Tag: Love

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Culture Language Learning Technology Theocratic

háowú

háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無) ← 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.]

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

“I Do Not Benefit at All”

This week’s MEotW, “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)”, is used in verse 3 (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_háowú_” in 1 Co. 13:3 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension. Other web browsers may also have extensions with similar functionality.)

In “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)”, “háo ({[(even) a] fine hair [(of)]} | milli- 毫)” literally refers to a “fine hair”. As for “wú ({not having}; without; none; no | nothing 无 無/无)”, it means “not having; without; none; no”. So, “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)” literally means “a fine hair is not having”, and effectively means “is not having even a little”. This is an interesting metaphor for emphasizing to us the ultimate futility of doing things out of pride and not out of love, things like focusing Mandarin field language-learning efforts on Chinese cultural traditions like characters rather than on how best to communicate the good news. As a metaphor, it reminds me of the English expression of not having even a shadow of a doubt about something.

Below are English and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus renditions showing how “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)” is used in 1 Corinthians 13:3 in the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible to correspond to “at all”, which is used in that verse in the current version of the English NWT Bible:

English:

And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all.

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

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算) biànmài (biàn·mài changing · sell → [sell off] 变卖 變賣) yíqiè (yí·qiè {one (whole)} · {corresponding (set of)} → [all] 一切) cáiwù (cái·wù wealth · things → [belongings] 财物 財物), ràng ({to allow} 让 讓) rén (people 人) yǒu ({to have} 有) shíwù (shí·wù eating · matter → [food] 食物) chī ({to eat} 吃 吃/喫), hái (also 还 還) shěshēn (shě·shēn {give up} · {(my) body} 舍身 捨身) juānqū (juān·qū {relinquish → [contribute]} · {(my) human body} 捐躯 捐軀), yǐcǐ (yǐ·cǐ using · this 以此) zìkuā (zì·kuā {(about) self} · {to boast} 自夸 自誇), què (but 却 卻) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · {do have} 没有 沒有) ài (love 爱 愛), zhè (this 这 這) duì (towards → [to] 对 對) wǒ (me 我) yě (even 也) háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {does not have} → [does not have even a little] 毫无 毫無) yìchu (yì·chu beneficial · place → [benefit] 益处 益處).

Having a Word, or Not

While the WOL puts a space between “háo ({[(even) a] fine hair [(of)]} | milli- 毫)” and “wú ({not having}; without; none; no | nothing 无 無/无)”, the dictionaries I have checked all treat this expression as one word, with no space between the two morphemes. So, that is how Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material renders “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)”.

There seems to be a tendency in typical modern Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to render many two-morpheme expressions this way, combined into single words. With Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, I have so far decided to go along with this common practice, since the resulting expressions are still relatively easy to read. However, I am not so accepting of extending this common practice to combining three, four, or even more morphemes into single words, with no spaces or even hyphens in them. Doing so produces long, undifferentiated strings of characters that are hard to parse, and thus hard to read and reason on. So, I have decided to generally break up such long expressions into one- or two-morpheme words separated by hyphens or spaces, depending on the situation.

For example, compare “bìbùkěshǎo (bì·bù·kě·shǎo certainly · not · {can; is able; could | may} · {be missing} 必不可少)” with “bì (certainly 必)‐bùkě (bù·kě not · {can; is able; could | may} → [cannot; is not able; could not | may not] 不可)‐shǎo ({[be] few; little} | {[be] less} | lack; {be deficient} | lose; {be missing} 少)”. While some of the few Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) traditionalists in existence may object to it, I think the latter rendering is much easier to read and reason on, so that is how Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material now renders this expression—one of the few good things about how commonly used Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is not is that there is not really much established Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) tradition or common practice to be “trampled” on, allowing for more leeway for exploring beneficial innovations, compared to the situations with relatively ossified and hidebound writing systems like Chinese characters, or even the modern English writing system.

As for the PRC government’s official national standard for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography, with the designation GB/T 16159-2012, as discussed in the MEotW post on “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)”, this is at most a set of recommendations that is not legally binding or anything like that, even in China itself.

Categories
Culture Experiences Language Learning Science Theocratic

pǔ

pǔ ({register or record for reference} [→ [musical notation [→ [set to music; compose (music)]] | sth. to base oneself on | table; chart; list | guide; manual | standards | airs; pretensions | spectrum (physics)]] 谱 譜) ← 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.]

