Tag: Polysemy

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Current Events Theocratic

fùhuó

fùhuó (fù·huó {being turned around → [being restored]} · {to be living} → [resurrection] 复活 復活) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

As featured on jw.org, one of the events related to the Memorial this year is:

English:

The special Bible talk “The Resurrection—Victory Over Death!”

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Tèbié (Tè·bié special · differentiated → [special] 特别 特別) gōngzhòng (gōng·zhòng public · multitude → [public] 公众 公眾) yǎnjiǎng (yǎn·jiǎng {performing of} · speaking → [talk] 演讲 演講) “Fùhuó (Fù·huó {Being Turned Around → [Being Restored]} · {to Be Living} → [Resurrection] 复活 復活) Zhànshèng (Zhàn·shèng Fights · {to Be Winning Victory over} → [Wins Victory over] 战胜 戰勝) Sǐwáng (Dying → [Death] 死亡)!”

Many Mandarin field language learners will already be familiar with this week’s MEotW, “fùhuó (fù·huó {being turned around → [being restored]} · {to be living} → [resurrection] 复活 復活)”, which appears in the name of the special talk, as shown above. Also, they probably already know that the morpheme “huó ({to live} | {[is] alive}; {[is] living} | {[is] lively} 活)” in that expression means “living”. What’s the story, though, with “fù ({turn around/over} [→ [recover; restore; return; resume | duplicate; repeat | again; repeatedly | [is] compound; complex; composite | reply; answer | avenge; retaliate]] 复 復)”?

Turning Around, Etc.

The “fù ({turn around/over} [→ [recover; restore; return; resume | duplicate; repeat | again; repeatedly | [is] compound; complex; composite | reply; answer | avenge; retaliate]] 复 復)” in “fùhuó (fù·huó {being turned around → [being restored]} · {to be living} → [resurrection] 复活 復活)” seems to literally mean “turn around”, or “turn over”, and it can be used to effectively mean “recover; restore; return; resume”. Thus, on a certain level of literalness, “fùhuó (fù·huó {being turned around → [being restored]} · {to be living} → [resurrection] 复活 復活)” means “being restored to be living”.

Here are some other expressions that incorporate this “fù ({turn around/over} [→ [recover; restore; return; resume | duplicate; repeat | again; repeatedly | [is] compound; complex; composite | reply; answer | avenge; retaliate]] 复 復)”, some of which show other effective meanings that it can also represent:

  • Fùhuó (Fù·huó {Turning Around → [Restoring]} · {to Be Living} → [Resurrection] → [Easter] 复活 復活) Jié (Node → [Holiday] 节 節)
  • chóngfù (chóng·fù repeating · {turning around/over → [duplicating]} 重复 重複/覆)
  • chóngchóng (chóng·chóng repeating · repeating 重重)‐fùfù (fù·fù {turning around/over → [duplicating]} · {turning around/over → [duplicating]} 复复 {復復}/{複複}/{复复})
  • fǎnfù (fǎn·fù {turning over} · {turning around} → [over and over] 反复 反復/覆)
  • fǎnfǎn‐fùfù ((fǎn·fǎn {turning over} · {turning over} 反反)‐(fù·fù {turning around} · {turning around} 复复 復/覆復/覆) → [over and over])
  • fùshēng (fù·shēng {being turned around → [being restored]} · {to be living} → [resurrection; being brought back to life; coming back to life] 复生 復生)
  • fùshù (fù·shù {turning around → [again]} · state; relate; narrate → [repeat; retell] 复述 復/複/覆述)
  • fùxí (fù·xí {turning around → [again]} · practise → [review; revise] 复习 複/復習)
  • fùzá (fù·zá {[is] turned around → [[is] compound; complex]} · {[is] mixed} → [[is] complicated; complex] 复杂 複雜)
  • fùzhì (fù·zhì {turning around → [again]} · make; manufacture; create; produce → [duplicate; reproduce; clone; make a copy of; replicate] 复制 複製)
  • huīfù (restore; recover · {turn around/over → [recover; restore; return; resume]} [→ [resume; renew]] 恢复 恢復)
  • kāngfù (kāng·fù {being healthy} · {is turned around → [is restored; is recovered]} → [is restored to health; is recovered; is recuperated] 康复 康復)
  • xiūfù (xiū·fù repair; mend; overhaul · {turn around/over → [recover; restore]} 修复 修復)

