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lǐngxiù

lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) 👈🏼 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, with the 2024 United States presidential election looming, jw.org was featuring the article “Which Leader Will You Choose?—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses this week’s MEotW, “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖)”, to translate the English word “leader”. For example:

English:

The Bible explains that God has appointed a most capable and trustworthy leader: Jesus Christ.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) shuō (says說/説) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) yǐjing (yǐ·jing already · {has gone through} 已经 已經) wěirèn (wěi·rèn designating · {giving free reign to → [appointing]} 委任) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) Jīdū (Christ 基督) zuò ({to be} 做) Lǐngxiù (Lǐng·xiù {Neck → [Collar]} · Sleeves → [Leader] 领袖 領袖), (he 他) shì (is 是) zuì (most最/㝡) xiánmíng (xián·míng capable · {bright → [understanding]} → [wise and capable] 贤明 賢明) de (’s 的) tǒngzhìzhě (tǒng·zhì·zhě {gathering together → [commanding]} · ruling · person → [ruler] 统治者 統治者), zhíde (zhí·de worth · getting → [deserving of] 值得) xìnrèn (xìn·rèn {being believed} · {being given free reign → [being trusted]} 信任).

Analyzing Mandarin words at the morpheme level often reveals useful and interesting information, but the morphemes in “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) seem…odd, considering what they are taken to mean when put together. “Lǐng (neck [→ [collar] → [lead; usher | have jurisdiction over; be in possession of]] | receive; draw; get; take; accept | understand; comprehend; grasp) has an original literal meaning of “neck”, from which an effective meaning of “collar” understandably emerged. Somehow, though, another effective meaning that emerged for this morpheme is “to lead; to usher (as in “usher guests into the room”)”. The other morpheme “xiù (sleeve | {tuck inside the sleeve} 袖/褎) literally means “sleeve”, and does not have an effective meaning on its own that’s obviously related to leadership. How then, did the combination of these two morphemes end up effectively meaning “leader”?

“Clothes Make the Man”?

My mother was a schoolteacher in China, and when I asked her about this seemingly strange combination of morphemes, she said that she wasn’t totally sure about the why or how of it, but that a teacher of hers had explained that to the ancient Chinese, the collar and sleeves of a piece of clothing were the most important indicators of how fit for purpose that piece of clothing was. Thus (if that teacher was not just expressing a baseless personal opinion on the matter), it may be that “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) effectively meaning “leader” is connected to the idea behind the English saying “clothes make the man”, that is, that one’s clothes send a message about what kind of person one is. Sometimes, for example, people are even nicknamed because of what they wear, like the redcoats and brownshirts of history, or the redshirts and browncoats of fiction. A possibly related factor is that on military uniforms especially, symbols of rank or status are often placed on the collar or sleeves or both. So, in old China, perhaps leaders were seen as those wearing clothing with certain kinds of collars or sleeves, resulting in “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) (“collar sleeves”) becoming a Mandarin synecdoche referring to “leader”. (For comparison, a common English synecdoche is “suits”, which is used to refer to “businessmen”.)

Another possible explanation is that perhaps the piece of clothing in question in “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) is a metaphor for the people as a whole, and that the collar and sleeves, being the parts of a piece of clothing that the Chinese were said to believe set the tone for it, thus represent the leader or leaders of the people. If any of you have any other information or ideas about why or how the morphemes in “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) came to combine to mean “leader”, please share in the comments.

“The Emperors Have No Clothes”

Regardless of how the combination of “lǐng (neck [→ [collar] → [lead; usher | have jurisdiction over; be in possession of]] | receive; draw; get; take; accept | understand; comprehend; grasp) and “xiù (sleeve | {tuck inside the sleeve} 袖/褎) came to effectively mean “leader”, “lǐngxiù (lǐng·xiù {neck → [collar]} · sleeves → [leader] 领袖 領袖) does indeed mean that to today’s Mandarin-speakers—to them, however they do so, “collar” and “sleeves” do indeed combine to make “leader”. Unfortunately—to allude to another well-known English saying—the human Emperors of this world “have no clothes”—there is no real basis for the claims that they are worthy to be mankind’s leaders.

