Tag: Bible Teach Bk.

Categories
Culture Current Events Language Learning Theocratic

huánjìng

huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境) ← 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, the main page of jw.org was featuring the following headline in support of a global campaign:

English

Can the Environment Be Saved?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Huánjìng (Huán·jìng Surrounding · {(Set of) Boundaries → [(Bounded) Area] → [Situation]} → [Environmental] 环境 環境) Wèntí (Wèn·tí Asking · Problems → [Problems] 问题 問題) Yǒu ({Will Have} 有) Jiějué (Jiě·jué {Having Been Untied → [Having Been Solved]} · {Having Been Decided} → [Having Been Solved] 解决 解決) de (’s 的) Yì (One 一) Tiān (Sky → [Day] 天) Ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

Screenshot of jw.org (CHS) on 2023-09-16, with _“环境 (Huánjìng)”_ circled

“Huánjìng (Huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境)”, which is used in Mandarin to mean “environment” or “environmental”, is this week’s MEotW.

Morphemic Breakdown

How does “huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境)” “work” as an expression? Its first morpheme “huán ({(chain) link} | ring; circle | surround; encircle 环 環)” refers to a “ring” or a “circle”, for example, a link in a chain. In fact, it used to be used on our organization’s publications’ Publishers’ Pages to correspond to the “part” in “part of a worldwide Bible educational work”, by referring to the publication as a figurative link in a chain. An example can be seen in the screenshot below, which shows part of the Publishers’ Page for the Mandarin Bible Teach book:

Screenshot of _Bible Teach_ book Publishers’ Page (CHS+_Pīnyīn_) on the WOL, with “环 (_huán_)” circled

In the context of “huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境)”, “huán ({(chain) link} | ring; circle | surround; encircle 环 環)” means “surrounding” or “encircling”, like a ring or a circle around someone would be.

The other morpheme, “jìng ({[(set of)] boundaries; borders} [→ [[(bounded)] place; area; territory] [→ [condition; situation; circumstances]]] 境)”, literally means “boundary” or “border”, and can be used to effectively mean “a set of boundaries/borders”. This, in turn, can effectively mean “(bounded) place; area; territory”, which can effectively mean “condition; situation; circumstances”.

When the two morphemes are put together in “huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境)”, they mean something like “surrounding situation”, which works to mean “environment”.

Another expression in which “jìng ({[(set of)] boundaries; borders} [→ [[(bounded)] place; area; territory] [→ [condition; situation; circumstances]]] 境)” appears is past MEotW “yǔjìng (yǔ·jìng language · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place] → [situation]} → [context] 语境 語境)”, which means “language situation”, which means “context”, as in the textual context of a written expression, or the spoken context of something that is said. As discussed in that post and in other posts, such context, not characters, is the real key to dealing with the many homophones in Mandarin.

Another Usage Example

Coming back to “huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境)”, the section of jw.org currently containing the above-quoted headline links to an article (English/Mandarin) that contains the nice usage example below:

English:

The Bible speaks of a government that can and will solve all the earth’s environmental problems. It says that “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom,” a government to administer all of earth’s affairs. (Daniel 2:44) Under that world government, people “will not cause any harm or any ruin” to one another or to the earth.—Isaiah 11:9.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) tándào (tán·dào {talks about} · {arriving at} 谈到 談到) yǒu ({(there) is having} → [(there) is] 有) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ able · [suf] 可以) chèdǐ (chè·dǐ {penetrating to} · bottom → [thoroughly] 彻底 徹/澈底) jiějué (jiě·jué {to untie → [to solve]} · {to decide} → [to solve] 解决 解決) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe 地球) de (’s 的) huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) area] → [situation]} → [environmental] 环境 環境) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · problems → [problems] 问题 問題). Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) shuō (says 说 說/説): “Tiānshang (Tiān·shang heaven · upon 天上) de (’s 的) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) yào (will 要) shèlì (shè·lì {set up} · {make to stand} 设立 設立) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/箇/个) yǒngbú (yǒng·bú forever · not 永不) mièwáng (miè·wáng {will be extinguished} · {will die} 灭亡 滅亡) de (’s 的) wángguó (wáng·guó king’s · nation → [kingdom] 王国 王國).” (Dànyǐlǐshū (Dànyǐlǐ·shū Daniel · Book 但以理书 但以理書) 2:44) Zhèige (Zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) huì (will 会 會) tǒngzhì (tǒng·zhì {gather together → [command]} · rule 统治 統治) zhěnggè (zhěng·gè whole · [mw] 整个 整個) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe 地球). Zài (at 在) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) de (’s 的) tǒngzhì (tǒng·zhì {gathering together → [commanding]} · ruling → [rule] 统治 統治) xià (under 下), búhuì (bú·huì (there) not · will → [(there) will not] 不会 不會) zài (anymore 再) yǒu ({be having} → [be] 有) rén (people 人) pòhuài (pò·huài damaging · {to be ruined} 破坏 破壞) huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) area] → [situation]} → [environment] 环境 環境) huò (or 或) shānghài (shāng·hài hurting · harming 伤害 傷害) qítā (qí·tā them · otherwise’s → [other] 其他) rén (people 人). (Yǐsàiyàshū (Yǐsàiyà·shū Isaiah · Book 以赛亚书 以賽亞書) 11:9)

(For reference, here are the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus links for the scriptures cited above: Dànyǐlǐshū (Dànyǐlǐ·shū Daniel · Book 但以理书 但以理書) 2:44; Yǐsàiyàshū (Yǐsàiyà·shū Isaiah · Book 以赛亚书 以賽亞書) 11:9.)

