Tag: Short Links

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Culture History Language Learning Technology Theocratic

cuò

cuò ({[is] alternating; staggered} [→ [[is] wrong; mistaken; incorrect; erroneous | missed | grinding; rubbing | moving to the side | mistake; error; blunder [→ [fault]]]] | {[is] interlocked and jagged} [→ [intricate]] 错 錯) ← 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. This week’s MEotW, “cuò ({[is] alternating; staggered} [→ [[is] wrong; mistaken; incorrect; erroneous | missed | grinding; rubbing | moving to the side | mistake; error; blunder [→ [fault]]]] | {[is] interlocked and jagged} [→ [intricate]] 错 錯)”, occurs at about the 18 second mark of the video for lesson 08, point 6 of this book:

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) zǒng (always 总 總/縂) juéde (jué·de {to wake to → [to feel]} · got → [got to feel] 觉得 覺得), fāshēng (fā·shēng {issued forth} · {came to life} → [happened] 发生 發生) zài (on 在) wǒ (me 我) shēnshang (shēn·shang {body → [self]} · upon 身上) de (’s 的) shì (things 事) dōu (all 都) shì (were 是) wǒ de ((wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) cuò ({being staggered} → [error] → [fault] 错 錯).

Many undoubtedly already know this word to mean “wrong” or “mistaken”. However, examination of the various meanings provided for it in various dictionaries, perhaps with an app like Pleco that allows one to quickly check multiple dictionaries, seems to reveal that there is an extra layer of meaning underneath the meaning of “wrong” or “mistaken” that many at first think of for “cuò ({[is] alternating; staggered} [→ [[is] wrong; mistaken; incorrect; erroneous | missed | grinding; rubbing | moving to the side | mistake; error; blunder [→ [fault]]]] | {[is] interlocked and jagged} [→ [intricate]] 错 錯)”. This more basic meaning seems to be that of “alternating”, or “staggered”—basically, not lining up.

As I have continued to research into the meanings of Mandarin expressions as part of my work on this blog, my work on Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, and just as part of my overall Mandarin language-learning journey, I have come across many such expressions that seem to have turned out to have extra layers of meaning underneath the ones I was at first familiar with.

Digging Deeper

The historical roots of Mandarin Chinese stretch far back in time. As the Wikipedia article on Old Mandarin summarizes:

Old Mandarin or Early Mandarin was the speech of northern China during the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty and the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (12th to 14th centuries).

So, it’s not surprising that there may be etymological layers of meaning underneath the meanings of Mandarin expressions that we are familiar with today. It’s much like how occasionally physical things from the past get discovered in places where people lived and did things in the past, like how so many artifacts have been discovered in places like Egypt or the lands that are now where ancient Mesopotamia used to be, or like how workers excavating the site of the current World Trade Centre building complex came across the remains of a wooden ship.

An Old Chinese Alphabet!

Interestingly, the above-mentioned Wikipedia article on Old Mandarin mentions an alphabet:

The phonology of Old Mandarin has been inferred from the ‘Phags-pa script, an alphabet created in 1269 for several languages of the Mongol empire, including Chinese…

The Wikipedia article on the ʼPhags-pa script provides some further summarized information:

The Phagspa script or ʼPhags-pa script[source] is an alphabet designed by the Tibetan monk and State Preceptor (later Imperial Preceptor) Drogön Chögyal Phagpa for Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, as a unified script for the written languages within the Yuan. The actual use of this script was limited to about a hundred years during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, and it fell out of use with the advent of the Ming dynasty.[source][source]

It was used to write and transcribe varieties of Chinese, the Tibetic languages, Mongolian, the Uyghur language, Sanskrit, probably Persian,[source][source][source][source] and other neighboring languages[citation needed] during the Yuan era.

A manuscript copy of an imperial edict of the Yuan dynasty in ʼPhags-pa script
Creative Commons Public Domain logo
A manuscript copy of an imperial edict of the Yuan dynasty in ʼPhags-pa script

An example of the Chinese poem “Hundred Family Surnames” written in Chinese characters and in ʼPhags-pa script
Creative Commons Public Domain logo
An example of the Chinese poem “Hundred Family Surnames” written in Chinese characters and in ʼPhags-pa script

So, despite the claims of some Chinese traditionalists that the Chinese languages can only be written using Chinese characters, Chinese languages, including an old form of Mandarin, have been written with an alphabet before, one that was created for Kublai Khan himself! (Interestingly, Kublai Khan was the ruler of China when Marco Polo visited there. So, this famous Italian may have been there when Chinese languages were written using an alphabet.) Méi ({(there) is not having} 没 沒) cuò ({being staggered} → [mistake] 错 錯), there is historical precedent for the idea that a Chinese language like Modern Standard Mandarin can be written with an alphabetical writing system like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音).