Summer is nearing, and soon, many of us will be singing together in Mandarin at our Mandarin conventions. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there was no official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) available on the official page for the Mandarin version of this year’s convention song, but I am happy to report that proofread Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) lyrics or better and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) lyrics for this year’s convention song, and for all the other songs scheduled to be sung at this year’s Mandarin conventions, are now available at this unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource:

2024 convention song “‘Hǎo Xiāoxi’!” (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

[Note: As with all the other Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources, the above-mentioned Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource is made to be supplementary language-learning material for those learning the Mandarin language to help others in the Mandarin field. For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.]

Very Lyrical Mandarin Lyrics

This week’s MEotW, “pǔ ({register or record for reference} [→ [musical notation [→ [set to music; compose (music)]] | sth. to base oneself on | table; chart; list | guide; manual | standards | airs; pretensions | spectrum (physics)]] 谱 譜)”, comes from the second verse of the Mandarin version of this year’s convention song:

English:

He will reign for righteousness.
Peace he will provide.
Jesus is the way to endless life.

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

📖 📄 📘 Dāng (when 当 當) zhèngyì (zhèng·yì {being upright} · righteousness 正义 正義) shǎnyào (shǎn·yào shines · {to be bright} (on) → [shines on] 闪耀 閃耀) tiānjì (tiān·jì sky · boundary → [horizon] 天际 天際),
Pǔ ({register or record for reference} → [musical notation] → [compose] 谱 譜) hépíng (hé·píng {being (together) with (one another)}’s · {being flat, level, even}’s → [peace’s (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict)] 和平) xuánlǜ (xuán·lǜ looping · {regulation → [style of poetry]} → [melody] 旋律),
Qīngchūn (Qīng·chūn {being green → [youth]} · spring → [youth] 青春) huì (will 会 會) xiàng (like 像/象) hé (river 河) bēnliú (bēn·liú rush · flow 奔流) bùxī (bù·xī not · {being ceasing} → [unceasingly] 不息).

Interestingly, this passage of the Mandarin lyrics is more poetic—or lyrical, since we are dealing with lyrics—than is strictly required to correspond to the original English lyrics in meaning. Here is a translation of these Mandarin lyrics back into English:

When righteousness shines on the horizon,
Compose peace’s melody,
Youth will like a rushing river flow unceasingly.

“Pǔ ({register or record for reference} [→ [musical notation [→ [set to music; compose (music)]] | sth. to base oneself on | table; chart; list | guide; manual | standards | airs; pretensions | spectrum (physics)]] 谱 譜)” corresponds with “compose” in the above back translation. This Mandarin expression seems to basically mean “register or record for reference”, and it also has several effective meanings other than “compose”, depending on the context. One of these effective meanings is “musical notation”, such as when it’s used in “jiǎnpǔ (jiǎn·pǔ simple · {register or record for reference → [musical notation]} → [numbered musical notation] 简谱 簡譜)”, which refers to a type of simple numbered musical notation that many Chinese people are familiar with. (In fact, a jiǎnpǔ (jiǎn·pǔ simple · {register or record for reference → [musical notation]} → [numbered musical notation] 简谱 簡譜) version of the “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah book is available on jw.org.)

Music and Mandarin Tones

Another effective meaning that “pǔ ({register or record for reference} [→ [musical notation [→ [set to music; compose (music)]] | sth. to base oneself on | table; chart; list | guide; manual | standards | airs; pretensions | spectrum (physics)]] 谱 譜)” can have is “spectrum”. So, it seems that this can also be considered a kind of pǔ ({register or record for reference} [→ [musical notation [→ [set to music; compose (music)]] | sth. to base oneself on | table; chart; list | guide; manual | standards | airs; pretensions | spectrum (physics)]] 谱 譜):

Chart showing the relative changes in pitch for the four tones of Mandarin Chinese

Chart showing the relative changes in pitch for the four tones of Mandarin Chinese
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Tones in Mandarin are made of pitch, something that is also an important concept in music. It is not surprising, then, that being musically inclined can help one in learning Mandarin. Does that mean that one must be a musical genius to master Mandarin? Not at all! There are about a billion people in China who speak Mandarin just fine, and they can’t all be musical geniuses.

Music, Tones, and Talent

While some are definitely more naturally talented with music or with languages (or with both) than others, talent is far from being the only factor in how well one can come to make music, or learn a tonal language like Mandarin.

As an example, many years ago, early in my own musical journey, I was in a music store trying to tune a guitar by myself. I was trying my best, but I was having a hard time telling which pitches were higher and which were lower—my pitch-discriminating “muscles” were still quite undeveloped. I was doing so poorly that a nearby employee of the music store was imploring me to just let him tune the guitar! Because of my love of music and my determination, though, over time I kept working on improving my ability to distinguish different pitches, and eventually I improved greatly.