The polysemy (having of many possible meanings) of “fù ({turn around/over} [→ [recover; restore; return; resume | duplicate; repeat | again; repeatedly | [is] compound; complex; composite | reply; answer | avenge; retaliate]] 复 復)” may seem quite fùzá (fù·zá {turned around → [complex]} · mixed → [complicated] 复杂 複雜), but don’t worry—you can always come back to this blog post to fùxí (fù·xí {turning around → [again]} · practise → [review] 复习 複/復習) 😁.

Categories
Culture Nations

chūshēng rìqī

chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “When Was Jesus Born?”. Considering that it’s getting to be the middle of December, that’s not surprising—while we Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Christmas, this relatively unusual stand means that we sometimes need to explain why we don’t celebrate this holiday that many in the world like so much. Knowing a bit about “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”, this week’s MEotW that’s used in the Mandarin version of the above-mentioned article, will help us to do so to Mandarin-speaking Bible students, etc.

One thing we should note is that “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” is subtly different from “shēngri  (shēng·ri {given birth to} · {sun → [day]} → [birthday] 生日)”, a common expression that many Mandarin field language learners likely have heard of. Comparing the English and Mandarin versions of the above-mentioned article, “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” corresponds with “birth date” or “date of birth”, while the one occurrence of “shēngri  (shēng·ri {given birth to} · {sun → [day]} → [birthday] 生日)” corresponds with “birthday”. The dictionaries I checked confirm this distinction.

Morphemes and Related Expressions

The morphemes in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” are relatively commonly used, but interesting.

Besides just meaning “out”, the “chū ({go/come/put… out}; out 出)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” can also mean “[a verb] out”, e.g., “go/come out”, “put out”, etc. For example, check out the literal meanings in these Mandarin expressions that contain this “chū ({go/come/put out}; out 出)” (Tap/click on the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression if the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” is not already visible.):

  • Chū’āijíjì (Chū’·āijí·jì {Going Out from} · Egypt · Record → [Exodus] 出埃及记 出埃及記)
  • chūbǎn (chū·bǎn {put out} · {printing block [of] → [edition [of]]} → [publish] 出版)

The “shēng ({give birth to}/{was given birth to}; {give life to} | grow | exist; live | {[is] living}; {[is] alive} | {[is] unripe} | {[is] raw}; {[is] uncooked} | {[is] unfamiliar}; {[is] strange} | {[is] unprocessed}; {[is] crude} | existence; life; living | {be afflicted with}; get; have | very; keenly; much | pupil; student; scholar | [n suf used in names of occupations] 生)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” is highly polysemous (having multiple meanings), as can be seen from its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard”. Some notable expressions that contain it are:

  • shēngmìng (life (both life in general and the life of an individual) 生命)
  • yǒngshēng (yǒng·shēng eternal; everlasting · life 永生)
  • xuésheng (xué·sheng learning · {growing (one) → [student]} → [student; pupil] 学生 學生)
  • fāshēng (fā·shēng {issue forth} · {come to life} → [happen] 发生 發生)
  • mòshēng (mò·shēng {(from) footpath between fields → [strange; unfamiliar; foreign]} · {unripe → [unfamiliar; strange]} → [strang; unfamiliar] 陌生)

Heavenly Bodies, Times, Radicals, and Japan

As for the “rì ({sun [→ [day]]} | {suns → [daily | daytime]} 日)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”, it literally means “sun”, but it is often used to mean “day”, since to us here on Earth it looks like the sun travels across the sky once a day. Similarly, “yuè (moon [→ [month | monthly]] 月)” literally means “moon”, but is often used to mean “month”, because we here on Earth see the moon go through all its phases in a month.

