Tag: jw.org

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Science Technology Theocratic

fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ

fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine]) ← 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 “A Microbiologist Explains Her Faith”. It turns out that this microbiologist is from Taiwan, so this article may especially be of interest to Mandarin-speaking people. In this article, microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨 楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲 鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) explains:

English:

A professor of biochemistry in the United States published a book arguing that the molecular machines in living cells are so complex that they could not have originated randomly. I agreed. I felt that life must have been created.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Měiguó (Měi·guó American · Nation’s → [USA’s] 美国 美國) yí (one 一) wèi ({place of a} → [mw for persons] 位) shēnghuà (shēng·huà {living → [bio-] (abbr. for shēngwùxué)} · {transforming → [chemistry] (abbr. for huàxué)} → [biochemistry] 生化) xì ({tied (things)} → [department (in a college/university)] 系) jiàoshòu (jiào·shòu teaching · {conferring → [instructing]} (person) → [professor] 教授) xiěle (xiě·le wrote · {to completion} 写了 寫了) yì (one 一) běn ({root or stem of a} → [mw for books, etc.] 本) shū (book 书 書), tā (he 他) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identifies · {(it) to be} (that) 认为 認為) huó (living 活) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · wombs → [cells] 细胞 細胞) zhōng (within 中) de (’s 的) fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ bodies 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machines]) rúcǐ (rú·cǐ {are like} · this 如此) fùzá (fù·zá {turned around → [complex]} · mixed → [complex] 复杂 複雜), jué ({being cut off} → [absolutely] 绝 絕/絶) bù (not 不) kěnéng (could 可能) shì (be 是) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {given birth to → [produced]} · {given birth to → [caused to exist]} → [brought into being] 产生 產生) de ({’s (things)} 的). Wǒ (I 我) tóngyì (tóng·yì {(had the) same} · thought (about) → [agreed with] 同意) tā de ((tā him 他) (de ’s 的) → [his]) guāndiǎn (guān·diǎn {looking at → [view]} · point → [viewpoint] 观点 觀點). Wǒ (I 我) rènwéi (rèn·wéi identified · {(it) to be} 认为 認為), shēngmìng (life 生命) bìdìng (bì·dìng certainly · {(it) has been set} 必定) shì (is 是) bèi ([passive signifier] → [got] 被) chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造 創造) chulai (chu·lai out · {to come} 出来 出來) de ({’s (thing)} 的).

As shown in the above quote, the Mandarin version of this article (which, perhaps because it’s from an issue of Awake! magazine, provides the option to show Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)) uses this week’s MEotW, “fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])”, to translate “molecular machines”.

Polymers and Crystals

The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” for “fēnzǐ jùhé tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合) (tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])” specifies that this expression—for example, as used in the above-mentioned Awake! article—refers to a molecular polymerized body that is a protein molecular machine because proteins are polymers made up of amino acid subunits (monomers), but apparently, as summarized in the Wikipedia article on molecular machines, artificial molecular machines that are crystalline exist, or have been conceptualized, in addition to those that are polymeric:

A wide range of applications have been demonstrated for AMMs [artificial molecular machines], including those integrated into polymeric, liquid crystal, and crystalline systems for varied functions

Inspiration and Attribution

As the above-mentioned Wikipedia article on molecular machines summarizes, biological molecular machines have served as inspiration for artificial, or man-made, molecular machines:

Biological molecular machines have been known and studied for years given their vital role in sustaining life, and have served as inspiration for synthetically designed systems with similar useful functionality.[source][source]

(This kind of human imitation of living things in nature is called biomimetics, or biomimicry. More examples of this can be found in the section of the Was Life Created? brochure entitled “Who Designed It First?”.)

If one came across an artificial molecular machine, one would undoubtedly conclude with certainty that it had been intelligently designed—something that tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional obviously could not have developed by chance! As microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨 楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲 鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) concluded, the tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional biological molecular machines that inspired humans to create artificial molecular machines similarly must have had an intelligent Creator.

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Culture Current Events History Language Learning Theocratic

rénxīn‐huánghuáng

rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [popular/public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} · {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} 惶惶) ← 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.]

As 2023 draws to a close, jw.org is featuring the article “2023: A Year of Anxiety—⁠What Does the Bible Say?”. This week’s MEotW, “rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [popular/public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} · {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} 惶惶)”, is used in the title of the Mandarin version of this article:

English:

2023: A Year of Anxiety—⁠What Does the Bible Say?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 2023 Rénxīn (Rén·xīn People’s · Hearts → [Popular/Public Feeling] 人心)‐Huánghuáng (Huáng·huáng {Being Fearful → [Being Anxious]} · {Being Fearful → [Being Anxious]} 惶惶) de (’ 的) Yì (One 一) Nián (Year 年 年/秊): Shìjiè (Shì·jiè {Generation → [World]} · Extent’s → [World’s] 世界) Dàshì (Dà·shì {Big → [Major]} · Events 大事) Zěnyàng (Zěn·yàng (in) What · {Forms → [Ways]} → [How] 怎样 怎樣) Yìngyàn (Yìng·yàn {Respond to} · Verifying (Regarding) → [Fulfil] 应验 應驗) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) Yùyán (Yù·yán {In Advance} · Sayings → [Prophecies] 预言 預言)

Breakdown

“Rén (people | person[s] | human[s] | man/men 人)” can mean “people”, and “xīn (heart 心)” means “heart”. Together, they can literally mean “people’s hearts”, and in the context of “rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [popular/public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} · {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} 惶惶),” they effectively mean “popular/public feeling”.