I also remember that when I was a young kid in the local Cantonese congregation in an English-speaking country, there was a time when my Bible teacher was putting me through exercises in recognizing different Cantonese tones, and I was doing terribly, not being able to tell which tones were which. Now, though, after acquiring information such as that in the graph above about the nature of the tones, and after ongoing effort and practice over time, my tone-discriminating abilities are much more highly developed, and I can instantly tell which Cantonese or Mandarin tones are which.

Propaganda and Misinformation vs. Truth

Keep in mind, though, that improving the sound of your Mandarin requires focusing on exactly that—the sound of your Mandarin. I have observed that many, influenced by worldly propaganda and misinformation, unfortunately focus instead on the visible Chinese characters, resulting in the invisible sound of their spoken Mandarin being neglected. However, modern linguistics (language science) and God’s Word the Bible both testify that the truth is that speech is actually the real primary aspect of language.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

In contrast to the time when I was following the crowd and focusing on characters, I have found that switching to using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) as much as possible has helped me to properly focus on the sound of Mandarin. (Matthew 7:13, 14) After I made that switch, people began saying that I sound like a native Mandarin-speaker, whereas no one had ever said that back when I was focused on characters.

Moving Forward Surprisingly Much

So, while I know that others are more talented at music and at Mandarin than I am, I have been able to put whatever talent I have to good use and improve greatly at both music and Mandarin, by continuing to study them and to work at them with the help of the available tools and resources. Regarding Mandarin specifically, I have also been helped to greatly improve by learning to recognize worldly propaganda and misinformation about it, which enables me to avoid being misled by these.

If you continue to study Mandarin and to work on learning it for the Mandarin field out of love, if you continue to take advantage of the available resources and tools like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), and if you avoid being misled by worldly propaganda and misinformation, then with the blessing and the help of Jehovah, the Source of music, language, talent, etc., you can also greatly improve, perhaps even to an extent that would surprise your past self!

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:

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

Categories
Culture History Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

zìkuā

zìkuā (zì·kuā {[(about)] self} · {exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag | praise; compliment} 自夸 自誇) ← 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.]

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

“…So That I May Boast”

This week’s MEotW, “zìkuā (zì·kuā {[(about)] self} · {exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag | praise; compliment} 自夸 自誇)”, is used in verse 3 (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_zìkuā_” in 1 Co. 13:3 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension.)

In “zìkuā (zì·kuā {[(about)] self} · {exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag | praise; compliment} 自夸 自誇)”, “zì (self | from; since 自)” can mean “(about) self”. (In other expressions, such as “zìjǐ (self[’s] 自己)” or “zìyóu (zì·yóu self-·determining → [free | freedom] 自由)”, it just means “self”.) As for “kuā ({exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag | praise; compliment} 夸 誇/夸)”, it means “exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag” or “praise; compliment”. So, “zìkuā (zì·kuā {[(about)] self} · {exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag | praise; compliment} 自夸 自誇)” can effectively mean “boast/brag/etc. about oneself”.

Below are English and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus renditions showing how “zìkuā (zì·kuā {[(about)] self} · {exaggerate; overstate; boast; brag | praise; compliment} 自夸 自誇)” is used in 1 Corinthians 13:3 in the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible to correspond to “boast”, which is used in that verse in the current version of the English NWT Bible:

English:

And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all.

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

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算) biànmài (biàn·mài changing · sell → [sell off] 变卖 變賣) yíqiè (yí·qiè {one (whole)} · {corresponding (set of)} → [all] 一切) cáiwù (cái·wù wealth · things → [belongings] 财物 財物), ràng ({to allow} 让 讓) rén (people 人) yǒu ({to have} 有) shíwù (shí·wù eating · matter → [food] 食物) chī ({to eat} 吃 吃/喫), hái (also 还 還) shěshēn (shě·shēn {give up} · {(my) body} 舍身 捨身) juānqū (juān·qū {relinquish → [contribute]} · {(my) human body} 捐躯 捐軀), yǐcǐ (yǐ·cǐ using · this 以此) zìkuā (zì·kuā {(about) self} · {to boast} 自夸 自誇), què (but 却 卻) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · {do have} 没有 沒有) ài (love 爱 愛), zhè (this 这 這) duì (towards → [to] 对 對) wǒ (me 我) yě (even 也) háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {does not have} → [does not have even a little] 毫无 毫無) yìchu (yì·chu beneficial · place → [benefit] 益处 益處).

