protest”. Interestingly, just as “protest” can be a verb or a noun, both “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” and “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)” can also be a verb or a noun.

Additionally, by analyzing it down to the morphemes, we can see that “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)”—which can literally mean “demonstrating strength”—has verb-object construction.

The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, says the following about verb-object construction in Mandarin:

V.O. (Verb-Object Construction, Dòng-Bīn Jiégòu 动宾结构).

Many English verbs get translated into natural Chinese as a verb plus an object noun, e.g. chīfàn for ‘eat’, shuōhuà for ‘speak’, etc. It is important for two reasons to know what is merely a verb in Chinese and what is actually a verb-object construction.

First, verb-object constructions can never take a second object, i.e. chīfàn can never be followed directly by something else to be eaten.

Second, a verb and its object can be separated from one another, thus allowing

(i) aspect particles to be placed directly after the verb, e.g. chīle fàn ‘after finishing eating’;
(ii) modification of the object, e.g. chī Zhōngguófàn ‘eat Chinese food’; and
(iii) quantification of the noun, e.g. chīle sān wǎn fàn ‘ate three bowls of rice’. See also Stative Verb (S.V.).

Categories
Science Technology Theocratic

fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ

fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine]) ← 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 “A Microbiologist Explains Her Faith”. It turns out that this microbiologist is from Taiwan, so this article may especially be of interest to Mandarin-speaking people. In this article, microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨 楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲 鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) explains:

English:

A professor of biochemistry in the United States published a book arguing that the molecular machines in living cells are so complex that they could not have originated randomly. I agreed. I felt that life must have been created.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Měiguó (Měi·guó American · Nation’s → [USA’s] 美国 美國) yí (one 一) wèi ({place of a} → [mw for persons] 位) shēnghuà (shēng·huà {living → [bio-] (abbr. for shēngwùxué)} · {transforming → [chemistry] (abbr. for huàxué)} → [biochemistry] 生化) xì ({tied (things)} → [department (in a college/university)] 系) jiàoshòu (jiào·shòu teaching · {conferring → [instructing]} (person) → [professor] 教授) xiěle (xiě·le wrote · {to completion} 写了 寫了) yì (one 一) běn ({root or stem of a} → [mw for books, etc.] 本) shū (book 书 書), tā (he 他) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identifies · {(it) to be} (that) 认为 認為) huó (living 活) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · wombs → [cells] 细胞 細胞) zhōng (within 中) de (’s 的) fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ bodies 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machines]) rúcǐ (rú·cǐ {are like} · this 如此) fùzá (fù·zá {turned around → [complex]} · mixed → [complex] 复杂 複雜), jué ({being cut off} → [absolutely] 绝 絕/絶) bù (not 不) kěnéng (could 可能) shì (be 是) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {given birth to → [produced]} · {given birth to → [caused to exist]} → [brought into being] 产生 產生) de ({’s (things)} 的). Wǒ (I 我) tóngyì (tóng·yì {(had the) same} · thought (about) → [agreed with] 同意) tā de ((tā him 他) (de ’s 的) → [his]) guāndiǎn (guān·diǎn {looking at → [view]} · point → [viewpoint] 观点 觀點). Wǒ (I 我) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identified · {(it) to be} 认为 認為), shēngmìng (life 生命) bìdìng (bì·dìng certainly · {(it) has been set} 必定) shì (is 是) bèi ([passive signifier] → [got] 被) chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造 創造) chulai (chu·lai out · {to come} 出来 出來) de ({’s (thing)} 的).

As shown in the above quote, the Mandarin version of this article (which, perhaps because it’s from an issue of Awake! magazine, provides the option to show Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)) uses this week’s MEotW, “fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])”, to translate “molecular machines”.

Polymers and Crystals

The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” for “fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])” specifies that this expression—for example, as used in the above-mentioned Awake! article—refers to a molecular polymerized body that is a protein molecular machine because proteins are polymers made up of amino acid subunits (monomers), but apparently, as summarized in the Wikipedia article on molecular machines, artificial molecular machines that are crystalline exist, or have been conceptualized, in addition to those that are polymeric:

A wide range of applications have been demonstrated for AMMs [artificial molecular machines], including those integrated into polymeric, liquid crystal, and crystalline systems for varied functions

Inspiration and Attribution

As the above-mentioned Wikipedia article on molecular machines summarizes, biological molecular machines have served as inspiration for artificial, or man-made, molecular machines:

Biological molecular machines have been known and studied for years given their vital role in sustaining life, and have served as inspiration for synthetically designed systems with similar useful functionality.[source][source]

(This kind of human imitation of living things in nature is called biomimetics, or biomimicry. More examples of this can be found in the section of the Was Life Created? brochure entitled “Who Designed It First?”.)

