yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [[the] universe; cosmos; space | cosmic] 宇宙) 👈🏼 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 an article from the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! magazine, about what the universe tells us about a Creator. The title of this article, in English and in Mandarin, is as follows:
What the Universe Tells Us
📖 📄 📘 Yǔzhòu (Yǔ·zhòu Universe · {All Time, Past, Present, and Future} → [The Universe] 宇宙) Gàosu (Tells 告诉 告訴) Wǒmen (Wǒ·men Us · [pl] 我们 我們) Shénme (Shén·me What · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼)?
As can be seen from the above example, “yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [[the] universe; cosmos; space | cosmic] 宇宙)”, this week’s MEotW, is the Mandarin expression meaning “the universe”. And, as can be seen from this expression’s Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard”, its constituent morphemes mean “[the] universe; all time, past, present, and future”.
Wiktionary’s entry for “yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [[the] universe; cosmos; space | cosmic] 宇宙)” contains the following comment about the etymology of this expression:
Meyer (2010) proposes that “eaves and roof beams” was a synecdoche for a domicile’s entire space; this figure of speech would later be appropriated by early authors and later Huainanziʼs contributors as “a metaphor for the cosmos, taking “eaves” [宇] and “roof beams” [宙] to represent the dimensions of space and time[, respectively] that compose the entire phenomenal universe.”[1]
Spacetime
Interestingly, these meanings of the morphemes in “yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [[the] universe; cosmos; space | cosmic] 宇宙)” match up with the morphemes in the English word “spacetime”. The Wikipedia article for this is introduced with the following:
In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualizing and understanding relativistic effects, such as how different observers perceive where and when events occur.
Until the turn of the 20th century, the assumption had been that the three-dimensional geometry of the universe (its description in terms of locations, shapes, distances, and directions) was distinct from time (the measurement of when events occur within the universe). However, space and time took on new meanings with the Lorentz transformation and special theory of relativity.
In 1908, Hermann Minkowski presented a geometric interpretation of special relativity that fused time and the three spatial dimensions into a single four-dimensional continuum now known as Minkowski space. This interpretation proved vital to the general theory of relativity, wherein spacetime is curved by mass and energy.
“Because They Were Designed?”
“Yǔzhòu (Yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [[the] universe; cosmos; space | cosmic] 宇宙)” also appears in the concluding paragraph of the above-mentioned article from the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake!:
Based on his scientific knowledge of the universe and its properties, physicist Paul Davies concluded: “I cannot believe that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate, an accident of history, an incidental blip in the great cosmic drama. . . . We are truly meant to be here.” Davies does not teach that God created the universe and human life, but what do you think? The universe and the earth seem to be designed to make life possible. Could it be that they seem that way because they were designed?
📖 📄 📘 Wùlǐ‐xué‐jiā ((Wù·lǐ things’ · {logic → [laws]} → [physics] 物理)‐(xué studying 学 學)‐(jiā -ist 家) → [physicist]) Bǎoluó (Paul 保罗 保羅) Dàiwéisī (Davies 戴维斯 戴維斯) gēnjù (gēn·jù {(at) root} · {according to} → [based on] 根据 根據) zìjǐ (self 自己) duì (towards 对 對) yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [the universe] 宇宙) jí (and 及) tiānwén (tiān·wén heavens’ · {natural phenomena} → [astronomical] 天文) fǎzé (fǎ·zé laws · principles 法则 法則) de (’ 的) liǎojiě (liǎo·jiě understanding · {untying → [solving]} → [understanding] 了解 了/瞭解) zhèyàng (zhè·yàng this · {form → [way]} 这样 這樣) shuō (said 说 說/説): “Wǒ (I 我) wúfǎ (wú·fǎ {do not have} · {way to} → [cannot] 无法 無法) xiāngxìn (xiāng·xìn {each other → [it]} · believe → [believe] 相信), rénlèi (rén·lèi human·kind 人类 人類) zài (in 在) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [universe] 宇宙) de (’s 的) cúnzài (cún·zài existing · {being present} 存在), zhǐshì (zhǐ·shì merely · is 只是) qiǎohé (qiǎo·hé {being coincidental → [coincidentally]} · {closing → [fitting]} → [coincidental] 巧合) huò (or 或) xìjù‐xìng ((xìjù (having) drama 戏剧 戲劇)‐(xìng nature → [quality] 性) → [dramatic]) de (’s 的) tūfā (tū·fā {chimney → [dashing forward → [unexpectedly]]} · issued → [appeared unexpectedly] 突) shìjiàn (shì·jiàn incident · [mw] 事件)…wǒmen de ((wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) (de ’s 的) → [our]) cúnzài (cún·zài existing · {being present} 存在) kěndìng (kěn·dìng agreeing · certainly → [definitely] 肯定) shì (is 是) yǒu (having 有) yuányīn (yuán·yīn origin · reason 原因) de ({’s (thing)} 的).” Dàiwéisī (Davies 戴维斯 戴維斯) bìng (actually 并 並/竝/并) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · {has → [does]} → [does not] 没有 沒有) zhǔzhāng (zhǔ·zhāng advocate · spread (that) → [hold (that)] 主张 主張) yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [the universe] 宇宙) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) rénlèi (rén·lèi human·kind 人类 人類) shì (are 是) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造 創造) de ({’s (things)} 的). Dàn (but 但) nǐ (you 你) juéde (jué·de {to wake to → [to feel]} · {(how do) get} → [how do feel] 觉得 覺得) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)? Jìrán (Jì·rán since · -ly 既然) yǔzhòu (yǔ·zhòu universe · {all time, past, present, and future} → [the universe] 宇宙) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe → [the earth] 地球) zhème (zhè·me {this (much)} · [suf for interrogatives and adverbs] 这么/末 這麼/末) shìhé (shì·hé {are suitable for} · {are closing with → [are fitting with]} 适合 適合) shēngmìng (life 生命) cúnzài (cún·zài existing · {being present} 存在), nàme (nà·me {(in) that (case) → [then]} · [suf] 那么/末 那麼/末) tāmen (tā·men it · [pl] → [they] 它们 它/牠們) shì (are 是) bèi ([passive signifier] → [were] 被) shèjì (shè·jì {set up} · planned → [designed] 设计 設計) chulai (chu·lai out · {to come} 出来 出來) de ({’s (things)} 的) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
A Particular Need in the Mandarin Field
It’s worth noting that the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! was recently in the Teaching Toolbox in the JW Library app. In fact, for a time, 3 out of the 6 books or brochures in the Teaching Toolbox—fully one half of them—were focused on the subject of creation/evolution. Additionally, the Enjoy Life Forever! book, which is still in the Teaching Toolbox, has an entire lesson on the subject “How Did Life Begin?”. This big presence in the Teaching Toolbox for a time of material focused on creation/evolution reflects a recent heavy emphasis on this issue on the part of the organization.
Indeed, for people in general to find real spiritual truth and make real spiritual progress, the question of the Creator’s existence is the first basic question that needs to be answered well in their minds, otherwise they are left with just the conflicting opinions, speculations, and platitudes of mere limited, imperfect humans. As Proverbs 9:10 says:
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom,
And knowledge of the Most Holy One is understanding.
In the Mandarin field in particular, it is especially necessary to focus on the issue of the Creator’s existence, because current worldly Chinese culture has particularly heavily predisposed many Mandarin-speakers to not believe in a Creator.
At the same time, the worldwide Mandarin field is by far the largest language field in the world, and it’s likely that it is the largest language field ever in history.
So, the need is especially great for Mandarin field language learners to be able to help Mandarin-speakers overcome their cultural backgrounds and cultivate faith in the Creator!
Creation/Evolution, and Also the Great Wall of Characters
However, I suspect that even in their mother tongue, many Mandarin field language learners would be hesitant to discuss creation/evolution, since it is an especially deeply technical subject. Adding the requirement to conduct the discussion in Mandarin, which has traditionally been written using the extraordinarily complex Chinese characters, to many just makes an already daunting task seem even more undoable.
In addition to the inherent technical difficulty of the subject of creation/evolution, Mandarin field language learners also face the Great Wall of characters.
To help with this formidable challenge, the organization’s official Mandarin digital material for the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake!, and for the Was Life Created? and Origin of Life brochures, is available with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). Additionally, unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material—specifically designed, not to be spiritual food, but for helping Mandarin field language learners to get past the Great Wall of characters and actually learn to understand and speak the Mandarin they need—is available for the Was Life Created? and Origin of Life brochures, and should eventually be available for the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! too. For updates on these Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources, keep an eye on this blog, on the Links News blog, and on the related account on the social network of your choice listed on this blog’s Contact page.
