Tag: Different Perspectives

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jiǎodù

jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [angle | point of view; perspective] 角度) ← 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.]

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. This week’s MEotW, “jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [angle | point of view; perspective] 角度)”, occurs in the transcript for the video used in lesson 06, point 5 of this book:

Screenshot of “jiǎodù” in _Enjoy Life Forever!_ bk. lesson 06 point 5 _Pīnyīn_ Plus video transcript

The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the sentence in the video in which “jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [angle | point of view; perspective] 角度)” occurs is as follows:

📖 📄 📘 Lìngwài (Lìng·wài separately · outside → [additionally] 另外), Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) zhōng (within’s 中) guānyú (guān·yú {closing → [relating]} · to 关于 關於) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor’s → [God’s]} → [God’s] 上帝) chuàngshì (chuàng·shì {initiating, creating of} · {generation → [world]} 创世 創世) de (’s 的) jìzǎi (jì·zǎi recorded · writing → [account] 记载 記載) shì (is 是) cóng (from 从 從) shēnghuó (living 生活) zài (on 在) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe 地球) shang (upon 上) de (’s 的) rén (person 人) de (’s 的) jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [perspective] 角度) qù ({having gone} 去) miáoshù (miáo·shù {to be traced → [to be depicted]} · {to be related} → [to be described] 描述) de (’s 的).

Horns, Corners, and Angles

It’s interesting to consider some of the other expressions that use the morphemes in “jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [angle | point of view; perspective] 角度)”. The first morpheme, “jiǎo ({horn [→ [sth. horn-shaped]]} | corner | angle 角)”, seems to literally mean “horn”, and it is also used to refer to things that are shaped like a horn. Probably related to that, it can also mean “corner”, or “angle”. Some other expressions that include “jiǎo ({horn [→ [sth. horn-shaped]]} | corner | angle 角)” are:

  • sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) [xíng (form; shape 形)]

    • Interestingly, while in the English-speaking world, we say that a triangle has three sides, Mandarin calls a triangle something with three corners (or perhaps angles).
    • Recall that in the MEotW post on “Dé’ěrtǎ (Delta 德尔塔 德爾塔)”, this expression was listed as one of the ways to say “Delta”—as in the Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19—in Mandarin. (“Delta” is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and its uppercase form (Δ) looks like a triangle.)
  • Fēizhōu zhī Jiǎo ((Fēi·zhōu Africa · Continent → [Africa] 非洲) (zhī ’s 之) (Jiǎo Horn 角) → [Horn of Africa])
  • tiānyá‐hǎijiǎo ((tiān·yá sky’s · boundaries; edges → [remotest corners of the earth] 天涯)‐(hǎi·jiǎo sea’s · {horns → [corners]} 海角) → [ends of the earth; remotest corners of the earth | separated worlds apart])

    • It turns out that there’s actually a real place called “Tiānyá (Tiān·yá Sky’s · Edge 天涯) Hǎijiǎo (Hǎi·jiǎo Sea’s · {Horn → [Corner]} → [Cape] 海角)”, called Cape Haijiao in English, in the vicinity of the city of Sānyà (Sān·yà Three · Inferiors → [Sanya, a city on Hainan Island, China] 三亚 三亞), which is on Hǎinán (Hǎi·nán Sea · South → [Hainan] 海南) Island in China.
    • The Wikipedia post on Sānyà (Sān·yà Three · Inferiors → [Sanya, a city on Hainan Island, China] 三亚 三亞) summarizes for us that:

      Sanya’s history dates to the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE). Due to its remoteness from the political centers during the Qin Dynasty, Sanya was sometimes called Tianya Haijiao (天涯海角), meaning “the end of the sky and ocean” or “the end of the earth”. As a result, the city served as a place of exile for officials who found themselves out of favor with the country’s rulers.

Degrees of…

“Dù (degree; extent; {degree of intensity} | {spend; pass (time)} | [mw for occasions/times] 度)”, the other morpheme in “jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [angle | point of view; perspective] 角度)”, can mean “degree(s)”, “extent”, or “degree of intensity”, among other things. Some other expressions that include it are:

  • chángdù (cháng·dù {being long → [length]} · degree; extent → [length] 长度 長度)

    • This expression occurs in the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure, when it makes the point that “the Hebrew word translated ‘day’ can mean various lengths of time, not just a 24-hour period”. (Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) WOL; Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus)
  • sùdù (sù·dù {being fast; rapid; quick; speedy → [speed; velocity]} · degree → [speed; velocity; tempo; pace; rate] 速度)
  • wēndù (wēn·dù {(of) being warm} · {degree of intensity} → [temperature] 温度 溫度)
  • tàidu (tài·du state · degree → [attitude; manner] 态度 態度)

Same Character, Different Words?