In contrast, Jehovah God has chosen Jesus as his King, and Jesus has shown himself to have real qualifications, far beyond those involving mere apparel and status symbols. While the world is embroiled in various struggles—from violent wars to comparatively nonviolent elections—over who will gain power to rule, it is our privilege to tell people in the Mandarin field about the good news about God’s Kingdom, and about God’s King, Jesus Christ himself. Being no mere figurehead, he and his Kingdom will “crush and put an end to” the human governments of Satan’s world and cause the whole earth to actually become the peaceful, secure paradise that God wants it be.—Daniel 2:44; 1 John 5:19; Matthew 6:10.

Categories
Current Events

zhèngzhì

zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治) ← 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 “Political Violence—What Does the Bible Say?”. As the article says:

A wave of political violence is sweeping the world.

  • The assassination of a record-high 39 political candidates along with other forms of political violence has marred Mexico’s 2023-2024 election season.
  • Europe has recently witnessed numerous incidents of political violence, including the attempted assassination of the prime minister of Slovakia on May 15, 2024.
  • The United States has been shaken by the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on July 13, 2024.

Incidentally, “former president Donald Trump” is translated in the Mandarin version of this article as “qián (former 前) zǒngtǒng (zǒng·tǒng {overall → [chief]} · {gathering together → [commanding]} (person) → [president] 总统 總統) Tèlǎngpǔ (Trump 特朗普) (Chuānpǔ (Trump (Tw) 川普))”.

Speaking of Trump and this year’s US presidential election, another, um, unusual development has been President Joe Biden’s recent announcement that he is ending his campaign for president, which will require a different Democratic presidential nominee to be selected and promoted in the relatively short time remaining before the election is to take place in November. In turbulent and uncertain times such as these, we as Jehovah’s people can especially appreciate that coming to know and accept the truth about the good news of God’s Kingdom frees us from the anxiety and concern that many in this world that is greatly affected by the USA’s political policies are undoubtedly feeling.—Daniel 2:44; John 8:32.

Anyway, where the English version of the above-mentioned jw.org article uses the word “political”, the Mandarin version generally uses this week’s MEotW, “zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治)”, which in other contexts can also be used as a noun that corresponds to “politics”. (Be careful not to confuse “zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治) with “jīngjì (jīng·jì {managing [of]} · {crossing [of] a river → [helping]} → [economy | [is] economical | economic] 经济 經濟)”, which basically means “economy” or “economic”.)

Morphemic Breakdown and Related Expressions

The first morpheme in “zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治) basically means “politics” or “political”, and it also appears in “zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府)”, which means “government”. Other expressions in which it appears include “zhèngcè (zhèng·cè political; government · {bamboo/wooden slip used for writing → [plan; scheme; strategy]} → [policy; political tactic] 政策)”, “zhèngquán (zhèng·quán political · power; authority [→ [regime]] 政权 政權)”, and “zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政)”.

The second morpheme in “zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治) can mean “governing” or “ruling”, and it also appears in “tǒngzhì (tǒng·zhì {gather together → [command]} · rule (v) | {gathering together → [commanding]} · ruling → [rule] 统治 統治)”. Another sort of related meaning that this morpheme has is “treat; cure”, which likely comes from its meaning of “manage”. For example, it’s used this way in “zhìbìng (zhì·bìng {manage → [treat; cure]} · disease; illness; sickness 治病) and in “zhìliáo (zhì·liáo {managing → [treating; curing]} · treating; curing [→ [medical treatment; cure]] 治疗 治療)”.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治) in use, taken from the above-mentioned jw.org article:

English:

Political Violence—What Does the Bible Say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Zhèngzhì (Zhèng·zhì Political · Governing → [Political] 政治) Bàolì (Bào·lì Violent · Force → [Violence] 暴力) Shìjiàn (Shì·jiàn Incidents · [mw] 事件) Huì (Will) Yǒu (Have 有) Zhōngzhǐ (Zhōng·zhǐ Ending · Stopping 终止 終止) de (’s 的) (One 一) Tiān (Sky → [Day] 天) Ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions])?