“Your Boasting Is Not Good”

Jehovah designed us, including specific parts of our bodies, such that the primary way we use language to communicate is with speech. (1 Corinthians 14:8–11) In contrast, writing is a human-invented technology, useful in some ways, but secondary at best compared to the gift of speech that Jehovah gave us.

So, if you are boasting, whether out loud or to yourself in your heart, about your knowledge of Chinese characters, which are particularly deeply problematic products of a worldly human culture, while neglecting to praise and appreciate Jehovah’s gift of speech, is it not so that, as 1 Corinthians 5:6 says, “your boasting is not good”? This is especially so because, as 1 John 2:15–17 tells us, we should “not love either the world or the things in the world”.

That scripture also warns us about “the desire of the eyes”. Chinese characters certainly have visually intricate designs that dazzle the eyes of many. The thing is, though, that language is not primarily about what’s visible to the eye. Rather, speech, the actual primary aspect of human language, is something that’s invisible to the eye. If we were to prioritize or even glamourize fancy visible writing over invisible speech that is actually what really matters language-wise, that could be considered linguistic idolatry—literal idolatry similarly involves worshipping visible idols of false gods rather than properly only worshipping the invisible true God.

Sure, in some situations characters are still the only form in which certain spiritually relevant information is written, so in such situations we must use characters to access and use that information in Jehovah’s service. However, that doesn’t mean that we need to love the characters for their own sake, or boast about our knowledge of them. Indeed, it is entirely appropriate to be dismayed by how the unnecessarily extraordinarily complex Chinese characters can make accessing and using important spiritual information much harder than necessary! While it’s still true that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is not yet everywhere that characters are in the Mandarin field, we should ask ourselves why Jehovah’s organization—which we understand to be directed by Jehovah and Jesus—has over time been making Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) available in more and more places that used to be characters-only.

Similarly, for a long time, the only Bibles available in England were ones written in Latin. While it was not totally impossible for people who lived in England at that time to learn Latin so as to be able to read and understand the Bible for themselves, it was very difficult for most, and practically impossible for many. (Many today similarly find Chinese characters very difficult, or even practically impossible, to deal with, and so they never join a Chinese field, or they may feel forced to leave after a time even if they do join a Chinese field.) In that not-so-merry old England, a privileged few may have boasted about their knowledge of Latin, but Jehovah’s organization has expressed clearly how it views that dark time.

“Glory from One Another”

Something to consider about boasting about characters is: Whom is one doing such boasting trying to impress? Is it Jehovah God? Is Jehovah really impressed by deep worldly knowledge of the culture of the proudly named “Zhōngguó (Zhōng·guó Central · Nation → [China] 中国 中國)” (“Central Kingdom”) that he will soon destroy and replace with his own Kingdom? (Daniel 2:44) Really, one who boasts about his knowledge of characters is generally boasting before other humans, is that not so? That being the case, such a one should take care to avoid becoming like the ones to whom Jesus directed the words at John 5:41–44:

I do not accept glory from men, but I well know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in the name of my Father, but you do not receive me. If someone else came in his own name, you would receive that one. How can you believe, when you are accepting glory from one another and you are not seeking the glory that is from the only God?

Jesus’ words above join the words at 1 Corinthians 13:3 to tell us that if certain ones do things so that they may boast, so that they may receive “glory from men”, “glory from one another”, such ones “do not have the love of God” in them, and so, they “do not benefit at all”.

“Boast in Jehovah”

Especially as ones who are dedicated to Jehovah God, we should focus on what brings glory to him, and on what brings us “the glory that is from the only God”. We should not seek the fading glories of some worldly human culture, even if that culture is as old and storied—from a human viewpoint, at least—as Chinese culture is. (To Jehovah, for whom ‘a thousand years is as one day’, Chinese civilization has only been around for a few days.—2 Peter 3:8.)

As 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 says, we should boast in Jehovah, not in needlessly and self-indulgently complex knowledge relating to a mere worldly human culture:

For you see his calling of you, brothers, that there are not many wise in a fleshly way, not many powerful, not many of noble birth, but God chose the foolish things of the world to put the wise men to shame; and God chose the weak things of the world to put the strong things to shame; and God chose the insignificant things of the world and the things looked down on, the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no one might boast in the sight of God. But it is due to him that you are in union with Christ Jesus, who has become to us wisdom from God, also righteousness and sanctification and release by ransom, so that it may be just as it is written: “The one who boasts, let him boast in Jehovah.”