Speaking of “yuè (moon [→ [month | monthly]] 月)”, the character for it (月) is a radical that’s used in the character for the “qī ({period of time}; phase; stage [→ [issue (of a periodical); term (of a training class, etc.) | time]] | {scheduled time} 期 期/朞)” in “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])”. (Radicals are components of Chinese characters, that are a not very systematic system within the not very systematic system that is the characters. Thus, they can be justly thought of as a rabbit hole within a rabbit hole. Those who love characters often really love radicals, but otherwise, consider yourself warned!)

Changing the subject back to “rì ({sun [→ [day]]} | {suns → [daily | daytime]} 日)”, this morpheme appears in the Mandarin name for Japan, “Rìběn (Rì·běn Sun’s · {Root → [Origin]} → [Japan] 日本)”. This name literally means “Sun’s Root” (or “Sun’s Origin”), since from the point of view of China, the sun rises where Japan is, to the east. In turn, the English expression “Land of the Rising Sun” comes from this meaning.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “chūshēng rìqī  ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth; birth date])” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

The Bible does not give a specific date for the birth of Jesus Christ…

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) bìng (actually 并 並/竝/并) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · has 没有 沒有) jìzǎi (jì·zǎi recorded · {written down} 记载 記載) Yēsū (Jesus 耶稣 耶穌) Jīdū (Christ’s 基督) jùtǐ (jù·tǐ having · body → [specific] 具体 具體) de (’s 的) chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth])…

English:

“The exact date of Christ’s birth is not known.”—Encyclopedia of Early Christianity.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 “Méiyǒu (Méi·yǒu (there) not · {is having} 没有 沒有) rén (person 人) quèzhī (què·zhī truly · knowing 确知 確知) Jīdū (Christ 基督) de (’s 的) chūshēng rìqī ((chū·shēng {had coming out of} · {being born} → [was born] 出生) (rì·qī {sun → [day]} · {scheduled time} → [date] 日期) → [date of birth]).”—Zǎoqī Jīdū Jiào Bǎikē Quánshū ((Zǎo·qī Early · Period 早期) {(Jīdū Christ 基督) (Jiào Teaching → [Religion] 教) → [Christianity]} {(Bǎi·kē {Hundred → [Numerous]} · {Branches of Study} → [Encyclopedic] 百科) (Quán·shū Complete · Book 全书 全書) → [Encyclopedia]} → [Encyclopedia of Early Christianity]) (Yīngyǔ (Yīng·yǔ English · language 英语 英語)).

Categories
Culture Current Events

qìhòu biànhuà

qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候)
biànhuà (biàn·huà changing · transforming 变化 變化) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Can the Nations Unite to Avoid Climate Catastrophe?—What Does the Bible Say?”. At certain places where the English version of this article uses the word “climate change”, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候) biànhuà (biàn·huà changing · transforming 变化 變化)”.

Interestingly, the Mandarin version of the article at some places also uses the expression “qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · problem → [problem] 问题 問題)”, which basically means “climate problem”, i.e., the current overall problematic situation related to the climate, which many recognize involves global warming.

A Spiritually Problematic Related Expression

The “qì (air; gas; steam; vapour [→ [smell | spirit; morale | vital energy (in Ch. metaphysics) | tone; atmosphere; airs; manner; attitude | anger (v or n); get angry | breath | weather]] 气 氣/气)” in “qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候)” is polysemous, meaning that it has many possible meanings. Christians should be aware that besides the way it’s used in “qìhòu (qì·hòu {air → [weather]} · conditions → [climate] 气候 氣候)”, where its meaning of “weather” seems to have been derived from the basic meaning of “air”, “qì (air; gas; steam; vapour [→ [smell | spirit; morale | vital energy (in Ch. metaphysics) | tone; atmosphere; airs; manner; attitude | anger (v or n); get angry | breath | weather]] 气 氣/气)” is also used as summarized this way by the Wikipedia article on it:

Literally meaning “vapor”, “air”, or “breath”,[source] the word qi is often translated as “vital energy”, “vital force”, “material energy”, or simply as “energy”.[source] Qi is the central underlying principle in Chinese traditional medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The practice of cultivating and balancing qi is called qigong.