One thing that came to light during the research for this post is that “角”, the character for the “jiǎo ({horn [→ [sth. horn-shaped]]} | corner | angle 角)” in “jiǎodù (jiǎo·dù {horn(-shaped thing) → [angle]} · degree → [angle | point of view; perspective] 角度)”, can also be pronounced “jué ”, “lù”, or “gǔ”. For example, it’s pronounced “jué ” in “juésè (jué·sè role; part; character · {colour → [[theatrical] role]} 角色 角/腳色)”, where it also means something completely different. (Oddly, the first morpheme in “juésè (jué·sè role; part; character · {colour → [[theatrical] role]} 角色 角/腳色)” can alternately be written with the character “脚/腳”, which, like “角”, can also be pronounced either “jiǎo” or “jué ”.)

This illustrates that the contention that characters are the best way to disambiguate (tell apart) the homophones in Mandarin is problematic. One of the problems is that many characters have multiple possible pronunciations and meanings. Even for a given pronunciation, a character can still have multiple possible meanings. (A classic example is “机/機 ( jī )”, as discussed in the MEotW post on “wēijī (wēi·jī {ridge of a roof → [dangerous | endangering]} · {incipient moment; crucial point | occasion} | {(for) ridge of a roof → [(for) danger]} · occasion; opportunity → [crisis] 危机 危機)”.) So, the way to tell what pronunciation and what meaning a particular character has basically involves taking the same approach that Mandarin-speakers routinely take to disambiguate homophones when speaking Mandarin—consider the context.

Another thing to ponder is that if two Mandarin expressions are pronounced differently and have different meanings, but are written with the same character, do they count as two different words? Or does being written with the same character override their differences and unite them to be one word? There are different viewpoints regarding what is a word in Mandarin, but I think these two Mandarin expressions should indeed be considered two different words that just happen to be written with the same character, because in linguistics (the scientific study of language), speech is primary and writing is secondary, so the different spoken pronunciations (and meanings!) trump being written with the same character. If you have a different take, please share your reasoning and supporting evidence in the comments.

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.

Categories
Culture Current Events

wǔyè

wǔyè (wǔ·yè {7th of the 12 Earthly Branches → [south (placed at the midnight position of Chinese directions charts)]} · night → [midnight] 午夜) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Scientists Move the Doomsday Clock Forward—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses “Mòrì (Mò·rì End · {Sun → [Day]} → [Doomsday] 末日) Shízhōng (Shí·zhōng {(Particular) Times} · Clock → [Clock] 时钟 時鐘)” to translate “Doomsday Clock” (see the MEotW post on “shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) mòrì (mò·rì end · {sun → [day]} 末日)” for some info on “mòrì (mò·rì end · {sun → [day]} [→ [doomsday]] 末日)”), and it uses this week’s MEotW, “wǔyè (wǔ·yè {7th of the 12 Earthly Branches → [south (placed at the midnight position of Chinese directions charts)]} · night → [midnight] 午夜)” to translate “midnight”. Many Mandarin field language learners will be familiar with “yè (night; evening 夜 夜/亱)”, which means “night” or “evening”, but what does “wǔ ({7th of the 12 Earthly Branches} [→ [noon | midnight | south]] 午)” mean?

Earthly Branches

As shown in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “wǔ ({7th of the 12 Earthly Branches} [→ [noon | midnight | south]] 午)”, its literal meaning is “7th of the 12 Earthly Branches”. What in the world are the “Earthly Branches”? Wikipedia summarizes for us that:

The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches[source] are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts

One of those contexts in which the Earthly Branches are traditionally used by the Chinese is to name the twelve two-hour periods that they divided each day into. In this system, the seventh Earthly Branch “wǔ ({7th of the 12 Earthly Branches} [→ [noon | midnight | south]] 午)” is the name of the two-hour period from 11 am to 1 pm, which has noon at its centre. Thus, “wǔ ({7th of the 12 Earthly Branches} [→ [noon | midnight | south]] 午)” is associated with “noon”, and we get expressions such as “wǔcān (wǔ·cān {7th of the 12 Earthly Branches → [noon]} · meal → [lunch] 午餐)”, meaning “noon meal”, or “lunch”.

Wait a minute…how did an expression that’s associated with “noon” end up getting used in an expression that means “midnight”? This apparently happened because of a different context in which the Earthly Branches are also used, that of directions. In this context, “wǔ ({7th of the 12 Earthly Branches} [→ [noon | midnight | south]] 午)” is used to mean “south”. Wait a minute…again…isn’t south at the bottom of a compass, while midnight is at the top of a clock? Well, check out this chart of the Chinese directions:

Directions used by Chinese mariners, astronomers, etc.

Directions used by Chinese mariners, astronomers, etc. By ancient Chinese convention, south, named “wǔ ({7th of the 12 Earthly Branches} → [south] 午)”, is placed at the top, in the midnight position.
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License logo Locoluis

Indeed, the Mandarin word for “compass”, “zhǐnán zhēn ((zhǐ·nán {(points with) finger → [points]} · south 指南) (zhēn needle 针 針) → [compass])” (a past MEotW), which actually means “points south needle”, embodies that the ancient Chinese viewed north and south from the opposite viewpoint compared to modern Westerners, whose convention is that a compass needle points north. (Of course, as one end of a compass needle is pointing north, the other end is simultaneously pointing south, so both viewpoints are correct—they’re just coming from different directions.) Thus, on a compass marked with the Chinese directions, south is placed at the top, where a clock puts midnight. This, apparently, is how we get “wǔyè (wǔ·yè {7th of the 12 Earthly Branches → [south (placed at the midnight position of Chinese directions charts)]} · night → [midnight] 午夜)”, which means “south night” and is used to mean “midnight”.

