Tag: Need Is Great

Categories
Current Events Experiences History Language Learning Technology Theocratic

lìliang

lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量) 👈🏼 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, “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)”, occurs in subtitle 69 of the transcript for the video for lesson 16, point 6 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

Someone touched me,

for I know that power went out of me.

Mandarin:

68
00:03:30,620 → 00:03:32,038
📖 📄 📘 Yídìng (Yí·dìng {(with) one} · {setting fixedly} → [definitely] 一定) yǒurén (yǒu·rén {(there) was having → [(there) was]} · person (who) 有人) mō (touched 摸) wǒ (me 我)—

69
00:03:32,038 → 00:03:34,207
📖 📄 📘 wǒ (I 我) juéde (jué·de {to wake to → [to feel]} · got → [got to feel] 觉得 覺得) yǒu ({(there) was having} → [(there) was] 有) lìliang (lì·liang power · quantity 力量) cóng (from 从 從) wǒ (me 我) shēnshang (shēn·shang {body → [self]} · upon 身上) chūqu (chū·qu {having gone out} · {to go} 出去).

Here, “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)” is used as the Mandarin word for “power”. Speaking of God’s power and the vocabulary used to talk about it in Mandarin, “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)” appears in “shénshèng lìliang ((shén·shèng godly · holy 神圣 神聖) (lì·liang force · quantity 力量) → [holy spirit])”, the expression currently used in the publications of Jehovah’s organization to translate “holy spirit”. (Interestingly, comparing the English and Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) versions of song 112 in the “Sing Out Joyfully” book, we see that there, “we ask you for your spirit” is translated as “kěnqiú (kěn·qiú (we) earnestly · request 恳求 懇求) nǐ (you 你) cìyǔ ({to give} 赐予/与 賜予/與) lìliang (lì·liang force · quantity → [(as per the English lyrics, this may be an abbr. for shénshèng lìliang (holy spirit))] 力量)”. I suppose it’s possible, though, that this apparent abbreviation of “shénshèng lìliang ((shén·shèng godly · holy 神圣 神聖) (lì·liang force · quantity 力量) → [holy spirit])” to “lìliang (lì·liang force · quantity → [(this may be an abbr. for shénshèng lìliang (holy spirit), e.g., in the lyrics for song 112)] 力量)” was just something done to fit the song’s rhythm.)

“Power Had Gone Out of Him”

The above-mentioned video—and the Bible account it was based on—simply refers to “power”, translated into Mandarin as “lìliang (lì·liang power; strength; force · quantity 力量)”. However, considering the miraculously beneficial results of this flow of “power”, much more must have been involved than what humans typically think of when they think of power.

Power flowing out of Jesus may make some imagine something happening like what happens when contact is made that completes a circuit with a battery, like when one tries to jump-start a car. When that’s done properly and the power flows, the result can be the safe and gratifying starting up of the previously unstartable car. I once had an experience, though, that didn’t go as expected, when I helped to jump-start an old Nissan that for some reason had the colours on its battery posts reversed from the usual practice, such that the post that I thought was the negative post was actually the positive post, and vice versa. The result in that case was a runaway flow of power that caused the jumper cable to rapidly heat up and catch fire! (Fortunately, I was able to grab a long wooden stick I had in the trunk of my car for chipping away at road ice, and use it to forcibly break the cable, which by then had been weakened by the extreme heat.)

So, power alone is not enough to ensure good results. Indeed, power alone can destroy rather than make things better. Besides my misadventure with that confusingly designed car battery, another obvious example is what happened when huge amounts of power were released by the explosions of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In the case of the sick woman who touched Jesus’ outer garments, Jesus only knew that “power had gone out of him”—he didn’t know this woman and didn’t understand her situation until she explained things to him after the fact. So, even without Jesus’ active participation and direction, the “power” that went out from him displayed

  • recognition of the woman’s faith and of the rightness of helping her, even if she was technically in violation of the Mosaic Law,
  • understanding of the nature of her sickness and of the technical process required to completely and immediately heal her of it,
  • and willingness to help her in this way.

Power, Beneficially Applied

It is evident from what happened in this situation that, as corroborated by the rest of God’s Word, God’s almighty power is always used along with his abundant justice, wisdom, and love—it never runs amok on its own, like a runaway electric current or an exploding bomb.

While humans in Satan’s world continue to fight wars and otherwise hungrily seek power for its own sake, it’s good to know of Jehovah God’s unmatched power, and of how he always uses it justly, wisely, and lovingly. In the Mandarin field, we have the privilege of helping people in what’s probably the largest language field ever to also come to an appreciation of the impressive and moving ways in which Jehovah God uses power.

