Tag: Myths

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science

shénhuà

shénhuà (shén·huà gods · {(set[s] of) words → [story/stories]} → [mythology | myth; fairy tale] 神话 神話) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Last year’s MEotW post on “jiǎ (false; fake 假 假/叚) xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息)” contains the following:

Myths and Misinformation About Chinese Characters, Etc.

As Mandarin field language learners, we need to be aware that many myths and much misinformation have been spread about the Chinese languages, especially when it comes to Chinese characters. Indeed, there is so much misinformation about Chinese characters that Victor Mair wrote the following in the foreword of the book Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning, by J. Marshall Unger:

There is probably no subject on earth concerning which more misinformation is purveyed and more misunderstandings circulated than Chinese characters (漢字, Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji, Korean hanja), or sinograms.

Also, in his book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, John DeFrancis lists the following myths regarding Chinese characters, that many believe:

  • The Ideographic Myth
    • The MEotW post on “Hāmǐjíduōdùn (Armageddon 哈米吉多顿 哈米吉多頓)” contains a discussion of this myth, with some selected excerpts on this subject from DeFrancis’ book.
  • The Universality Myth
  • The Emulatability Myth
  • The Monosyllabic Myth
  • The Indispensability Myth
  • The Successfulness Myth

Regarding these myths, in p. 2–3 of his aforementioned book, J. Marshall Unger provides this summary:

Passing for the moment over the history of how the hunt for the perfect language unfolded, let us jump ahead to the result: the intellectual baggage about Chinese characters that we have inherited from the Renaissance and Enlightenment. John DeFrancis, in his classic book The Chinese Language (1984), sums up that weighty legacy under six headings, and a better summary would be hard to find. The source of all the confusion is what DeFrancis calls the Ideographic Myth, the notion that Chinese characters represent meaning directly, without reference to language (that is, speech) in any way. Its logical extension is the Universality Myth, according to which Chinese script allows for communication between mutually uninteligible dialects and languages. This leads in turn to the Emulatability Myth, which holds that Chinese script can serve as a model for a general system of signs that transcends natural language. These first three myths have little to do with the actual structure or history of the Chinese language or its writing system, in contrast with the remaining three: the Monosyllabic Myth, Indispensability Myth, and Successfulness Myth. Each of these—the names are more or less self-explanatory—makes a strong claim about language and the writing system, claims that have had significant social and political consequences.

At least some of the political consequences referred to above have been deliberate, meaning that at least some of the myths and misinformation spread about Chinese languages and Chinese characters qualify as political propaganda. If we’re not careful, we could end up parroting this political propaganda. (We could also end up parroting worldly human cultural propaganda, which is also a bad thing for people who seek to be no part of the world.) Also, all the difficulties and confusion caused by all the myths and misinformation surrounding Chinese languages and Chinese characters massively hinder the efforts of Mandarin field language learners to stay spiritually strong and to reach the hearts of Mandarin-speakers with Bible truth. This can result in deeply negative spiritual consequences that should be of great concern to us. To complete the sentence quoted from the video mentioned at the beginning of this post:

Misinformation isn’t just inaccurate; it can also be dangerous!

It seems that it would be good for this blog to discuss more fully each of the above-mentioned myths about Chinese characters. As a prelude, this week’s MEotW is “shénhuà (shén·huà gods · {(set[s] of) words → [story/stories]} → [mythology | myth; fairy tale] 神话 神話)”, the Mandarin word generally used to translate “myth”.

False Gods and False Stories

The “shén (god [→ [supernatural; magical; miraculous]] | spirit; mind 神)” in “shénhuà (shén·huà gods · {(set[s] of) words → [story/stories]} → [mythology | myth; fairy tale] 神话 神話)” is often used by Christendom to refer to “God”, with a capital “G”. Occasionally, Jehovah’s organization also uses “Shén (God 神)” to correspond with “God”, as can be seen by comparing the renditions of Deuteronomy 4:35 in the current English and Mandarin versions of the New World Translation Bible:

English:

You yourselves have been shown these things so you will know that Jehovah is the true God; there is no other besides him.

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

📖 📄 📘 Zhè (these 这 這) yíqiè (yí·qiè {one (whole)} · {corresponding (set)} → [all] 一切) xiǎngěi (xiǎn·gěi {having been shown} · {to be given to} 显给 顯給) nǐ (you 你) kàn ({to see} 看), shì ({has been} 是) yào ({to be going to} 要) ràng (let 让 讓) nǐ (you 你) zhīdào (zhī·dào know · {(the) way (of)} → [know] 知道) Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) shì (is 是) zhēn (true 真)‐Shén (God 神), chúle (chú·le {eliminating → [besides]} · {to completion} 除了) tā (him 他), zài (additionally 再) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu (there) not · {is having → [is]} → [(there) is not] 没有 沒有) biéde (bié·de other · ’s 别的 別的) Shén (God 神).

