Tag: Referenced Theo. Expressions

Categories
Current Events

qiāng

qiāng (rifle; gun; firearm [→ [sth. shaped or functioning like a gun | mw for gunshots]] | {(short) spear}; dart 枪 槍/鎗) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Note: 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”.]

This week’s MEotW, “qiāng (rifle; gun; firearm [→ [sth. shaped or functioning like a gun | mw for gunshots]] | {(short) spear}; dart 枪 槍/鎗)”, now mainly used to mean “rifle; gun; firearm”, is relevant to both the Ukraine war and to yet another school shooting in America, which have sadly both been in the news recently.

An Older, Possibly Related Meaning

Interestingly, it seems that in the Mandarin New World Translation Bible, “qiāng (rifle; gun; firearm [→ [sth. shaped or functioning like a gun | mw for gunshots]] | {(short) spear}; dart 枪 槍/鎗)” is used to mean a “dart” or relatively short spear, while “máo ({(long) spear}; pike; lance 矛)”, meaning “lance; pike; spear”, is used to mean a relatively long spear. (2 Sa. 18:14 (English/Mandarin, see footnotes); Job 41:26 (English/Mandarin)) Also, “qiāngmáo (qiāng·máo {(short) spears}; darts · {(long) spears} → [spears] 枪矛 槍/鎗矛)” is used several times in the Mandarin NWT Bible, although this particular expression does not appear in the regular Chinese dictionaries I have loaded in Pleco. (It does appear in the Referenced Theo. Expressions dictionary.)

Scriptural Usage Examples That Give Hope

How reassuring and comforting it is for us to know that, as shown in scriptures such as the following, Jehovah will soon bring an end to wars and violence and the weapons associated with them:

Shīpiān (Shī·piān {Sacred Song} · {Piece of Writing} → [Psalm] 诗篇 詩篇) 46:9 (Mandarin WOL/Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus)

📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) zhōngzhǐ (zhōng·zhǐ {is ending} · {is halting} 终止 終止) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng wars · contendings → [wars] 战争 戰爭), píngdìng (píng·dìng {is making to be flat, level, even → [is making to be peaceful]} · {is making to be settled → [is making to be calm]} 平定) tiānxià (tiān·xià heaven · under → [the whole world] 天下);
Tā (he 他) zhé (breaks 折 折/摺) gōng (bow 弓) duàn (snaps 断 斷) máo ({(long) spear} 矛), shāohuǐ (shāo·huǐ burns · {to be destroyed} 烧毁 燒毀/燬) zhànchē (zhàn·chē war · vehicles 战车 戰車).

Yǐsàiyàshū (Yǐsàiyà·shū Isaiah · Book 以赛亚书 以賽亞書) 2:4 (Mandarin WOL/Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus)

📖 📄 📘 Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) huì (will 会 會) shěnpàn (shěn·pàn try · judge 审判 審判) gèguó (gè·guó various · nations 各国 各國) de (’ 的) rén (peoples 人),
Wèi (for 为 為/爲) gèzú (gè·zú various · {ethnic groups} 各族) de (’ 的) rén (peoples 人) jiějué (jiě·jué {untie → [solve]} · decide → [resolve] 解决 解決) zhēngduān (zhēng·duān disputed · points → [disputes] 争端 爭端).
Tāmen (Tā·men he/she · [pl] → [they] 他们 他們) yào (must → [will] 要) bǎ (hold 把) dāojiàn (dāo·jiàn {knives → [swords]} · swords → [swords] 刀剑 刀劍) dǎchéng (dǎ·chéng {to be beaten} · {to be turned into} 打成) lítou (lí·tou {plough (US plow)} · {heads → [suf]} → [ploughshares (US plowshares)] 犁头 犁頭),
Bǎ (hold 把) qiāngmáo (qiāng·máo {(short) spears} · {(long) spears} → [spears] 枪矛 槍/鎗矛) dǎchéng (dǎ·chéng {to be beaten} · {to be turned into} 打成) liándāo (lián·dāo sickle · knives → [sickles] 镰刀 鐮刀).
Guó (nation 国 國) yǔ (with 与 與/与) guó (nation 国 國) búzài (bú·zài not · anymore 不再) bájiàn (bá·jiàn {will draw} · sword 拔剑 拔劍) xiāng ({each other} 相) gōng ({to attack} 攻),
Tāmen (Tā·men he/she · [pl] → [they] 他们 他們) yě (also 也) búzài (bú·zài not · anymore 不再) xuéxí (xué·xí {will learn} · {will get practised in} 学习 學習) zuòzhàn (zuò·zhàn {doing of} · {fighting (war)} 作战 作戰).