Categories
Culture Language Learning Theocratic

fùlù

fùlù (fù·lù appended · record → [appendix; endnotes] 附录 附錄) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

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. In this book, the Mandarin word “fùlù (fù·lù appended · record → [appendix; endnotes] 附录 附錄)”, this week’s MEotW, is used to translate the English word “endnotes”. In other official publications, such as the Biànmíng Shèngjīng de Zhēnlǐ ((Biàn·míng Differentiating · {to Be Clear} 辨明) (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) (de ’s 的) (Zhēn·lǐ True · Reasoning → [Truth] 真理) → [What Does the Bible Really Teach? (bh)]) (Bible Teach (bh)) book, “fùlù (fù·lù appended · record → [appendix; endnotes] 附录 附錄)” has been used to translate the English word “appendix”.

“Added” Meanings

The “fù (add; attach; enclose; append 附 附/坿)” in “fùlù (fù·lù appended · record → [appendix; endnotes] 附录 附錄)” can mean “add”, “attach”, “enclose”, or “append”. With such a set of meanings, it’s not surprising that “fù (add; attach; enclose; append 附 附/坿)” also occurs in many other Mandarin expressions, such as the following:

  • fùjìn (fù·jìn {[is] attached → [[is] nearby]} · {[is] near} [(area) → [vicinity]] 附近)
  • fùlán (fù·lán attached · {bounded area → [box]} 附栏 附欄)
  • fùshēn (fù·shēn {attached to} · body → [possessed] 附身)

Attachment for Advancement

One interesting use of “fù (add; attach; enclose; append 附 附/坿)” is in the chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(sth. that) has become} · saying → [set phrase (typically of 4 characters)] 成语 成語) (type of Chinese idiom) “pānlóng‐fùjì ((pān·lóng {hang on to} · dragon 攀龙 攀龍)‐(fù·jì {attach to} · {thoroughbred horse} 附骥 附驥) → [ride on the coattails of a brilliant master; follow the lead of a great man; attach oneself to a celebrity; bask in reflected glory])”, which literally means “hang on to dragon, attach to thoroughbred horse”, and which can have effective meanings such as “ride on the coattails of a brilliant master; follow the lead of a great man; attach oneself to a celebrity; bask in reflected glory”.

A similar but slightly different chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(sth. that) has become} · saying → [set phrase (typically of 4 characters)] 成语 成語) is “pānlóng‐fùfèng ((pān·lóng {hang on to} · dragon 攀龙 攀龍)‐(fù·fèng {attach to} · phoenix 附凤 附鳳) → [curry favour with powerful and influential people])”, which literally means “hang on to dragon, attach to phoenix”, and which effectively means “curry favour with powerful and influential people”.

One of the things that the meanings of the above chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters)] 成语 成語) make me think of is that while many in the Mandarin field put a lot of time and effort into learning Chinese characters because of sincerely believing that doing so may help them to praise Jehovah and help people more effectively in this Chinese language field, it may be the case that some do so because of wanting to bask in the exotic glory of Chinese characters and their exalted place in worldly Chinese culture.

This glorification of the characters writing system is actually in contrast to the basic principle of modern linguistics that speech is primary and writing is secondary. Also, the Bible itself emphasizes the primary importance in our spiritual preaching and teaching work of understandable speech, which experience has shown can get neglected by those who focus on learning the extraordinarily complex Chinese characters.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

“Phoenix” and Christians

Going back to the literal meanings of the above chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters)] 成语 成語), note that while it’s relatively well known that “dragon” occurs in the Bible, “Phoenix” only seems to occur in the Bible as the name of a “harbor of Crete”. (Revelation 12:9; Acts 27:12) It is well known, though, that the phoenix is associated with worldly mythologies, such as Egyptian mythology. In the Mandarin field, we of course need to be aware that the phoenix features in Chinese mythology. So, a Christian may not want to personally use an expression that refers to the mythological phoenix. However, it may still be beneficial to at least be familiar with expressions like the one above.

Speaking of phoenixes, I am reminded of a Taiwanese sister I know who regretted that her unbelieving parents had made “Fèng (Phoenix 凤 鳳)”, the word for “phoenix”, part of her name. How unfortunate! At least we can probably look forward to getting new names in the new system, especially in cases like hers, as we transition to speaking and writing in the new world way and leave behind old world systems like Chinese characters.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation 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.