Tag: Pīnyīn

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Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán

Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán+ ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights]) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Recently, the No. 1 2025 issue of The Watchtower, entitled “An End to War—How?”, became available on jw.org. This week’s MEotW, “Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights])”, appears in the first paragraph of the introduction of the Mandarin version of this issue:

English:

Do you long to live in a world without war or violent conflict? For many, that idea sounds appealing but unrealistic.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Nǐ (you 你) shì (are 是) bu (not 不) shì (are 是) hěn ({very much} 很) xiǎng (wanting 想) shēnghuó ({to live} 生活) zài (in 在) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · having 没有 沒有) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) de (’s 的) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent → [world] 世界) li (inside 里 裡/裏) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)? Duì (towards → [to] 对 對) hěn (very 很) duō (many 多) rén (people 人) lái (coming 来 來) shuō ({to be saying} 说 說/説), zhè (this 这 這) jiǎnzhí+ (jiǎn·zhí {being simple} · {being straight} → [simply] 简直 簡直) shì (is 是) Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán+ ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights]).

The Tale of the Morphemes

In “Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights])”, “Tiānfāng (Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabia | Arabian] 天方)”, meaning “Heaven’s Region”, is a Mandarin expression used to refer to “Arabia” or “Arabian”. “Yè (night; evening 夜 夜/亱)” here means “Night”, and “Tán ({talk; speak; converse; chat; discuss [about]} 谭 譚)” here means “Chats”.

When these morphemes are put together in “Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights])”, they on one level of literalness mean “Arabian Night Chats”, and they are used to refer to the collection of Middle Eastern folktales known in English as Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights.

In the context of the above quote from the Mandarin version of The Watchtower, saying that the idea of a world without war “jiǎnzhí+ (jiǎn·zhí {being simple} · {being straight} → [simply] 简直 簡直) shì (is 是) Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights])” is kind of like saying in English that this idea is “just a fairy tale”.

Just a Fairy Tale?

Considering mankind’s ongoing failure to bring about a world without war, it may indeed seem reasonable to doubt how realistic such an idea is. However, the paragraph of The Watchtower quoted above goes on to say:

English:

The Bible reveals why mankind’s efforts to end war have failed. It also explains how you can be sure that worldwide peace is possible and will soon become a reality.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) gàosu (tells 告诉 告訴) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們), wèi‐shénme ((wèi for 为 為)‐(shén·me what · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼) → [why]) rén (humans 人) bù (not 不) kěnéng ({are able} 可能) kào ({to lean on} → [to rely on] 靠) zìjǐ (selves 自己) de (’ 的) lìliang (lì·liang strength · quantity 力量) ràng ({to make} 让 讓) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent → [world] 世界) hépíng (hé·píng {be (together) with (one another)} · {be flat, level, even} → [be peaceful (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict)] 和平). Búguò (Bú·guò not · {do pass} → [however] 不过 不過) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) yě (also 也) shuō (says 说 說/説), tiānxià+ (tiān·xià heaven · under → [the whole world] 天下) yídìng (yí·dìng {(with) one} · {setting fixedly} → [definitely] 一定) huì (will 会 會) tàipíng (tài·píng supremely · {be flat, level, even → [be peaceful]} 太平), érqiě (ér·qiě and · moreover 而且) zhè (this 这 這) yi (one 一) tiān (sky → [day] 天) yǐjing (yǐ·jing already · {has gone through} 已经 已經) lí ({being apart from} 离 離/离) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) bù (not 不) yuǎn (far 远 遠) le ([(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)!

So, let us take advantage of whatever opportunities we have to make good use of the above-mentioned issue of The Watchtower (and its Mandarin version’s available Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)) in the Mandarin field. Let us do what we can to help Mandarin-speaking sheeplike ones to know that despite the wars now raging in Ukraine and elsewhere, and despite the conflicts threatening to break out, including a possible conflict between China and the USA over Taiwan, “tiānxià+ (tiān·xià heaven · under → [the whole world] 天下) (a past MEotW) yídìng (yí·dìng {(with) one} · {setting fixedly} → [definitely] 一定) huì (will 会 會) tàipíng (tài·píng supremely · {be flat, level, even → [be peaceful]} 太平)”—there will definitely be worldwide peace—because of what Jehovah God, our loving Almighty Creator, will accomplish through his own very real Kingdom government.