Usually, though, “shén (god [→ [supernatural; magical; miraculous]] | spirit; mind 神)” is used to refer to “god” with a lower case “g”, which typically refers to a false god that’s not the true God. When that’s put together with “huà (word; {spoken word}; saying; talk; speech [→ [story]] 话 話)”, the resulting expression can mean “stories about (false) gods”, or “myths”.

The above-mentioned myths about Chinese characters are widely believed and often repeated in this world that is controlled by Satan, but they are actually as false as false gods like Zeus, Apollo, Baal, Guānyīn (Guān·yīn (The One Who) Observes · Sounds → [Guanyin; Goddess of Mercy] 观音 觀音) (Wikipedia article), etc. (1 John 5:19) Be on the lookout for future posts on this blog that further discuss each of these myths, or fairy tales, about Chinese characters.

Categories
Culture Experiences Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

wūdú

wūdú (voodoo 巫毒) 👈🏼 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.]

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. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

This week’s MEotW, “wūdú (voodoo 巫毒)”, occurs in subtitle 3 of the transcript for the video for lesson 14, point 5 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

At a tender age, I had a troubled mind

as to how I would be pleasing to God

and also at the same time be pleasing in the eyes of the voodoo.

Mandarin:

1
00:00:02,952 → 00:00:06,556
📖 📄 📘 Cóngxiǎo (Cóng·xiǎo from · {being little → [being young]} → [from childhood] 从小 從小) wǒ (I 我) jiù (then 就) yìzhí (yì·zhí one · {being straight} → [all the while] 一直) zài ({had been in} → [had then been] 在) xiǎng (thinking 想)

2
00:00:06,556 → 00:00:11,461
📖 📄 📘 wǒ (I 我) zěnyàng (zěn·yàng (in) what · {pattern → [way]} → [how] 怎样 怎樣) zuò ({would do} 做) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ {to be able} · [suf] 可以) tóngshí (tóng·shí {(at the) same} · {(particular) time} 同时 同時) ràng ({to make} 让 讓) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) xǐyuè ({to be pleased} 喜悦 喜悅),

3
00:00:11,461 → 00:00:14,964
📖 📄 📘 yòu (also 又) ràng ({to make} 让 讓) wūdú (voodoo 巫毒) de (’s 的) shénlíng (shén·líng gods · spirits 神灵 神靈) xǐyuè ({to be pleased} 喜悦 喜悅).

Speech Is Primary!

The individual morphemes of “wūdú (voodoo 巫毒)” have interesting meanings (“witch/wizard/shaman” and “poison”), but ultimately, “wūdú (voodoo 巫毒)” is a loanword from the English word “voodoo”, which in turn comes, via Louisiana French, from the Fon word “vodun”, meaning “god; deity”.

How similar these loanwords sound reminds us that, as linguists say, speech, with its invisible sounds to represent meaning, is actually the primary aspect of language, as opposed to writing, which is secondary, no matter how intricate its visual symbols are.

Power-Hungry?

As Jehovah’s people, we have been taught to seek to imitate him and cultivate and display a healthy balance and combination of Jehovah’s four cardinal attributes: power, justice, wisdom, and love. (Ephesians 5:1, 2) However, those who are devoted to voodoo and other forms of spiritism seek power over all else. This unbalanced thirst for power over all else, ignoring and even actively fighting against wisdom, justice, and love, is common in Satan’s world, which is made in Satan’s deformed spiritual image.

The perceived voodooesque power of characters—including their mythical idol-like power to represent invisible meaning with their mesmerizing visual designs, and also the cultural power, social status, and glamour associated with them—is of course appealing to those who conform to the power-hungry template of those infected with the spirit of Satan’s world.

When such ones are presented with the simple, humble effectiveness of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), they recoil at this this threat to their precious characters-based power, much as the Pharisees, etc. recoiled at the threat Jesus and his back-to-spiritual-basics teachings posed to their traditions-based power. On the other hand, Mandarin field language learners who are truly motivated by love for God and neighbour see in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) an excellent tool for helping them to effectively use Mandarin speech—the actual primary aspect of the Mandarin language—to help them praise and glorify Jehovah and give spiritual assistance to honest-hearted people in the Mandarin field.

汉字 / 漢字? Pīnyīn?

Indeed, whereas some feel that characters present a test of our determination to serve God in the face of difficulties, it is evident that characters can actually present a test of our motivations as Mandarin field language learners, especially when Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is available (as it often is now). Are we in our pride hungry for the voodooesque power often associated with the characters? Or are we truly motivated by love of God and neighbour to look for ways to get past the unnecessarily obstructive Great Wall of characters, and to make good use of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), in many situations the evidently better tool for glorifying God and helping our Mandarin-speaking neighbours, when it is available?—1 Corinthians 13.

The Great Wall of China

How do we respond to the seemingly powerful Great Wall of characters?

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! 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 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.