How spiritually problematic it can be to mess around with this kind of qì (air; gas; steam; vapour [→ [smell | spirit; morale | vital energy (in Ch. metaphysics) | tone; atmosphere; airs; manner; attitude | anger (v or n); get angry | breath | weather]] 气 氣/气) is further emphasized for us in an article in the August 22, 1986 Awake! magazine. A quote:

There are, for example, masters of the martial arts who can exert what they call ki [qì (air; gas; steam; vapour → [vital energy (in Ch. metaphysics)] 气 氣/气)] power. “Learn to flow your ‘ki’ or mind by concentrating on the One-Point [lower abdomen] and stretch your arm out,” instructs Black Belt, a martial arts magazine. “Pretend the water or power is flowing out from the one point through your arm and finger.”

“As long as one continues to train his ‘Ki,’” Black Belt says, “his students will never surpass him. The founder of Aikido [one of the martial arts], Master Morihei Uyeshiba, is over eighty years old, but as yet, no one can face him. He is capable of throwing twenty strong men simultaneously. He has become stronger and stronger as he grows older. …One must accept ‘Ki’ as an addition to your five senses.”

But is the human mind really the source of such extraordinary power? Does it enable persons to perform exploits that cannot be scientifically explained?

Well, consider a case of poltergeist-type activity…

“Use the Force”?

Star Wars fans might recognize some similarities between qì (air; gas; steam; vapour → [vital energy (in Ch. metaphysics)] 气 氣/气) and the Force of that fictional universe. This is not a coincidence. The Wikipedia article on the Force provides these summaries on the inspirations feeding into the concept of the Force:

George Lucas…developed the Force as a nondenominational religious concept, “distill[ed from] the essence of all religions”, premised on the existence of God and distinct ideas of good and evil.[source] …In 1970s San Francisco, where Lucas lived when he wrote the drafts that became Star Wars, New Age ideas that incorporated the concept of qi and other notions of a mystical life-force were “in the air” and widely embraced.[source]

Lucas used the term the Force to “echo” its use by cinematographer Roman Kroitor in Arthur Lipsett’s 21-87 (1963), in which Kroitor says, “Many people feel that in the contemplation of nature and in communication with other living things, they become aware of some kind of force, or something, behind this apparent mask which we see in front of us, and they call it God”.[source] Although Lucas had Kroitor’s line in mind specifically, Lucas said the underlying sentiment is universal and that “similar phrases have been used extensively by many different people for the last 13,000 years”.[source]

The connectedness between the light and dark sides has been compared to the relationship between yin and yang in Taoism,[source] although the balance between yin and yang lacks the element of evil associated with the dark side.[source] Taylor identifies other similarities between the Force and a Navajo prayer, prana, and qi.[source] It is a common plot device in jidaigeki films like The Hidden Fortress (1958), which inspired Star Wars, for samurai who master qi to achieve astonishing feats of swordsmanship.[source]

Problematic Spiritually, Problematic Transcription

It’s worth noting that “qì (air; gas; steam; vapour → [vital energy (in Ch. metaphysics)] 气 氣/气)” is not the “chi” in what in English is called “tai chi”, something that’s also spiritually problematic for true Christians in its own way. The Wikipedia article on tai chi summarizes this confusing situation this way:

Tàijíquán and T’ai-chi ch’üan are two different transcriptions of three Chinese characters that are the written Chinese name for the art form:

Characters Wade–Giles Pinyin Meaning
太極 t’ai chi tàijí the relationship of Yin and Yang
拳 ch’üan quán technique

The English language offers two spellings, one derived from Wade–Giles and the other from the Pinyin transcription. Most Westerners often shorten this name to t’ai chi (often omitting the aspirate sign—thus becoming “tai chi”). This shortened name is the same as that of the t’ai-chi philosophy. However, the Pinyin romanization is taiji. The chi in the name of the martial art is not the same as ch’i (qi 气 the “life force”). Ch’i is involved in the practice of t’ai-chi ch’üan. Although the word 极 is traditionally written chi in English, the closest pronunciation, using English sounds, to that of Standard Chinese would be jee, with j pronounced as in jump and ee pronounced as in bee. Other words exist with pronunciations in which the ch is pronounced as in champ. Thus, it is important to use the j sound. This potential for confusion suggests preferring the pinyin spelling, taiji. Most Chinese use the Pinyin version.[source]