Tag: Prejudice

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Lǐ Huá

Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李)
Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Citing national security concerns, the American government recently passed a law banning the popular social media app TikTok. Ironically (some would say hilariously), many American TikTok users, whom many are calling “TikTok refugees” (“TikTok nànmín (nàn·mín calamity · {persons of a certain occupation} → [refugees] 难民 難民)”), have defiantly responded in protest by migrating to an even more overtly Chinese social media app, Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) (also called RedNote), in such numbers (more than 700,000 in just two days) that Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) became the most-downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store for a while.

On Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), many regular Chinese people have found it moving and rewarding to be able to make friends with regular American people, and vice versa. Many Americans have even expressed and shown interest in learning Mandarin to better connect with their new Chinese wǎngyǒu (wǎng·yǒu {net → [network] → [Internet]} · friends 网友 網/网友) (Internet friends).

With all this happening on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), the topic of “Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)”, this week’s MEotW, has come up. This expression is a person’s name, with “Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李)”, which literally means “Plum”, being the surname, and a very common one at that. “Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)” is an interesting expression that is discussed in the MEotW post on “Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語)”.

So, why are people on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) talking about Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華)?

Imaginary Pen Pals Magically Coming to Life

Here is a TikTok video containing this week’s MEotW, that explains how many Chinese Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) users feel about all the American people who have recently joined the app:

@jasmeizhang As a Chinese, what do we feel about foreigners joining RedNote? #tiktokrefugee #rednote #xiaohongshu #chinese ♬ original sound – jasmeizhang

(For any who cannot access this video, the gist is that when taking exams, students in China often encounter a question that asks them to assume the role of Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) and write a letter in English to an imaginary foreign pen pal, perhaps about Chinese cuisine or some other topic related to China. So, for many Chinese people, encountering so many Americans and their comments on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) recently feels like the imaginary foreign pen pals they wrote to so many times over the years as Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) magically came to life and finally wrote back. She concludes by saying, “Thank you for coming over, trying to post in our language, talking to us, interacting with everyone. It makes us feel like we’re not alone in this world. After all, we’re all human, and deep down, humans are more alike than we’re different.”)

After a while, I was also able to find the same video on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), so here it is coming from there, as a backup in case TikTok really ends up going away and not coming back for users in America or other places:

Here are some of the comments on TikTok in response to this video:

Many of us spent our childhoods “digging to China” in sandboxes, on beaches and in backyards. We were always meant to be friends, Li Hua. 🩵 so much love from all of us

Dear Li Hua, sorry we couldn’t write back sooner! Our bosses are kinda jerks. But we’re working on that! We’re all really happy to see your lives and pets and culture! Love, your American pen pal ❤️

Why am I crying so much at this story 🤧 I felt it would be disrespectful to invade your space but hearing this other side of things, I’m gonna join rednote now and start learning mandarin.

I’m learning mandarin on Duolingo. So far, I can only order hot water and soup. I’m so excited to one day be able to speak your language as beautifully as you speak mine. 🥲

Here is a video I found on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), with a reply from the American side to Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華):

[The original post can be found here.]

As an example of the cross-cultural exchange taking place, here is another video that I found on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), by a fellow who very likely had often written letters as Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) when he was in school:

[The original post can be found here. Here is a rough translation of the introductory blurb: “40-year-old middle-aged retired military officer’s only post-retirement joy; among family members who understands?”]

Wild Beasts and a Great Wall

Unfortunately, as alluded to above, the politics of this Devil-ruled world, with its bitter and sometimes murderous power struggles, work to divide people, in spite of how people naturally desire to make friends and live in peace (and enjoy music). While many Chinese people on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) feel like a Lǐ ({Plum (surname)} 李) Huá (Flower → [Magnificence; Glory; Splendour; Florescence | Best Part; Cream | Times; Years | China] | Flowery → [Magnificent; Splendid; Glorious; Florescent | Prosperous; Flourishing | Flashy; Extravagant | Chinese] 华 華) who after many years actually got replies from foreign pen pals, and while many American people who just joined Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) feel like they finally got to China and met some really nice, friendly people after digging holes to China as kids, their respective governments are in God’s eyes like wild beasts competing for territory and influence, warily circling each other, and preparing for vicious, bloody battle. (Indeed, even in the world, the USA is often symbolically portrayed as an eagle, and China is often symbolically portrayed as a dragon.)