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation 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 Experiences History Science Technology Theocratic

chuàngzào

chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The Shēngmìng Láizì Chuàngzào Ma? ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (Lái·zì Came · From 来自 來自) (Chuàng·zào Initiating · {Making, Creating} → [Creating] 创造 創造) (Ma [? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? → [Was Life Created? (lc)]) (Was Life Created? (lc)) brochure and the Shēngmìng de Qǐyuán—Zhíde Sīkǎo de Wǔ Ge Wèntí ((Shēngmìng Life 生命) (de ’s 的) (Qǐ·yuán {Rising → [Starting]} · Source → [Origin] 起源/原)—(Zhí·de Worth · Getting → [Worth] 值得) (Sī·kǎo {Thinking About} · Examining 思考) (de ’s 的) (Wǔ Five 五) (Ge [mw] 个 個/个) (Wèn·tí Asking · Subjects → [Questions] 问题 問題) → [The Origin of Life​—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)]) (The Origin of Life​—Five Questions Worth Asking (lf)) brochure were originally published back in 2010, but recently, the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure was updated to the December 2022 Printing, and the Mandarin version of it was updated to the February 2023 Printing. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure are now in the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app. So, it would be good to consider some of the expressions used in the Mandarin versions of these publications that can be so helpful when discussing whether life was created.

How It Started

This week’s MEotW, which appears right in the title of the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure, is “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”. While this is basically a verb meaning “create”, it can also be used as a noun meaning “creation”. Such verbal/gerundial nouns were discussed in the MEotW post on “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)”:

One interesting thing to note about “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)” (and about “jiàoxun (teaching → [reprimanding | knowledge gained from an error] 教训 教訓)”, for that matter) is that their component morphemes seem to basically be verbs. In certain contexts, however, they are used as nouns. An example of this being done in English is that “teach” and “teaching” are verbs (e.g. “Jesus was teaching the crowd.”), but in certain contexts, “teaching” is used as a noun (e.g. “The crowd was amazed at the teaching Jesus shared with them.”). When a word is used this way, it’s called a verbal noun, or a gerundial noun. Verbal nouns are quite common in Mandarin.

How It Breaks Down

The “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” in “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)” is also used in “Chuàngshìjì (Chuàng·shì·jì {Initiating, Creating of} · {Generation → [World]} · Record → [Genesis] 创世记 創世記)”, and is associated with originality and creativity. For example, this “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” also occurs in “chuàngzuò (chuàng·zuò initiated; created; originated · {made [→ [written/composed]]} [(thing)] [→ [created; produced; written [(thing)]] [→ [creative work; creation]]] 创作 創作)” and in “chuàngzuò lì ((chuàng·zuò {to initiate/create/originate} · {to make [→ [to write/compose]]} → [to create/produce/write] 创作 創作) (lì power → [ability] 力) → [creative ability; creativity; originality])”, which can respectively mean “creative work” and “creativity”.

As for the “zào (make; build; create 造)” in “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”, it’s more associated with making and building, and it’s the same “zào (make; build; create 造)” that’s in “jiànzào (construct; build 建造)”. “Jiànzào (build 建造) fángwū (houses 房屋)”, for example, means “build houses”.

How It Comes Together

So, “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating | creation; innovation] 创造 創造)”, being made up of “chuàng (initiate; create; start; originate; {achieve (sth. for the first time)} 创 創/刱/剏/剙)” and “zào (make; build; create 造)”, covers the entire process of coming up with the idea for something, and then actually making or building it. This is in contrast with the idea of theistic evolution (Mandarin: Shéndǎo‐jìnhuà‐lùn ((Shén·dǎo God · guided; led 神导 神導)‐(jìn·huà {to advance} · transforming → [evolution] 进化 進化)‐(lùn discussing → [theory; doctrine] 论 論) → [theistic evolution])), that God somehow got the ball rolling and then sat back and let the process of evolution develop all the wonderful living things in the natural world.

One person in particular whom I remember having such a viewpoint was my grade 7 teacher, who was actually quite smug about how her Catholic/personal beliefs had thus seemingly neatly reconciled the contradictions between the worldly “scientific” theory of evolution and the creation account in the Bible book of Genesis. However, the actual wording of the Genesis account, including how it is often translated into Mandarin, does not really go along with such a seemingly neat reconciliation with evolution.—Genesis 1:27 (English WOL, Mandarin WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus).

“_Chuàngzào_” in Genesis 1:27 (NWT (nwtsty), WOL CHS+Pinyin), with “_zào_” in _Héhé Běn_

To represent how God caused humans to come into existence, the Mandarin New World Translation Bible uses “chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiated · {made, created} → [created] 创造 創造)”, and the Héhé Běn ((Hé·hé Harmonious · {Closed → [United]} 和合) (Běn {Root or Stem} → [Edition] 本) → [Union Version (Chinese Bible)]) uses “zào (made; built; created 造)”. Both these expressions contain the sense of “made, created”, and perhaps “built”.