Evidently an Actual Fairy Tale

In contrast to what the above-mentioned issue of The Watchtower says about the realistic hope of seeing God’s Kingdom make the earth into a peaceful paradise, I recently came across an interesting article entitled “Statistically Speaking, We Should Have Heard from Aliens by Now”, which says:

The paper presents a model to explore the Fermi Paradox and assess the value of SETI in the search for intelligent life. Despite its limitations, the model suggests that the absence of detected electromagnetic signals from alien civilizations can place limits on how many such civilizations exist. Under certain assumptions, the model predicts a 99% chance of detecting at least one signal if the estimated number of civilizations (based on the Drake equation) is around 1.

[For reference, here are the links to the Wikipedia articles regarding some of the terms mentioned above: Fermi paradox; SETI; Drake equation.]

So, while some people these days hope to make contact with space aliens who could maybe help us solve our problems, it seems that scientific evidence is starting to accumulate that shows that such a hope actually is just Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán ((Tiān·fāng Heaven’s · {Direction → [Region]} → [Arabian] 天方)‐(Yè Night 夜 夜/亱)‐(Tán Chats 谭 譚) → [Arabian Nights; One Thousand and One Nights]), like a story out of Arabian Nights.

Rather than looking to space aliens out of science fiction, how much better it would be for people, including those in the Mandarin field, to look to the true God Jehovah, the Extraterrestrial Superintelligence who, as shown by much evidence, created us and has already made contact with us through his Word the Bible and his organization!

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Culture Experiences History Language Learning Technology Theocratic

zìxué‐chéngcái

zìxué‐chéngcái+ ((zì·xué self · learned; studied 自学 自學)‐(chéng·cái became · {capable person} 成才) → [[be] self-taught]) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Recently, jw.org featured the video “Benjamin Boothroyd—A Self-Taught Bible Scholar”. Where the English title of this video uses the expression “self-taught”, the title of the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “zìxué‐chéngcái ((zì·xué self · learned; studied 自学 自學)‐(chéng·cái became · {capable person} 成才) → [[be] self-taught])”:

English:

Benjamin Boothroyd—A Self-Taught Bible Scholar

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Běnjiémíng (Benjamin 本杰明 本傑明) Bùsīluóyīdé (Boothroyd 布思罗伊德 布思羅伊德): Zìxué‐Chéngcái+ ((Zì·xué Self · Learned 自学 自學)‐(Chéng·cái Became · {Capable Person} 成才) → [Self-Taught]) de (’s 的) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) Xuézhě (Xué·zhě Studying · Person → [Scholar] 学者 學者)

The Morphemes

The first morpheme in this week’s MEotW, “zì (self | from; since 自)”, here means “self”, as it does in “zìjǐ (self[’s] 自己)”. The next morpheme, “xué (learn/learning | study [→ [imitate]] 学 學)”, here means “learned; studied”. Another expression in which it appears is “xuésheng (xué·sheng learning · {growing (one) → [student]} → [student; pupil] 学生 學生)”, which means “student”. These first two morphemes, when put together to form “zìxué (zì·xué self · learn; study 自学 自學)”, refer to learning or studying by oneself.

The third morpheme in this week’s MEotW, “chéng (become; {come to be}; {to turn into}; {to complete}; accomplish; succeed; {fully developed/grown}; {assume [the shape of]}; {to fill} | {to completion} 成)”, here means “became”. It also appears in many other expressions, including “chéngwéi (chéng·wéi become · {to be} 成为 成為)” and “chénggōng+ (chéng·gōng {becoming [of]}; {accomplishing [of]} · {meritorious service/deed}; achievement → [succeed | success | successful[ly]] 成功)”. The final morpheme “cái ({only then} | {only (before a number)} | actually; really; very | talent; ability; gift | {capable person} | {person of a certain type} 才 才/纔)” in this context means “capable person”. So, “chéngcái (chéng·cái become · {capable person} 成才)” here means “became capable person”, and the entire expression “zìxué‐chéngcái ((zì·xué self · learned; studied 自学 自學)‐(chéng·cái became · {capable person} 成才) → [[be] self-taught])” literally means “self-learned/studied, became capable person”, and effectively means “self-taught”.