The proud human cultural tradition mandating the use of the abnormally difficult-to-learn-and-remember Chinese characters to write Mandarin also puts a Great Wall between Chinese people and Mandarin learners in other nations who would like to write text messages to each other, leave comments on social media posts, etc. Many turn to tools like Google Translate for help, but these are really just coping mechanisms, band-aid solutions, while the basic problem of the characters remains.

The Great Wall of China

Chinese characters continue to act as a Great Wall dividing people who naturally want to be friends.

Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) technically works as a simple, easy-to-learn full writing system for reading and writing Mandarin, so it is technically ideally suited for texting, commenting, etc. Unfortunately, though, the stubbornly embedded traditional cultural primacy of characters and the related cultural prejudice against Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) will dissuade most people from beneficially using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in these ways. (Question: As Mandarin field language learners who are trying to walk on the narrow road to life, and who are doing a life-saving work to help other people also get on this narrow road, should we always limit ourselves to being like most people?—Matthew 7:13, 14.)

(In my limited time so far on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書), I have happened to come across a couple of comments containing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). One of these comments (from a user in the United States) renders the same message in English on one line, in simplified Chinese characters on another line, and then in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) on yet another line, Rosetta Stone-style. The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is even well-formatted, not just as with a pronunciation aid, but as with a full writing system, with tone marks, word separation, and punctuation.)

As shown above, audio and video technology also now enable people to just talk (and sing!) to communicate across distance and time. However, even in this regard, many Mandarin learners have allowed the visually intricate characters to stunt their Mandarin speech skills by distracting them from properly focusing on invisible sound, which is what Mandarin speech (and singing!) is actually made of. As discussed in other MEotW posts, this is effectively linguistic idolatry.

Spiritual Family in the Mandarin Field

As Mandarin field language learners, this whole situation with regular Chinese and American people enjoying meeting and making friends with each other on Xiǎohóngshū (Xiǎo·hóng·shū Little · Red · Book → [a Chinese social networking platform, commonly known in English as RedNote] 小红书 小紅書) may remind us of all the wonderful new friends we made when we joined the Mandarin field. As Jehovah’s people serving in the Mandarin field, or in any congregation or group with people from different cultural backgrounds, we are not only aware of the possibility of making friends with people of other nations and cultures, we also know that every human being is really part of the one human family descended from the same ancestors and created by God. Additionally, we know that Jehovah has assigned us to help people from all the nations to join us in his spiritual paradise, in which they can become our spiritual brothers and sisters and live in peace with us forever on a paradise earth. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Let us, then, not let the world’s politics or human traditions prevent us from doing this life-saving, uniting, God-assigned work as well as we ought to.

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Culture Language Learning

piānjiàn

piānjiàn (piān·jiàn {inclined; slanting; leaning → [partial; prejudiced]} · seeing → [prejudice; bias] 偏见 偏見) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Prejudice​—Are You Infected?”. The Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “piānjiàn (piān·jiàn {inclined; slanting; leaning → [partial; prejudiced]} · seeing → [prejudice; bias] 偏见 偏見)”, to translate “prejudice”.

The “piān (incline; slant; lean [→ [insist on | diverge; deviate]] | inclined; slanting; leaning [→ [partial; prejudiced | stubbornly; wilfully; insistently; persistently; contrarily]] 偏)” in “piānjiàn (piān·jiàn {inclined; slanting; leaning → [partial; prejudiced]} · seeing → [prejudice; bias] 偏见 偏見)” literally means “inclined; slanting; leaning”, and the “jiàn (see | seeing → [view (opinion)] 见 見)” used here is a well-known expression that means “seeing”. So, “piānjiàn (piān·jiàn {inclined; slanting; leaning → [partial; prejudiced]} · seeing → [prejudice; bias] 偏见 偏見)” literally refers to a way of seeing that’s not on the level—an accurate way of describing prejudice. The “piān (incline; slant; lean [→ [insist on | diverge; deviate]] | inclined; slanting; leaning [→ [partial; prejudiced | stubbornly; wilfully; insistently; persistently; contrarily]] 偏)” in “piānjiàn (piān·jiàn {inclined; slanting; leaning → [partial; prejudiced]} · seeing → [prejudice; bias] 偏见 偏見)” literally meaning “inclined; slanting; leaning” is an interesting contrast to the “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” in “gōngpíng ({[is] just; fair; impartial} · {[is] flat, level, even → [[is] equal; fair; just; objective]} → [[is] fair; just; impartial; equitable | fairly; justly] 公平)” (“fair; just; impartial; equitable”) literally meaning “flat, level, even”.