Categories
Culture Theocratic

liánmǐn

liánmǐn ({sympathizing with}; pitying [→ [having compassion; mercy]] 怜悯/闵/愍 憐憫/閔/愍) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), entitled “Features of This Revision”, discusses vocabulary changes that have been made in the current revision, words that have been translated differently than before. As noted in various entries in the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE), Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) correspondingly discusses words that have been translated differently in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible, compared to how they had been translated before.

Since we base what we say in Jehovah’s service on his Word the Bible, the vocabulary used in it—and the way those vocabulary words are translated—should be reflected in how we speak in our ministry, at our meetings, etc. So, it is beneficial for us Mandarin field language learners to be familiar with the latest thinking from the organization on how Bible terms should be translated into Mandarin.

A Different Mandarin “Merciful”

As Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) points out, this current version builds on the previous version’s efforts to avoid expressions that could easily be associated with false religious concepts.

The first example that it points to is that in scriptures such as Exodus 34:6 (English, Mandarin), “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)” has been changed to “liánmǐn ({sympathizing with}; pitying [→ [having compassion; mercy]] 怜悯/闵/愍 憐憫/閔/愍)”:

Exodus 34:6 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

Not What We Mean

So, what’s the deal with “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)”? The entries for “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)” in a couple of the dictionaries that are available to be installed in the Pleco app give us some clues. First, consider the entry for this expression in the Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) Chinese-English dictionary:

mercy (old translation); Insight article heading in Watchtower Library 2011 CHS. NWT-2019’s Appendix A2 notes 慈悲 changed to 怜悯 to avoid conveying false-religious concepts (in this case perhaps the Buddhist/Jain concept of “karuna” which can be written 慈悲, although that is not stated)

In partial confirmation, Pleco’s own CC-Canto dictionary says this about “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)”:

(noun) (of Buddhism) Karuṇā

For reference, Wikipedia provides these summaries regarding Karuṇā:

Karuṇā (Sanskrit: करुणा) is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism.

Karuṇā is important in all schools of Buddhism. For Theravada Buddhists, dwelling in karuṇā is a means for attaining a happy present life and heavenly rebirth. For Mahāyāna Buddhists, karuṇā is a co-requisite for becoming a Bodhisattva.

Karuṇā is associated with the Jain practice of compassion.

Indeed, we definitely would not want people to think we mean any of the above when we talk about the mercifulness of the true God Jehovah!

Categories
Culture History Theocratic

xīshēng

xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

As the war Ukraine rages on, time marches on, and this year’s Memorial season is now upon us. As of this writing, the home page of jw.org now features a page inviting people to this year’s Memorial. Appearing in the title of the Mandarin version of that page is this week’s MEotW, “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”, which effectively means “sacrifice”.

Note that while the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” part of “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)” sounds like the word for “life”, and while Jesus did indeed give his life for us, in this case the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” used literally means “domestic animal”. When applied to Jesus’ sacrifice, we can take the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” part of “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)” to effectively mean “(as with a) domestic animal”. It’s understandable that this particular morpheme is used in “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”, since domestic animals were commonly used in sacrifices in ancient China, as they were in ancient Israel.

(It’s interesting to note, though, that an Internet search for “ancient China sacrifices” will turn up many references to human sacrifices in ancient China, as there were in ancient Canaan—let us be careful not to think more highly of worldly Chinese history and culture than they actually deserve!)

Referring to the Memorial in Mandarin

By comparing the English and Mandarin versions of the page on jw.org as of this writing inviting people to the Memorial, we can see that the organization is now translating “Memorial of Jesus’ Death” into Mandarin as “Yēsū (Jesus’ 耶稣 耶穌) Xīshēng (Xī·shēng {Sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) Domestic Animal} → [Sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲) Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [Memorial])”. This is in contrast to the past rendering “Yēsū (Jesus’ 耶稣 耶穌) Shòunàn (Shòu·nàn {Being Subjected to → [Suffering of]} · Calamity 受难 受難)‐Jìniàn (Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) Jùhuì (Meeting 聚会 聚會)” (km 2/2011) that the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) tells us about. (It also tells us about the current rendering, memtioned above.) For the Memorial, it does seem more relevant to emphasize Jesus’ sacrifice (“xīshēng (xī·shēng sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”) itself, as opposed to the suffering (“shòunàn (shòu·nàn {being subjected to → [suffering of]} · calamity 受难 受難)”) that he had to endure in the process of offering it.