“Huáng ({[is] afraid; fearful; scared; frightened} [→ [[is] anxious; uneasy; nervous]] 惶)” seems to basically literally mean “[is] afraid; fearful; scared; frightened”. In some cases, it can effectively mean “[is] anxious; uneasy; nervous”. (In these definitions, the presence of “[is]” means that this expression can sometimes function as a stative verb, i.e., a verb that describes a state of being, rather than an action. Some more information on stative verbs, quoted from the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, can be found in the MEotW post on “gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {being warm → [temperature]} 高温 高溫)”.)

Taken together, the morphemes in “rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [popular/public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} · {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} 惶惶)”, as used in the above example, effectively mean “popular/public feeling being anxious”.

One More Time

In “rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [popular/public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} · {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} 惶惶)”, “huáng ({[is] afraid; fearful; scared; frightened} [→ [[is] anxious; uneasy; nervous]] 惶)” is doubled, or repeated. In linguistics, this phenomenon is called reduplication, and it’s quite common in Mandarin. Sometimes, the tone of the duplicated morpheme is kept the same, while other times, the second occurrence’s tone becomes neutral. Off the top of my head, here are some other examples of reduplication in Mandarin:

  • xiǎngxiang (xiǎng·xiang {think about} · {think about} | think · think 想想)
  • chángcháng (cháng·cháng frequently · frequently | often · often | constantly · constantly 常常)
  • mànmàn (màn·màn slowly · slowly [→ [gradually]] 慢慢)
  • kànkan (kàn·kan {look at} · {look at} | look · look | see · see | watch · watch 看看)

Sometimes, one might even come across a Mandarin double double, such as “mǎma‐hūhū ((mǎ·ma horse · horse 马马 馬馬) (hū·hū tiger · tiger 虎虎) → [careless; casual | fair; so-so; just passable])”. (Hopefully, this term does not apply to our approach to learning Mandarin, especially if we are doing so for Jehovah’s work in the Mandarin field!)

Idiomatic

Considering its structure, we can say that “rénxīn (rén·xīn people’s · hearts → [popular/public feeling] 人心)‐huánghuáng (huáng·huáng {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} · {being afraid; fearful; scared; frightened [→ [being anxious; uneasy; nervous]]} 惶惶)” is an idiom. However, it does not seem to be a chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(sth. that) has become} · saying → [set phrase (typically of 4 characters); idiom] 成语 成語). This excerpt from the MEotW post on “chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(sth. that) has become} · saying → [set phrase (typically of 4 characters); idiom] 成语 成語)” discusses the difference:

So, it appears that while chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters); idioms] 成语 成語) can be called idioms in English, not all Chinese idioms are chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters); idioms] 成语 成語). It seems that “chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters); idioms] 成语 成語)” specifically refers to Chinese idioms that originated in Classical Chinese, or Literary Chinese. This writing style has largely been replaced by written vernacular Chinese, which has been the standard style of writing for Modern Standard Mandarin for about a century now.

Since they originated in Classical Chinese, which hasn’t been current for about a century, chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters); idioms] 成语 成語) often cannot be fully understood by modern speakers and readers of Mandarin, since knowledge about the source material for chéngyǔ (chéng·yǔ {(things that) have become} · sayings → [set phrases (typically of 4 characters); idioms] 成语 成語) has naturally been fading with the passing of time.

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Culture Current Events History

kǒngbù huódòng

kǒngbù huódòng ((kǒng·bù fearing · terror → [terrorist] 恐怖) (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] 活动 活動) → [terrorism; terrorist activities]) ← 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.]

With what’s currently going on in the world, at the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Will Terrorism Ever End?”. Where the English version of this article uses the word “terrorism”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “kǒngbù huódòng ((kǒng·bù fearing · terror → [terrorist] 恐怖) (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] 活动 活動) → [terrorism; terrorist activities])”. For example, the titles of the English and Mandarin versions of the article are rendered as follows:

English:

Will Terrorism Ever End?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Kǒngbù Huódòng ((Kǒng·bù Fearing · Terror → [Terrorist] 恐怖) (Huó·dòng Living · Moving → [Activities] 活动 活動) → [Terrorism]) Huì (Will 会 會) Yǒu (Have 有) Zhōngzhǐ (Zhōng·zhǐ Ending · Stopping 终止 終止) de (’s 的) Yì (One 一) Tiān (Sky → [Day] 天) Ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

Morphemic Breakdown

In “kǒngbù huódòng ((kǒng·bù fearing · terror → [terrorist] 恐怖) (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] 活动 活動) → [terrorism; terrorist activities])”, “kǒngbù (kǒng·bù fearing · terror | terrifying · frightening [→ [terror; horror | horrible | terrorist (adj)]] 恐怖)” is made up of morphemes that literally mean “fearing” and “terror”, and that together effectively mean “terrorist” (used as an adjective) in this context. Another expression in which “kǒngbù (kǒng·bù fearing · terror | terrifying · frightening [→ [terror; horror | horrible | terrorist (adj)]] 恐怖)” is used this way is “kǒngbù fènzǐ ((kǒng·bù fearing · terror → [terrorist] 恐怖) (fèn·zǐ {component; part; portion (of a whole)} · person → [member (of a class or group)] 分子) → [terrorist (person)])”, which means “terrorist”, that is, a person who is a terrorist.