Chart: Languages by First-Language Speakers—2019

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 Current Events Experiences Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

wúkě‐bǐnǐ

wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to compare; parallel} → [to compare; match; draw a parallel] 比拟 比擬) 👈🏼 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.

Without Compare

“wúkě‐bǐnǐ” _Pīnyīn_ Plus info, Song 152 (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

This week’s MEotW in the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

This week’s MEotW, “wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to compare; parallel} → [to compare; match; draw a parallel] 比拟 比擬)”, comes from the first verse of song 152, which is entitled “A Place That Will Bring You Praise” in English and “Nǐ de ((Nǐ You 你) (de ’s 的) → [Your]) Róngyào (Róng·yào Glorious · {Brilliant → [Glorious]} → [Glorious] 荣耀 榮耀) zhī (’ 之) Jiā ([mw for establishments] 家)” in Mandarin:

English:

Jehovah, the Maker of heaven,
By heaven you can’t be contained,
Even less an earthly dwelling place.
But your spirit can here remain.

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

📖 📄 📘 Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) yòng (used 用) dà (big → [great] 大) néng (ability 能) zào ({to make} 造) tiāndì (tiān·dì heavens · earth 天地),
Nǐ de ((Nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) róngyào (róng·yào glory · {being brilliant → [glory]} → [glory] 荣耀 榮耀) wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to parallel} → [to compare] 比拟 比擬).
Xiǎoxiǎo (Xiǎo·xiǎo small · small → [miniscule] 小小) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe 地球) rúhé (rú·hé like · how → [how] 如何) néng (can 能) chéngzài (chéng·zài bear · hold → [bear the weight of] 承载 承載)
Nǐ de ((Nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) lìliang (lì·liang power · quantity 力量), nǐ de ((nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) hòu’ài (hòu’·ài {thick → [deep]} · love 厚爱 厚愛)?

“Wúkě (Wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to compare; parallel} → [to compare; match; draw a parallel] 比拟 比擬)” means “there is not being able to compare”. So, the line that it appears in, “Nǐ de ((Nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) róngyào (róng·yào glory · {being brilliant → [glory]} → [glory] 荣耀 榮耀) wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to parallel} → [to compare] 比拟 比擬)”, means “Your glory is without compare”.

People of this world support corrupt, self-seeking politicians, worship the blind chance that they say powers evolution, look for space aliens, place their hopes in artificial intelligence, and so on. However, none of those could accomplish what Jehovah God has accomplished—He alone is the One who actually created the universe and all the living things in it. So, as expressed by this week’s MEotW, Jehovah’s glory truly is without compare, and there is no one and nothing else that people should look to and hope in in these dark times.

As Mandarin field language learners, let us be determined to keep on doing our best to sing Jehovah’s praises well in this largest of all worldwide language fields. Not only is the Mandarin field the largest one in the world, with about a billion people worldwide for whom Mandarin is their mother tongue, it’s also about 2½ times the size of the worldwide English field. So, it could be said that there should really be about 2½ times as many publishers in the worldwide Mandarin field as there are in the worldwide English field. Yes, “the harvest is great, but the workers are few”, so sing out loud in the Mandarin field, and sing out strong!—Matthew 9:37, 38.

Chart: Languages by First-Language Speakers—2019

Musical Notation 🎼 and the Mandarin Field

In this post about a Mandarin expression found in our songbook, another subject that I want to touch on is: Is musical notation 🎼 too hard to be worth the trouble of producing it and using it? Are fewer and fewer people able to read it? I was fortunate enough to have been taught how to read musical notation in school. I have never thought of musical notation as being particularly difficult to use (it’s much easier to learn than characters, which many unquestioningly try to learn), and I find that it helps me to sing Kingdom songs more correctly (according to the intended melody, message, etc.) and more confidently more of the time. However, I am aware that not everyone in the Mandarin field has the same experience with musical notation. For example, a while ago, an older brother told me that he didn’t know how to read musical notation. Also, some people in the Mandarin field may have been affected by how education systems in this old world have been facing significant challenges relating to providing music education for younger ones.

Regardless of how the world may be failing in many cases to equitably provide good music education, Jehovah’s organization has pointed out that music is important in Jehovah’s worship. For example, not long ago, a Meeting Workbook said:

Music can have a powerful influence on the mind and body. Singing is an important part of our worship of Jehovah.

In accordance with the importance of music in Jehovah’s worship, Mandarin field language learners used to have available to them official material from the organization containing musical notation with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in the lyrics. However, perhaps at least partially because of the technical difficulty and costliness of producing material with musical notation and both Chinese characters and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in the lyrics, as of this writing, early in 2025, there is no official material currently available from the organization that shows Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and musical notation on the same page or screen.