Buried Prejudice Illustrated

Of course, we who are Jehovah’s people especially consciously avoid having and displaying prejudice. However, as it happens, last week’s MEotW post on “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” mentioned that scientists have observed that there is such a thing as buried prejudice (prejudice that we may unconsciously have and act on), while the above-mentioned article (which originally appeared in Awake!) being featured on jw.org applies the following interesting illustration to prejudice:

English:

Prejudice is like a virus. It harms its victims, and people can be unaware that they are infected.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Piānjiàn (Piān·jiàn {inclined → [prejudiced]} · seeing → [prejudice] 偏见 偏見) jiù (exactly 就) xiàng (like 像/象) bìngdú (bìng·dú disease · {poison → [virus]} → [virus] 病毒) yíyàng (yí·yàng {(of) one} · {pattern → [way]} → [the same way] 一样 一樣) huì (will 会 會) duì (towards 对 對) rén (people 人) zàochéng (zào·chéng make · {to come to be} 造成) shānghài (shāng·hài {hurting → [harming]} · harming → [harm] 伤害 傷害), érqiě (ér·qiě and · moreover 而且) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) rén (person 人) wǎngwǎng (wǎng·wǎng {going towards} · {going towards} → [often] 往往) chájué budào ((chá·jué scrutinizes · {to wake to → [to become aware of]} → [is aware of] 察/查觉 察/查覺) (bu·dào not · {arriving at} 不到) → [is not aware]) zìjǐ (self 自己) yǐ (already 已) bèi ([passive signifier] → [is] 被) gǎnrǎn (gǎn·rǎn {feeling → [being affected by]} · {having caught (disease)} → [infected] 感染) le ([indicates a change] 了).

We Don’t Have Time for This!

As also mentioned in last week’s MEotW post on “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)”, the Mandarin field is one in which East often meets West, and while people can find the differences interesting, differences can also pose spiritual challenges, since something being different than what we are used to means that we are not used to it, and it generally means that we do not deeply know or understand it.

Will we respond to the unknown with fear of the unknown? Let us make good use of the above-mentioned Awake! article and other provisions from Jehovah and his organization, to help us rise to the spiritual challenges posed by the people and things we encounter in the Mandarin field that are different from what we have been used to. That way, we can focus on contributing positively to all the important God-honouring and life-saving work we still have to do in this field.

The worldwide Mandarin field may in fact be the largest language field that has ever existed in human history, and with about 95% of the planet’s Chinese people living in China itself, all the government opposition there has been to our work, all the traditions-based encumbrances and propaganda-fueled confusion that Mandarin field language learners have had to deal with, etc., we may just have scratched the surface of the work that still needs to be done in this massive worldwide field. So, we really don’t have time for the problems that can be caused by prejudice, buried or otherwise.

Screenshot of spreadsheet table and chart showing the estimated numbers of Chinese people inside & outside China in 2023

(The above is from a spreadsheet which contains source links. A PDF file (with working source links) for that spreadsheet can be downloaded here.)

Categories
Culture Current Events Language Learning Science

Dōng‐Xī

Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The MEotW post on “hūxī (hū·xī {breathing out}; exhaling · {breathing in}; inhaling → [breathing] 呼吸)”, from about a year ago, includes the following passage:

Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Ballad of East and West” begins with these lines:

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

The first line quoted above is often referred to in order to emphasize how the gap between East and West can seem insurmountable. (By the way, “twain” is an archaic term for “two”. So, “never the twain shall meet” means “never the two shall meet”.) However, there is more to the poem.