Being Self-Taught in the Mandarin Field

Apart from the introductory organization-sponsored language classes that many of us took, we Mandarin field language learners are pretty much all self-taught with regard to Mandarin, especially when it comes to the somewhat specialized Mandarin that we must use in the Mandarin field. But does being largely self-taught mean that none of us can really be any good at Mandarin? Are we doomed to plateau at a mediocre level at best?

One thing I appreciated from the video mentioned above is that Benjamin Boothroyd, who was self-taught but became a world-class Bible scholar and translator, was motivated only to pursue the truth. As he wrote (as mentioned in the English video starting at the 6:38 mark):

I have no interest to serve but that of truth.

Regarding those with such a focus on the truth, at John 18:37, Jesus said:

For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.

Those who are “on the side of the truth” and who listen to Jesus’ voice open themselves up to receiving the most important education we can get. This best possible education comes from Jehovah God himself, not any worldly or human source. As Isaiah 54:13 says:

And all your sons will be taught by Jehovah,
And the peace of your sons will be abundant.

Even when it comes to nontrivial technical matters, Jehovah can help certain ones develop the technical knowledge, skills, and expertise that are needed to accomplish his will. For example, as Exodus 35:30–35 tells us, he did so when some specialized technical work needed to be done when Moses and the Israelites were in the wilderness:

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites: “See, Jehovah has chosen Bezʹal·el the son of Uʹri the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled him with the spirit of God, giving him wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of every sort of craftsmanship 32 for making artistic designs, for working with gold, silver, and copper, 33 for cutting and setting stones, and for making all kinds of artistic wood products. 34 And he has put it into his heart to teach, he and O·hoʹli·ab the son of A·hisʹa·mach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all the work of a craftsman, an embroiderer, and a weaver using blue thread, purple wool, scarlet material, and fine linen, and of a loom worker. These men will do every sort of work and prepare every sort of design.

Yes, if we focus on the truth and stay open to Jehovah’s direction, we can make “self-taught” also mean “taught by Jehovah”! And since Jehovah created this universe that human scientists, technicians, artists, musicians, etc. are just trying to figure out and work in, he can, if he wants to, even potentially teach us to become more knowledgeable and skilled in certain fields than many worldly humans are, as he may have done with Bezʹal·el and O·hoʹli·ab.—Psalm 119:98–100.

Modern Resources for Mandarin Self-Learning

In support of our efforts to be successfully self-taught in effectively using Mandarin to praise and serve Jehovah, we today are blessed with many available resources, the likes of which Bezʹal·el, O·hoʹli·ab, and Mr. Boothroyd would undoubtedly have loved to have had access to. For example, one of the basic things that teaching and learning require is the transfer of information to those seeking to learn, and in that regard, we humans today generally have access to, at reasonable cost, computing—i.e., information-processing—devices that can easily be carried by hand, but that are, in some ways, millions of times more capable than the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) that guided the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon.

In addition to these mobile devices themselves, we should also consider the apps and the text, audio, video, etc. content that they enable us to use to help us learn Mandarin. These include the JW Language app, as well as the JW Library app that now allows for content that displays Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). Here are a couple of short links listing some of the resources available for Mandarin field language learners:

No Need to Have Impostor Syndrome in the Mandarin Field

In view of the above, if Jehovah has guided us to serve in the Mandarin field, we need not allow ourselves to be burdened with impostor syndrome, even if we haven’t received extensive worldly training in the Mandarin language. If we let ourselves be “taught by Jehovah” instead of just relying on our own talent or abilities or on mere worldly knowledge or human traditions, and if we resolutely make good use of the available resources and apply ourselves to learn whatever we need to learn in order to do Jehovah’s work well, Jehovah can and will bless our efforts and help us succeed. Also, if we follow Boothroyd’s example and pursue truth rather than “glory from men”, then the truth will be able to set us free from the unnecessary burdens imposed by proud but fallacious human traditions such as those involving Chinese characters. (John 5:41–44; 8:32) As the apostle Paul said at 1 Corinthians 1:26–31:

26 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, 27 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; 28 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, 29 so that no one might boast in the sight of God. 30 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, 31 so that it may be just as it is written: “The one who boasts, let him boast in Jehovah.”

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Culture Experiences History Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

jídù

jídù+ ({being jealous [of]}; envying 嫉妒) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols 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).

Two Ways About It

This week’s MEotW, “jídù ({being jealous [of]}; envying 嫉妒)”, is used in verse 4 (WOL) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_jídù_” in 1 Co. 13:4 (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.)

For comparison, here are the current English and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus renderings of 1 Corinthians 13:4:

English:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up,

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

📖 📄 📘 Ài (love 爱 愛), yǒu (has 有) nàixīn (nài·xīn {being (of/with) enduring} · heart → [patience] 耐心), yòu (also 又) réncí (rén·cí {is kind} 仁慈). Ài (love 爱 愛), bù (not 不) jídù ({is jealous} 嫉妒), bù (not 不) chuīxū+ (chuī·xū {does puff → [does brag]} · {does sigh → [does praise]} → [does brag] 吹嘘 吹噓), bú (not 不) zìdà (zì·dà {(does consider) self} · {to be big → [to be great]} 自大),

Both of the morphemes in “jídù ({being jealous [of]}; envying 嫉妒)” mean “be jealous of” or “envy”. Interestingly, these morphemes can be reversed to produce “dùjí ({being jealous [of]}; envying 妒嫉)”, which means the same thing as “jídù ({being jealous [of]}; envying 嫉妒)”. In this respect, these expressions are like “fǎlǜ+ (law 法律)” and “lǜfǎ+ (law 律法)”. The MEotW post on “fǎlǜ (law 法律)” had this to say about this situation:

But, Why?

If “lǜfǎ (law 律法)” and “fǎlǜ (law 法律)” both mean basically the same thing, why did the world’s Mandarin-speaking population bother to switch the order of “lǜ (law; statute; rule; regulation 律)” and “fǎ (law | method; way; mode | standard; model | {magic arts} | {follow; model after} 法)” in popular usage? Who knows? Appendix A2 of the Mandarin NWT Bible, probably wisely, does not get into the why of it, just mentioning that “fǎlǜ (law 法律)” is now the more common usage. Even if it turns out that there was a reason, it may not be what most would consider a good reason. Sometimes people are just weird, and, speaking as a Chinese person myself, that includes Chinese people—just look at some of the arbitrary ways in which Chinese characters have been designed, that have turned trying to figure out the pronunciations and meanings of unfamiliar Chinese characters into a guessing game.

Speaking of what’s commonplace or popular and why, I am reminded of this quote from William Goldman, who wrote the screenplay for The Princess Bride as well as the screenplays for several other successful, well-known movies:

Nobody knows anything…Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess

Regarding which Mandarin expression for “be jealous of” is better to use in the Mandarin field, in the Chinese Mandarin (Simplified) version of the Watchtower Online Library (WOL), searching yielded only 6 occurrences of “妒嫉” (“dùjí ({being jealous [of]}; envying 妒嫉)”), occurring between 1960 and 1974 and fitting on a single page, while there were multiple pages of results for “嫉妒” (“jídù ({being jealous [of]}; envying 嫉妒)”), including many occurrences in the current Mandarin New World Translation Study Bible (nwtsty). So, clearly, the organization now uses “jídù ({being jealous [of]}; envying 嫉妒)” regularly, and no longer uses “dùjí ({being jealous [of]}; envying 妒嫉)”.