Categories
Culture Experiences History Language Learning Names Science Theocratic

Gēlìyà

Gēlìyà (Go·liʹath 歌利亚 歌利亞) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

A few years back, I wrote up a brief web page listing reasons for producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), etc. material for the Imitate (ia) book. Some, especially some who grew up in the West, may have felt that this book is made up of “just stories”, and ones that they were already quite familiar with, at that. However, we must remember that Chinese Bible students may often have a different perspective regarding the Bible accounts that are made to come to life in the Imitate book. As that web page said:

  • Many Chinese people in the world have not been exposed to Bible accounts the way many Westerners have.
  • Also, I have heard that some, perhaps many, Chinese Bible students tend to approach their Bible studies like intellectual exercises for accumulating chōuxiàng (abstract) head knowledge as if for a school exam, rather than as training for their hearts for their own real lives.

Later, the web page touches on how some of the real-world benefits of good storytelling like that found in the Imitate book involve empathy:

  • …
    • The actress Natalie Portman once said, “I love acting. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to do. Your job is practicing empathy. You walk down the street imagining every person’s life.”
  • The Imitate book helps build Bible students’ empathy towards Bible characters, which in turn helps Bible students realize that others would feel empathy towards them as well if they imitated these Bible characters—not everyone will just think they’re crazy, like many worldly friends or family members might think.

While even fictional stories can have the benefits described in the links and the quote above, true stories from the Bible can have even greater benefits, including spiritual ones.

Besides the Imitate book, another book from Jehovah’s organization that relates Bible accounts is the Learn From the Bible (lfb) book. The letter from the Governing Body in this book says that, similarly to the Imitate book, the Learn From the Bible book also “brings the Bible accounts to life and captures the feelings of those depicted”, while, unlike the Imitate book, it “tells the story of the human family from creation onward”. While the Learn From the Bible book is especially suitable for children, the letter from the Governing Body in this book says that “it can also be used to help adults who desire to learn more about the Bible”. So, it would be good to consider on this blog some of the expressions used in the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book.

Goliath, By the Sound of It

This week’s MEotW, “Gēlìyà (Go·liʹath 歌利亚 歌利亞)”, is the Mandarin version of the name “Goliath”. It is used in Lesson 40 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book, which is entitled “Dàwèi (David 大卫 大衛) Yǒngzhàn (Yǒng·zhàn Bravely · Fights 勇战 勇戰) Gēlìyà (Go·liʹath 歌利亚 歌利亞)” (“David and Goliath”).

It is apparent that “Gēlìyà (Go·liʹath 歌利亚 歌利亞)” was chosen to represent “Goliath” in Mandarin because of what it sounds like, not because of the meanings of the supposedly ideographic (representing meaning directly through visible symbols, bypassing speech) Chinese characters used to write it out (“Song Profit Inferior”??? 🤷🏻).

A Cultural Goliath in the Chinese World

In this world ruled by Satan, Chinese characters loom large in people’s minds, like a cultural and traditional Goliath. To Jehovah God, though, the Creator and Sovereign of the entire universe, Goliath was small and insignificant back in David’s time, and Chinese characters are small and insignificant today. Indeed, even though Chinese characters have been around for millenia and are the oldest writing system still in use among humans, to Jehovah, to whom ‘a thousand years is as one day’, characters have only been around for a few days!—2 Peter 3:8.

Don’t Submit to Goliath—Trust in Jehovah!

It may seem like we have no choice but to submit to Chinese characters, these seemingly mighty symbols of worldly Chinese culture, and give them the egregious amounts of time, energy, and devotion they demand. However, for us dedicated ones, our time, energy, and devotion belong to Jehovah, so we should spend them carefully, in ways that are worthwhile with regard to our efforts to glorify Jehovah and accomplish the urgent, life-saving work he has assigned to us.

Chinese characters are a ball and chain made of human tradition.

Back in David’s time, it may have seemed to the Israelites facing Goliath that they had no option but to become slaves to the Philistines, because who could defeat the mighty Goliath? However, rather than being intimidated by this abnormally large but still limited and imperfect human, David put Jehovah first and really trusted in him, resulting in Jehovah blessing his efforts and helping him to soundly and decisively defeat Goliath. And yes, besides trusting in Jehovah, David did also contribute his own efforts—he both prepared to battle Goliath (for example, by carefully selecting “five smooth stones from the streambed”, stones that would come off his sling and fly through the air smoothly), and also actually stepped up and fought this battle.—1 Samuel 17:40.

汉字 / 漢字? Pīnyīn?

Today, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) can be one of our symbolic “smooth stones” that help us prepare for and successfully fight our personal battle to, with Jehovah’s help, defeat the cultural Goliath that is the characters, and learn to understand Mandarin and speak it understandably (and smoothly!) to the Mandarin-speaking people we meet in the field.

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Learn From the Bible book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Learn From the Bible 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 Learn From the Bible book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.