English:

Why is there so much political violence? Will it ever end? What does the Bible say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Wèishénme (Wèi·shén·me for · what · [suf] [why] 为什么 為什/甚麼) yǒu ({are (there) having} → [are (there)] 有) zhème (zhè·me this · [suf for interrogatives and adverbs] 这么/末 這麼/末) duō (many 多) zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì political · governing → [political] 政治) bàolì (bào·lì violent · force → [violence] 暴力) shìjiàn (shì·jiàn incidents · [mw] 事件) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)? Zhèixiē (Zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些 這些) shìqing (shì·qing events · situations 事情) huì (will) yǒu (have 有) zhōngzhǐ (zhōng·zhǐ ending · stopping 终止 終止) de (’s 的) (one 一) tiān (sky → [day] 天) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions])? Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) zěnme (zěn·me what · [suf] 怎么 怎麼/麽) shuō ({does say}說/説)?

Categories
Current Events

zhízhèng

zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政) ← 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 “Which Leader Will You Choose?—What Does the Bible Say?”, because, as the article says, “over the next few weeks, elections will be held in various countries around the world.”. The Mandarin version of this article uses what I think is an interesting expression in this context, this week’s MEotW “zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政)”.

Related Expressions

The “zhí (catch; capture [→ [hold [in the hand]; grasp]] [→ [persist in; stick to | carry out; implement; execute; observe | direct; manage; take charge of]])” in “zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政)” has original meanings of “catch; capture”, from which are now often derived the meanings “hold [in the hand]; grasp”. It seems that these meanings in turn have led “zhí (catch; capture [→ [hold [in the hand]; grasp]] [→ [persist in; stick to | carry out; implement; execute; observe | direct; manage; take charge of]])” to sometimes be used to effectively mean such varied things as “persist in; stick to | carry out; implement; execute; observe | direct; manage; take charge of”. Thus, “zhí (catch; capture [→ [hold [in the hand]; grasp]] [→ [persist in; stick to | carry out; implement; execute; observe | direct; manage; take charge of]])” is a classic example of a word that has undergone what in linguistics is formally called semantic change, that is, changes in the meaning or meanings a word is used to represent.

Interestingly, in Cantonese, but apparently not in Mandarin, “zhí (catch; capture [→ [hold [in the hand]; grasp]] [→ [persist in; stick to | carry out; implement; execute; observe | direct; manage; take charge of]])” also has a meaning of “pick up”. For example, those with Cantonese-speaking parents may have gotten used to being told to “jāp sáu méih (执手尾/執手尾)”, that is, to pick up after themselves or tidy up.

Some other Mandarin expressions that include the “zhí (catch; capture [→ [hold [in the hand]; grasp]] [→ [persist in; stick to | carry out; implement; execute; observe | direct; manage; take charge of]])” in “zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政)” are:

  • zhíbǐzhě (zhí·bǐ·zhě {caught → [grasped]} · pen · person → [writer] 执笔者 執筆者)

    • Those who have been in the Mandarin field for a while may have seen this used, for example, in “Shīpiān (Shī·piān {Sacred Song} · {Piece of Writing} → [Psalm] 诗篇 詩篇) zhíbǐzhě (zhí·bǐ·zhě {caught → [grasped]} · pen · person → [writer] 执笔者 執筆者)”, which means “Psalm writer”, or “psalmist”.
  • zhíxíng (zhí·xíng {catch → [hold; grasp] → [carry out; implement; execute]} · {go; walk; travel → [do; perform; carry out]} 执行 執行)
  • zhízhǎng (zhí·zhǎng {catch; capture → [hold; grasp]} · {(have in) palm (of the hand)} → [wield; be in control of] 执掌 執掌)

    • An example of this expression in use can be found at Daniel 4:26.

A couple of Mandarin expressions that include the other morpheme in “zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政)” are:

  • zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府)
  • zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治)

Usage Examples

Here are the two examples of “zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {catch; capture → [hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政)” being used in the above-mentioned article:

English:

Which Leader Will You Choose?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 (You 你) Huì (Will) Zhīchí (Zhī·chí Support · {Hold → [Support]} 支持) Shéi (Whom) Zhízhèng (Zhí·zhèng {to Capture → [to Hold]} · {Government → [Political Power]} 执政 執政)?

English:

People are making important decisions about which leaders they will choose.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Rénmen (Rén·men person · [pl] → [people] 人们 人們) jiāng ({are going to}) zuòchū (zuò·chū make · out 作出) zhòngdà (zhòng·dà weighty · big 重大) de (’s 的) juédìng (decidings → [decisions] 决定 決定): Yào ((they) must → [will] 要) xuǎn (choose) shéi (whom) zhízhèng (zhí·zhèng {to capture → [to hold]} · {government → [political power]} 执政 執政).