Heavenly Stems

By the way, often used with the Earthly Branches are the Heavenly Stems. Anyone who’s been in the Mandarin field for a while will have already seen some of them, albeit probably without knowing it—if, say, a paragraph in an English Watchtower study article has more than one study question, the questions would be labelled with the ordinals “a”, “b”, “c”, etc., and the corresponding study questions in the Mandarin version would be labelled with the ordinals “Jiǎ ({1st of the 10 Heavenly Stems} → [a] 甲)”, “Yǐ ({2nd of the 10 Heavenly Stems} → [b] 乙) ”, “Bǐng ({3rd of the 10 Heavenly Stems} → [c] 丙)”, etc., which are part of the Heavenly Stems Chinese system of ordinals.

Usage Example

Here is an example of “wǔyè (wǔ·yè {7th of the 12 Earthly Branches → [south (placed at the midnight position of Chinese directions charts)]} · night → [midnight] 午夜)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned jw.org article:

English:

“Scientists revealed on Tuesday that the ‘Doomsday Clock’ has been moved up to 90 seconds before midnight—the closest humanity has ever been to armageddon.”—ABC News.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 “Kēxuéjiā (Kē·xué·jiā {branches of study · learning → [science]} · -ists → [scientists] 科学家 科學家) zài (on 在) Zhōu’èr (Zhōu’·èr {Circle → [Week(day)]} · Two → [Tuesday] 周二 周/週二) de (’s 的) shíhou ({(particular) time} 时候 時候), jiāng (took 将 將) Mòrì (Mò·rì End · {Sun → [Day]} → [Doomsday] 末日) Shízhōng (Shí·zhōng {(Particular) Times} · Clock → [Clock] 时钟 時鐘) tiáokuài (tiáo·kuài {to be adjusted} · {to be fast(er) → [to be farther ahead]} 调快 調快) le ([indicates a change] 了), jùlí (jù·lí {to be apart from} · {to be leaving from → [to be at a distance from]} 距离 距離) wǔyè (wǔ·yè {7th of the 12 Earthly Branches → [south (placed at the midnight position of Chinese directions charts)]} · night → [midnight] 午夜) zhǐ (just 只 只/秖/衹/祇) shèng ({having remaining} 剩 剩/賸) 90 miǎo (seconds 秒), shì ((this) is 是) rénlèi (rén·lèi human·kind’s 人类 人類) shǐ (history 史) shang (upon 上) zuì (most 最 最/㝡) jiējìn (jiē·jìn {coming close to} · {to be near} 接近) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) mòrì (mò·rì end · {sun → [day]} 末日) de (’s 的) shíkè (shí·kè {(particular) time} · {carving → [moment]} 时刻 時刻).”—ABC Xīnwén (Xīn·wén New · {(That Which) Is Heard} → [News] 新闻 新聞) (Yīngyǔ (Yīng·yǔ English · language 英语 英語))

Categories
Culture Current Events

hūxī

hūxī (hū·xī {breathing out}; exhaling · {breathing in}; inhaling → [breathing] 呼吸) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Hūxī (Hū·xī {breathing out}; exhaling · {breathing in}; inhaling → [breathing] 呼吸), the Mandarin word for “breathe”, literally translates as “breathe out breath in”. This is an interesting contrast to the English expression “breathe in, breathe out”, which refers to the same thing, just in a different culturally selected order.

Another example of East and West coming at the same thing from different directions is that in the English-speaking world, a “compass” is generally thought of as pointing north, whereas “zhǐnán zhēn ((zhǐ·nán {(points with) finger → [points]} · south 指南) (zhēn needle 针 針) → [compass])” (a previous MEotW)”, the Mandarin word for the same thing, in contrast means a needle that points south.

In both the above examples, neither the Eastern view nor the Western view is wrong—they’re just different.

“The Ballad of East and West”

Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Ballad of East and West” begins with these lines:

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

The first line quoted above is often referred to in order to emphasize how the gap between East and West can seem insurmountable. (By the way, “twain” is an archaic term for “two”. So, “never the twain shall meet” means “never the two shall meet”.) However, there is more to the poem.

The other lines quoted above express that individuals who are spiritually strong enough to do so can overcome any differences in culture, nationality, race, class, place of birth, etc. that may happen to exist between them. And, as we know, this is especially true when those individuals let themselves be taught by the God of peace, who “will judge to the ends of the earth”.–Isaiah 54:13; 1 Samuel 2:10.

So, in this unusually hot summer when the world is figuratively and literally on fire, let us take a moment, hūxī (hū·xī {breathe out} · {breathe in} → [breathe] 呼吸), and take in Jehovah God’s instruction, like that which is included in the sessions of the 2022 “Pursue Peace”! convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.