The other lines quoted above express that individuals who are spiritually strong enough to do so can overcome any differences in culture, nationality, race, class, place of birth, etc. that may happen to exist between them.

In Mandarin, one way in which East meets West is in the expression “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)”, this week’s MEotW. Many find it kind of cute or funny that the expression “dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing; something] 东西 東西)”, which uses the same characters as “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” and thus literally means “east west”, is used in Mandarin to mean “thing”. However, especially in these days of significant tensions between the USA and China, for example, it’s good to also soberly consider that “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)”, as in “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西) fāng (directions’ → [sides’] 方) guānxi (guān·xi {closings → [involvings]} · {tyings → [relatings]} → [relations] 关系 關係)” (“East-West relations”), is also a thing.

Same Characters, Different Pronunciations, etc.

First of all, let us note that although “dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing; something] 东西 東西)” and “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” are written with the same characters, they should be written differently in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), since they have different pronunciations and different effective meanings.

Some like to say that characters are a good way to disambiguate (tell apart) the many homophones (different words that sound the same) that exist in Mandarin. (Actually, the best way to do so, which people use all the time when speaking Mandarin, is to consider the context.) However, “dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing; something] 东西 東西)”/“Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” vs. “东西”/“东西” is a clear example of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) being able, in certain situations, to work better than characters at representing different words clearly and unambiguously.

East Meeting West in the Mandarin Field

With so many publishers from the English, Spanish, etc. fields who have admirably come to help out in the Mandarin field, many occasions thus arise for East and West to meet. How should we rise to such occasions as God’s people who “are no part of the world”, with its divided East and West?—John 15:19.

Preparing this post reminded me that I had written about this topic before in the tiandi.info blog. One example is the post “ ‘To Be More Like Us’ ”. Here is a quote from it:

While the help provided by Westerners in the Chinese field is greatly beneficial and greatly appreciated, the work we are all doing in the Chinese field is, not to help Chinese people to be more like white people, but to help Chinese-speaking people to join us, Jehovah’s people, in working to be more like Jehovah wants us to be, a condition which none of us have attained to yet, regardless of our racial, ethnic, or cultural background.—Philippians 3:12, 13.

(If you need login information for the parts of tiandi.info that require it, request it by email, and include information on how you learned of tiandi.info and/or what group/cong. you are in.)

“What Nationality Are You?”

The tiandi.info post linked to in the quoted passage above, “What Do You Think Regarding Which Culture is More Godly?”, also contains many good points in this regard, such as some concerning what Scientific American called “buried prejudice”, prejudice that we may unconsciously have and act on. The comments for this post also contain some great stuff, such as this:

Since I had a number of friends from several ——- —— countries, I wanted to test my knowledge and see if my assumption was right so I asked him, “What nationality are you?”. He said proudly with a smile, “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses”. I said, “I mean your family name. I was just curious to know where it comes from”. He said again, “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses!” but this time more firmly and with no smile. I was a little taken aback at first but then I thought about it and really appreciated his answer.

It puts things in perspective. From a higher perspective that is, say, from Jehovah’s or the angels. When they look down they see either those serving Jehovah or those who are not. All the other different types of distinctions and categories here are from man, man under the influence of Satan. The most important heritage we have is our spiritual heritage.

…

I can’t say that I am completely free from the influence of the world’s views but I’m trying to view things the way this brother so boldly did. I never saw him again and have since forgotten his name but I have never forgotten his answer and what was most important to him.

No matter what foreign language field we are working in, we need to help our students to take up the “culture” of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jehovah’s standards, views and ways of doing things are superior to any other culture of this world. That’s the best culture.

Additionally, the above-mentioned post contains this image and associated caption:

The Chinese characters “東” (“East”) and “西” (“West”) on a background of coloured static

Both Eastern and Western cultures emerged from and are part of the chaos of the world alienated from God.

Although East-West relations in the world—especially China-US relations—have been becoming strained lately, we who have come out of the world can and should rise above such petty worldly contradictions and conflicts, and continue to move forward together on the narrow road to everlasting life in Jehovah God’s peaceful, united, and harmonious new world.—John 15:19; Matthew 7:13, 14; Isaiah 2:4; Revelation 21:1–5.