No Way to Live, or Love

While there may be two ways of saying “being jealous” in Mandarin, being jealous is no way to live, or love. Regarding jealousy, the recent MEotW post on “shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]]} [→ [master/expert level (coll)]] 十级 十級)” said:

Speaking of being an expert, is that a bad thing? Some of those around us, perhaps out of insecurity or jealousy, may seek to “keep us in our place” if we get “uppity”, exhibit “pretensions of grandeur”, and actually try to be good at something, perhaps better at it than they are. (Matthew 13:54–58)…

However, God’s Word…encourages us to actually give Jehovah the best “sacrifice of praise” that we can. (Malachi 1:6–8; Hebrews 11:4; 13:15) So, ignore any insecure or jealous naysayers around you, and as Jesus said, “let your light shine” in the Mandarin field, even at shíjí+ (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級) if you can, not to glorify yourself, but to glorify our heavenly Father Jehovah.—Matthew 5:16.

Also, the MEotW post on “guīju (guī·ju [([is] following)] {compasses; dividers → [rules; regulations]} · {carpenter’s squares → [rules; regulations]} → [[[is] following] rules; customs; established practices/standards | [[is] following] social etiquette; manners | [is] well-behaved; well-disciplined] 规矩 規矩)” contains the following:

“Strife and Jealousy”

In the New World Translation Bible in the Watchtower Online Library, one of the scriptures linked to 1 Corinthians 13:5 with regard to “indecently” is Romans 13:13:

Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in immoral intercourse and brazen conduct, not in strife and jealousy.

Note that among the things that God’s Word lists as being indecent, along with things like drunkenness and sexual immorality, are “strife and jealousy”.

If someone makes an issue of a Mandarin field language learner who, say, uses Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) instead of following tradition and exclusively focusing on characters, is that person not being like those who made an issue of Jesus healing on the Sabbath? Instead of being happy and joyful because of the good that Jesus was doing, those opposers of Jesus were jealous of how “the entire crowd began to rejoice at all the glorious things he did”. (Luke 13:17) Opposers of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) use today may similarly be jealous of how those who make good use of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) can accomplish much in Jehovah’s service without having to put the kind of blood, sweat, and tears into learning characters the traditional way that they did. In their tradition-loving eyes, breaking from tradition and using innovative and game-changingly effective new tools like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) may seem “indecent”, but in God’s eyes, it is the jealousy-motivated strife such ones cause over people doing good in his service that is truly indecent.

In God's organization, our unity is based on God's truth, not on human tradition.

[image or embed]

— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 8:27 AM

Those who are motivated by true Christian love, as described in 1 Corinthians 13, would rejoice over how Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) helps Mandarin field language learners to bear witness to the truth more effectively, instead of considering it “cheating”, since love “rejoices with the truth”. (John 18:37; 1 Corinthians 13:6) Also, those who are motivated by true Christian love would not be jealous of how game-changing tools like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) help Mandarin field language learners to more easily get more done, since “love is not jealous”. (1 Corinthians 13:4)…

The Needs of the Many, the Needs of the One

Interestingly, the collectivism of worldly Chinese culture may tend to drive people to be jealous, to hold zero-sum beliefs (that one person’s gain must mean another person’s loss), and to “feel bad about themselves when their friends succeed”. In contrast, real Christian love and true empathy move people to “rejoice with those who rejoice”. (Romans 12:15) The MEotW post on “jítǐ zhǔyì ((jí·tǐ gathered; collected · {body [→ [style; form]]} → [collective] 集体 集體) (zhǔ·yì master · meaning → [-ism] 主义 主義) → [collectivism; community spirit])” touched on this:

Self-Identity and Balanced Self-Love

Self-identity is one thing that can particularly be a struggle for those raised in collectivistic societies, since the self is relatatively often neglected in such societies. It’s perhaps not surprising then, that, as mentioned above, in the relatively collectivistic Chinese societies, with their relative paucity, or scarcity, of more healthy ways to build and maintain self-identity, so many have such an unhealthy, obsessive attachment to Chinese characters, as something to desperately hang their neglected self-identities on.