Flashcards Archives - Mandarin Expression of the Week

guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴光陰) ← 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.]

Rather than dismissively thinking to ourselves that the songs produced by the organization are “just songs”, we should remember that the slave class takes seriously its responsibility to provide spiritual food to God’s people, and so it is going to make sure that the lyrics in its songs are spiritually correct, while also being emotionally moving.—Ezekiel 33:32; Matthew 24:45.

Light and Shade

This week’s MEotW, “guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴光陰)”, comes from the second verse of song 56, which is entitled “Make the Truth Your Own” in English and “Jiāng (Take 将將) Zhēnlǐ (Zhēn·lǐ True · Reasoning → [the Truth] 真理) Zhēncáng (Zhēn·cáng {to Be Treasured} · {to Be Stored Up} 珍藏) zài (in 在) Xīnli (Xīn·li Heart · Inside 心里心裡/裏)” in Mandarin:

English:

The effort you make and the time you are spending
In service to God and his Kingdom

Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus):

📖 📄 📘 Nǐ (you 你) bù (not 不)‐cí ({do take your leave from} → [do shrink from] 辞辭/辤)‐xīnláo (xīn·láo {pungently → [labouriously]} · working 辛劳辛勞), jìn ({expend to the limit} 尽盡) quánlì (quán·lì whole · strength 全力) shànyòng (shàn·yòng {(for) good} · {to be using} 善用) guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time available] 光阴光陰),
Nǔlì (Nǔ·lì exert · strength 努力) xuānyáng (xuān·yáng {to declare} · {to raise → [to make known]} 宣扬宣揚) Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国王國) hǎo (good 好) xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news] 消息).

Yin and Yang

While “guāng (light | {[is] bare}; {[is] naked} | {[is] used up} | only 光)” is a well-known Mandarin expression that means “light”, the situation with the other morpheme in this week’s MEotW is a little more complicated. “Yīn ({female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [the moon | covert; concealed; hidden; secret | implicit | negative (electric charge) | [is] overcast; dull; gloomy | shade | [is] sinister; treacherous | of the netherworld | genitalia] 阴陰/隂)” is now used to effectively mean such common, everyday things as “overcast”, “shade”, or “negative (electric charge, etc.)”, but the meaning of “yīn ({female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [the moon | covert; concealed; hidden; secret | implicit | negative (electric charge) | [is] overcast; dull; gloomy | shade | [is] sinister; treacherous | of the netherworld | genitalia] 阴陰/隂)” originally comes from Chinese philosophy—it’s the “yīn ({female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [the moon | covert; concealed; hidden; secret | implicit | negative (electric charge) | [is] overcast; dull; gloomy | shade | [is] sinister; treacherous | of the netherworld | genitalia] 阴陰/隂)” in “yīnyáng (yīn·yáng {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} · {positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [yin and yang; opposites]] 阴阳陰陽)” (Wikipedia article).

The “yáng ({positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [sun | solar | open; overt | belonging to this world | positive (electric charge) | male]] 阳陽)” in “yīnyáng (yīn·yáng {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} · {positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [yin and yang; opposites]] 阴阳陰陽)” also appears in “tàiyáng (tài·yáng highest · {positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} → [sun] 太阳太陽)”, the Mandarin word for “sun”. The examples of this week’s MEotW and of “tàiyáng (tài·yáng highest · {positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} → [sun] 太阳太陽)” show us how much Chinese philosophy is woven through the Chinese languages like Mandarin, to the extent that it may be practically impossible to completely avoid using in everyday speech words with allusions to Chinese philosophy. Of course, we know that Chinese philosophy as a whole, having originated with mere humans, is inevitably going to clash at least in some ways with God’s truth, but in this linguistic situation, in which people in general hardly ever think of the connections to Chinese philosophy that some everyday Mandarin words have, the organization has decided that it’s acceptable, or at least tolerable, to use a word like “guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴光陰)” in the lyrics of one of its songs.

A Distracting “Easter Egg”

In one of those cute “easter egg”-type indulgences connecting visual design with meaning that many seem to enjoy, the Simplified characters for “yīnyáng (yīn·yáng {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} · {positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [yin and yang; opposites]] 阴阳陰陽)”, “阴阳”, employ the radicals/character components representing the moon (月) and the sun (日) respectively. This relates to “yīn ({female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [the moon | covert; concealed; hidden; secret | implicit | negative (electric charge) | [is] overcast; dull; gloomy | shade | [is] sinister; treacherous | of the netherworld | genitalia] 阴陰/隂)” literally meaning “female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)” and sometimes being used to mean “moon”, and “yáng ({positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)} [→ [sun | solar | open; overt | belonging to this world | positive (electric charge) | male]] 阳陽)” literally meaning “positive/active/male principle in nature (Chinese philosophy)” and sometimes being used to mean “sun”.

To try to be the adult in the room, though, here I need to remind everyone that the way Jehovah created us, the primary focus of human language involves using invisible speech—not visible visual elements—to directly represent meaning. As linguists hold, speech is primary, and writing is secondary. Cute “easter egg”-type indulgences involving the visual designs of some characters may be delightful to some on a mental, “that’s clever” level, but unfortunately, they can and do distract people from the basic linguistic truth that speech is primary, similarly to how visible idols distract people from the basic truth that God is actually a powerful but invisible Spirit, not a physical statue or image.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

The Time Available

Anyway, on one level of literalness, “guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴光陰)” means “light-shade”. This apparently refers to the alternating lightenings and darkenings of the skies as each day—along with its time—passes. The result is that “guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴光陰)” is used to effectively mean “time”, or “time available”. (This may be an echo of the truth spoken of at Genesis 1:14, that God set up “luminaries in the expanse of the heavens” to “serve as signs for seasons and for days and years”.) Regardless of the origin of part of “guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴光陰)”, let us be determined to spend well in God’s service whatever time we have available to us. We should especially be careful to do so, since, as dedicated ones, our limited time belongs, not just to ourselves, but to Jehovah.—1 Corinthians 10:31.