As for “huódòng (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] | {to be living → [to be moving]} · {to move} 活动 活動)”, its morphemes literally mean “living” and “moving”, and, in the context of “kǒngbù huódòng ((kǒng·bù fearing · terror → [terrorist] 恐怖) (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] 活动 活動) → [terrorism; terrorist activities])”, together they effectively mean “activities”. On one level of literalness, then, “kǒngbù huódòng ((kǒng·bù fearing · terror → [terrorist] 恐怖) (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] 活动 活動) → [terrorism; terrorist activities])” means “terrorist activities”. From there, it’s easy to see how it came to correspond with “terrorism”.

Mandarin -isms

“Terrorism” is but one of the world’s many -isms. Below are some other Mandarin expressions, besides “huódòng (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] | {to be living → [to be moving]} · {to move} 活动 活動)”, used to construct the Mandarin equivalents of various English -isms, along with examples of them in use:

  • zhǔyì (zhǔ·yì master · meaning → [doctrine; ideology; -ism] 主义 主義)

    • guójiā zhǔyì ((guó·jiā nation · family → [nation] 国家 國家) (zhǔ·yì master · meaning → [-ism] 主义 主義) → [nationalism])
    • zhǒngzú zhǔyì ((zhǒng·zú kind · race → [race] 种族 種族) (zhǔ·yì master · meaning → [-ism] 主义 主義) → [racism; ethnocentrism])
    • chuántǒng zhǔyì ((chuán·tǒng {passed on} · {gathered together (things) → [interconnected system]} → [tradition] 传统 傳統) (zhǔ·yì master · meaning → [-ism] 主义 主義) → [traditionalism])
  • lùn (discussing → [theory; doctrine; -ism | view; opinion] 论 論)

    • wúshén lùn ((wú·shén no · God 无神 無神) (lùn discussing → [-ism] 论 論) → [atheism])
    • bùkězhī lùn ((bù·kě·zhī not · can · {be known} → [[is] unknowable] 不可知) (lùn discussing → [-ism] 论 論) → [agnosticism])
  • jīngshén (spirit [→ [mind; mental state; psycho-; -ism]] 精神)

    • Ā Q jīngshén ((Ā [pref indicating familiarity] 阿) (Q) (jīngshén spirit → [-ism] 精神) → [Ah Q-ism; self-deception and rationalization as a coping mechanism, involving viewing personal and societal failures as “spiritual/moral victories” (Ā Q is the protagonist of Ā Q Zhèngzhuàn (The True Story of Ah Q), by Lǔ Xùn)])

Ah Q

To provide some background for “Ā Q jīngshén ((Ā [pref indicating familiarity] 阿) (Q) (jīngshén spirit → [-ism] 精神) → [Ah Q-ism; self-deception and rationalization as a coping mechanism, involving viewing personal and societal failures as “spiritual/moral victories” (Ā Q is the protagonist of Ā Q Zhèngzhuàn (The True Story of Ah Q), by Lǔ Xùn)])”, Ā Q ((Ā [pref indicating familiarity] 阿) (Q) → [protagonist of Ā Q Zhèngzhuàn (The True Story of Ah Q), by Lǔ Xùn]) is the protagonist of Ā Q Zhèngzhuàn ((Ā [pref indicating familiarity] 阿) (Q Q’s) (Zhèng·zhuàn Correct · Story → [True Story] 正传 正傳) → [The True Story of Ah Q (novella by Lǔ Xùn; considered the first work written in Vernacular Chinese)]) (The True Story of Ah Q), a novella by Lǔ Xùn ((Lǔ Stupid; Rash (surname) 鲁 魯) (Xùn Fast; Quick; Swift 迅) (pen name of Zhōu Shùrén, the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th cent. and a strong advocate of alphabetic writing)), who is considered the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th century, and who was a strong advocate of alphabetic writing for China. Regarding Ā Q Zhèngzhuàn ((Ā [pref indicating familiarity] 阿) (Q Q’s) (Zhèng·zhuàn Correct · Story → [True Story] 正传 正傳) → [The True Story of Ah Q (novella by Lǔ Xùn; considered the first work written in Vernacular Chinese)]), Wikipedia provides this summary of how this literary work is viewed:

The piece is generally held to be a masterpiece of modern Chinese literature, since it is considered the first piece of work to fully utilize Vernacular Chinese after the 1919 May 4th Movement in China.[source]