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)} 杨 楊) (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 Language Learning Science Theocratic

chuán

chuán (boat; ship; vessel 船 船/舩) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

This week, we are revisiting “chuán (boat; ship; vessel 船 船/舩)”, an expression that was featured in an early Expression of the Week post on the tiandi.info blog. (If you need login information for the parts of tiandi.info that require it, request it by email, and include information on how you learned of tiandi.info and/or what group/cong. you are in.)

As shown in the image below, the first printing of the Insight book (on p. 328 of Volume 1) included a section regarding the Chinese character for “chuán (boat; ship; vessel 船 船/舩)”:

P. 328 of Vol. 1 of the first printing of the _Insight_ book (1988), with a section about “船”

However, this section on this Chinese character no longer appears in current versions of the Insight book. Why might it have been removed?

Murky Speculation

Several years after the above-mentioned tiandi.info post was originally posted, I appended the following update to it:

Note that the section about the Chinese character “船 (chuán)” that was originally in the Insight book, Vol. 1, p. 328 is not present in the more recently published Chinese version of the Insight book.

Perhaps it was eventually decided that the origins of Chinese characters, which have been used for thousands of years, are too murky to do anything more than speculate about. I myself have recently become convinced that Chinese characters in general have been over-glamourized by the world.

It’s also worth going over an interesting, well-researched comment that the tiandi.info post mentioned above received. (Thanks again, Ed!) Here are a couple of excerpts from it:

The Insight article isn’t the only place in the Slave’s writings that the reference to this Chinese character appears. It originally appeared in the article “Chinese Characters—Why Are They Written That Way?” in g84 8/8 p. 23 [Here is a link to that article. Note that in addition to mentioning “chuán (boat; ship; vessel 船 船/舩)”, this old article unfortunately repeats the Ideographic Myth. Also, it conflates language with writing, when actually, linguists understand that language primarily has to do with speech.—ed.], which ended with the caveat, “The similarity between the thoughts behind many of the Chinese characters and the Bible record of man’s early history is nothing less than remarkable. Although the evidence is only circumstantial, it is, nonetheless, fascinating to think that there is a possibility that the Chinese [characters contain Biblical concepts].”

The article was written in response to the book The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis Were Found Hidden in the Chinese Language, which had been published only a few years earlier. This book is full of fascinating parallels between Biblical accounts and elements that appear to comprise certain Chinese characters.

There are many resources available these days even to English speakers that contain scholarly research into the meaning and origins of Chinese characters. During the course of learning the language, I have made it a hobby to investigate some of these. I have to say that, based on what I have discovered, I disagree with the coauthors of Discovery of Genesis. In fact, there is a web site that has existed for several years for the purpose of rebutting these claims. While I don’t know the author’s motive for putting up the page, it does seem to have logical arguments.

…

For an alternative to Zhongwen.com, you could try looking up 船 at this site. (Disclosure: this web site is run by me.)

Truly right-hearted people won’t be stumbled if we share accurate knowledge from the Bible with them. But in any case, it’s best not to get too involved with matters of speculation that could be of interest to us but not have a direct bearing on God’s word of truth.

Sound vs. Meaning

The Raccoon Bend website page mentioned in the above quote contains some technical points such as the following:

A typical error made…is to analyze a semantic-phonetic compound as though it were compound-indicative (which they refer to as “ideographic”).

In other words, some mistakenly treat a character component that indicates sound as if it indicates meaning. The information at the Chinese-Characters.org link that the brother quoted above provided indicates that doing that with “船” seems to be what led to the story of “vessel + eight + mouths/persons”, when this character should actually be understood as being made up of the components “vessel + [phonetic (sound) component]”.

Stories vs. the Truth

As humans, we naturally love stories, since our minds use stories to make sense of the world around us. Also, stories add or reveal meaning or significance regarding things that these things would lack if they were not part of a story. However, not all stories are true. And while even fictional stories can help to reveal deeper truths about life, like Jesus’ parables did, false stories can take us farther away from the truth, if we let them. As the apostle Paul warned in 2 Timothy 4:3, 4:

For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled. They will turn away from listening to the truth and give attention to false stories.

While Chinese characters sometimes have appealing stories attached to them, let us make sure that we don’t let mere love of a good story take us away from the truth in any way. While naive tourists may be easily misled by appealing but false stories, as literal or figurative missionaries in the Mandarin field, we have a responsibility to serve God and our Mandarin-speaking neighbours “with spirit and truth”.—John 4:23, 24.