In this regard, one thing that we should especially keep in mind as Mandarin field language learners is that the unnecessary, self-indulgent complexities and vagaries of Chinese characters can use up much of our precious available time—which, for us dedicated ones, belongs to Jehovah—if we allow them to. With the above-mentioned linguistic and scriptural information in mind, make sure to only spend whatever time is necessary to spend on Chinese characters, which originated with mere humans and which are imposed merely by tradition. (Hebrews 12:1) Let us focus instead on cultivating God’s gift of speech in the Mandarin field, perhaps with the assistance of the modern, elegant, and efficient Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) writing system.

SVG Technology and Lyrics Links

“guāngyīn” _Pīnyīn_ Plus info, Song 56 (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

In the unofficial “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) language-learning resource, some songs now use SVG technology to enable links (rendered in blue) in the musical notation’s Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) lyrics. When tapped/clicked, these will display Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcards”. For example, as shown above, this resource’s rendition of song 56, from which this week’s MEotW comes, uses this technology. More such links will gradually be added as time allows.

In the _“Sing Out Joyfully” (sjj)_ _Pīnyīn_ Plus web resource, song 56 is the first one to use SVG technology to:

1. Maintain sharp rendering of the musical notation material even on larger displays.

2. Provide precise, consistent links that display _Pīnyīn_ Plus information. pic.twitter.com/oDbbJ3VZxx

— tiandi, Links News (@TiandiLinksNews) August 31, 2024

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the “Sing Out Joyfully” book is:

“Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the “Sing Out Joyfully” book is:

“Sing Out Joyfully” Book Links (tiandi.info/sjj)

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 “Sing Out Joyfully” book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動) ← 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. Looking at the Mandarin title of this book, you may have wondered: What does “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動)” mean?

_Enjoy Life Forever!_ bk. title page (jw.org CHS+Pinyin)

(The above screenshot from jw.org shows light-coloured text on a dark background because I have set jw.org’s relatively new Appearance Settings to do so. As the related JW News article says, “some users prefer this setting because the screen is less bright. This may help reduce eyestrain, especially at night or in other low-light environments.” Most Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resources (short link: tiandi.info/pyp) also have a Night Theme available, that can be turned on or off using the ☀️/🌙 button on their web pages.)

You may surmise that “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動)” corresponds with the “Interactive” in Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course, and you would be right. Now, let’s take a closer look at the morphemes in “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動)” to see how they work in a way that makes “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動)” correspond as well as it does with the English word “interactive”, which means “acting upon or influencing each other”.

Morphemic Breakdown

As the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動)” shows us, its first morpheme “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” means “mutually; [(with)] each other”. It’s the “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” in “hùxiāng ({each other} 互相) gǔlì (gǔ·lì {drum → [rouse]} · encourage → [encourage] 鼓励鼓勵)”, which means “encourage one another”.

The other morpheme “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动動)” basically means “move”. In some contexts, it means to move physically, as it does in “dòngwù (dòng·wù moving · thing → [animal] 动物動物)”, which literally means “moving thing”, and is used to mean “animal”. (Interestingly, the English word “animal” is related to the word “animate”, which can mean “bring into action or movement”.) In other contexts, “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动動)” means to move emotionally, as it does in “gǎndòng (gǎn·dòng feeling · moved | {make to feel} · move 感动感動)”. In yet other contexts, “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动動)” is used to effectively mean “change; alter”.

Breaking down “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动互動)” into its morphemes helps us to see that “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” corresponds with the “inter-” part of “interactive”, and that “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动動)” corresponds with the “active” (“acting [up]on”) part.

Interactive Indeed

The English word “interactive” has a particular meaning in the world of computing, which is “responds to user activity”.

Interestingly, the Enjoy Life Forever! book even has some interactivity in its paper form, with its “Lesson completed on:” and “Goal” sections allowing room for a user to write in them with a pencil or pen. This is in addition to the limited interactivity that any paper publication offers a user, such as being able to write notes in the margins or to highlight or underline text.

The Enjoy Life Forever! book in the PDF file format—a computer file format that is conceptually rooted in the world of paper—adds the ability for a user to tap/click on links to load the web pages on which the videos mentioned in the book can be played. As we move on to more computer-native formats, we find that on the jw.org website and in the JW Library app, where of course links are available for playing the videos, a user can tap/click on text fields in the “Lesson completed on:” and “Goal” sections and type text into them that will be “remembered”. Also, a user can tap/click on the checkboxes in the “Goal” section, and those checkboxes will “remember” and show whether they are checked or unchecked.

As discussed in the JW Broadcasting—January 2021 program, when it comes to the more general meaning of the English word “interactive”, “acting upon or influencing each other”, the Enjoy Life Forever! book in every format is designed to engage and involve people more than past Bible study textbooks did. It indeed qualifies as “interactive”, or as we say in Mandarin, “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动互動) shì (type 式)”.

(By the way, just as is possible on this blog, in the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Enjoy Life Forever! book, users can interactively tap/click on Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expressions to show/hide, as desired, flashcards showing English meanings, Simplified character(s), Traditional character(s) (if they’re different), etc. for these expressions.)

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:

Enjoy Life Forever! Bk. (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

Enjoy Life Forever! Book Links (tiandi.info/lff)

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.

guāngyīn (guāng·yīn light · {female/passive/negative principle in nature (Chinese philosophy) → [shade]} → [time [available]] 光阴 光陰) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”