The organization continues to publish official songbook material for different languages in general that contains musical notation, so it evidently still considers musical notation to generally be worthwhile to produce. It continues to produce official material for the current songbook that uses musical notation along with lyrics rendered only in Chinese characters, without Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), and it has even produced official material that uses jiǎnpǔ (jiǎn·pǔ simple · {register or record for reference → [musical notation]} → [numbered musical notation] 简谱 簡譜) (a kind of musical notation also known as numbered musical notation) and Chinese characters.

For those who find it helpful in their Mandarin field activities to put musical notation together with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) exists and is continuing to be improved. As shown in the screenshot above, this resource aids Mandarin field language learners by breaking with tradition and featuring lyrics in the musical notation that are only in relatively large-print Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) by default—characters are relegated to Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcards” that are added as time allows.

Unlike the traditionally-used but unnecessarily extraordinarily complex characters that need to be accompanied by Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) before many are able to read them, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) itself is a simple, elegant alphabetical full writing system for Mandarin that is easy to learn and remember. Also, it is no harder to typeset than other alphabetical writing systems with diacritics, such as the writing systems now used for French, Czech, Vietnamese, etc.*

In its Tips: section at the bottom of its home page, the “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) resource contains these links that some may find helpful:

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.

 

* Thanks to ongoing advancements in personal computing hardware and software, producing material that contains things like musical notation and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text at reasonable cost is quicker and easier than ever. At this time, production of the musical notation in the “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) resource begins in free open source software called MuseScore Studio, running on a Mac. Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text for the lyrics in the musical notation is entered using macOS’s ABC – Extended input source (keyboard layout). (Just using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text only here simplifies things so much compared to having to somehow input characters with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) ruby text!) When it’s ready, the musical notation for a song is exported from MuseScore Studio into SVG format, which is a plain text format that allows for the inclusion of links that activate Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus flashcards on webpages. The coding for the SVG links is currently mostly done using the text editor BBEdit, in which editing large text files is quite performant. For Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material production in general, my current favourite tool is Nova, but such web material can be produced in any application suitable for web development, such as Visual Studio Code, etc. ^

Categories
Culture Current Events Experiences Language Learning

zǒuxiàn

zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

I recently listened to an episode of the Drum Tower podcast entitled “Why Chinese migrants are crossing dangerous jungle to reach America” (posted on Oct. 8, 2024). In it, Alice Su, senior China correspondent for The Economist, explains that “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)”, this week’s MEotW (which has its very own Wikipedia page), is the expression used by certain Chinese migrants to refer to their intended journey, which for many involves flying to Ecuador in South America, crossing the wild stretches of the Darién Gap, and carrying on to the United States of America. As said in the podcast:

News anchor [00:01:03] The infamous Darien Gap on the border between Colombia and Panama is the only route between South and North America. Those attempting to cross it risk robbery and death.

Alice Su [00:01:17] This route is taken by many desperate migrants from countries torn apart by war, crime, and poverty. But in the last few years, more and more Chinese people have been taking this route to reach the U.S. too. Last year, there were more than 37,000. That’s nearly ten times more than the year before, and 50 times more than the year before that. And that surprised me, because China is a superpower. It’s the second largest economy in the world. It’s at peace, and it’s strong enough to challenge America for global dominance. I wanted to understand who are these Chinese migrants? What is driving them out of China, and what awaits them in America?

[Note 2024-12-19: As SB points out in the comments below, evidently “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)” “can also apply to other illegal immigration routes into other countries”, and so this post has been revised accordingly. Still, apparently people are mostly using it to refer to taking the journey through the Darién Gap to reach the USA, to the point that the Wikipedia page about this phenomenon currently only mentions this route. Of course, as many know, while Wikipedia often provides a useful starting point for research, it is neither completely comprehensive nor always right.]

The Same Words, Different Meanings

On a certain level of literalness, the morphemes in “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)” mean “walk (the) line”. This may remind country music fans of the Johnny Cash song “I Walk the Line”, in which the protagonist sings of his determination to remain faithful to his wife. This accords with one of the English meanings of “walk the line”:

To behave in an authorized or socially accepted manner, especially as prescribed by law or morality; to exercise self-control.

The contrast of this meaning with that given by the above-mentioned Chinese migrants to “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)” is a classic example of how the same words can have different meanings in different cultural and historical contexts. That’s one reason why communicating with Mandarin-speaking people and reaching their hearts involves more than just learning vocabulary words and memorizing characters.

“Sheep Without a Shepherd”

As a Mandarin field language learner, listening to some of the experiences of the Chinese migrants interviewed in the above-mentioned podcast may remind you of Jesus’ words at Matthew 9:36:

On seeing the crowds, he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.

Whether they know it or not, these people need to hear the good news of God’s Kingdom! Let us continue to do our best, then, to join in and to help answer the call that Jesus included in his next words, recorded in verses 37 and 38 of the same chapter:

Then he said to his disciples: “Yes, the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”