How the Py+ Material Is Going

A while ago, I got the feeling that I should shift focus to get to work on producing current-generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Was Life Created? brochure, which I had last produced older-style material for several years earlier. The official material for this brochure had also not been changed for several years, with the last Mandarin printing of it being dated 2016-12.

However, not long after I had started working on new Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for this brochure, I noticed that a new printing, dated 2022-12, had been put out for the English version of the Was Life Created? brochure, and then, a new printing, dated 2023-02, appeared in the JW Library app for the Mandarin version of this brochure. Also, the Was Life Created? brochure and the Origin of Life brochure were added to the Teaching Toolbox section in the JW Library app at around this time. It seems that Jehovah had decided that the time had come for renewed focus on these brochures, and it seems that the work of producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Was Life Created? brochure is privileged to be part of this renewed focus.

At the time of this writing, the old 3-line files (iPad-Letter-A4, XLP-iPhone-A5) together with the new Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource cover the entire Was Life Created? brochure. (The 3-line files were based on an older version of the brochure, though.) Also, the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource (which can be used offline in supporting browsers) contains no more Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-only material that has only been partially proofread—all the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)-only material has now been fully proofread.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Was Life Created? brochure is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Was Life Created? brochure 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 Was Life Created? brochure will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows. Work is now underway to produce a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource for the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure as well.

Categories
Theocratic

qiāndòng

qiāndòng (qiān·dòng {lead along}; pull · {to be moved} → [affect; influence; produce a change] 牵动 牽動) ← 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. This week’s MEotW, “qiāndòng (qiān·dòng {lead along}; pull · {to be moved} → [affect; influence; produce a change] 牵动 牽動)”, appears in lesson 07, point 2 of this book:

Screenshot of “qiāndòng” in _Enjoy Life Forever!_ bk. lesson 07, point 2 (CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the context in which “qiāndòng (qiān·dòng {lead along}; pull · {to be moved} → [affect; influence; produce a change] 牵动 牽動)” occurs is as follows:

📖 📄 📘 Nǐ (you 你) zhīdào (zhī·dào {did know} · {(the) way (of it)} → [did know] 知道) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Wǒmen (Wǒ·men we · [pl] 我们 我們) zuò (do 做) de (’s 的) shì (things 事) huì (will 会 會) qiāndòng (qiān·dòng pull · {to be moved} → [affect] 牵动 牽動) Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) de (’s 的) xīn (heart 心).

For comparison, here is the corresponding English sentence:

And did you know that Jehovah is affected by the way we act?

It seems that this is the first time that “qiāndòng (qiān·dòng {lead along}; pull · {to be moved} → [affect; influence; produce a change] 牵动 牽動)” has appeared in one of the publications recommended by the organization for use on Bible studies. It has been used in official publications to represent how music can move people, and as shown above, it’s good to know as a word that expresses how Jehovah’s heart can be moved by what we do.

“Jehovah Was Holding My Hand”

The “qiān ({lead along (by holding the hand, etc.)}; pull 牵 牽)” in “qiāndòng (qiān·dòng {lead along}; pull · {to be moved} → [affect; influence; produce a change] 牵动 牽動)” means “lead along (by holding the hand, etc.); pull”, and it also appears in the expression “qiānqile (qiān·qi·le {lead along (by holding the hand, etc.)}; pulled · {to be rising → [up]} · {to completion | [indicates a change]} 牵起了 牽起了)”, which is used in the video for lesson 09, point 6 of the Enjoy Life Forever! book:

Screenshot of scene using “qiānqile”, from the video linked to in the _Enjoy Life Forever!_ bk. lesson 09, point 6

📖 📄 📘 Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) hǎoxiàng (hǎo·xiàng {well → [very much]} · {was like} 好像/象) qiānqile (qiān·qi·le {leading along (by holding the hand, etc.)} · {to be rising → [up]} · [indicates a change] 牵起了 牽起了) wǒ de ((wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) shǒu (hand 手),

The corresponding English text is:

Jehovah was holding my hand,

Moving

After watching the above-mentioned video, you might very well feel moved, and if you can speak Mandarin, you might say:

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) tīngdào (tīng·dào heard · {arriving at} 听到 聽到) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) jīnglì (jīng·lì {gone through (thing)} · experience → [experience] 经历 經歷) zhīhòu (zhī·hòu ’s · {after (that)} 之后 之後), hěn ({very much} 很) gǎndòng (gǎn·dòng feel · moved 感动 感動).

The “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” in “gǎndòng (gǎn·dòng feeling · moved | {make to feel} · {to be moved} 感动 感動)”, used above, is the same one that is used in “qiāndòng (qiān·dòng {lead along}; pull · {to be moved} → [affect; influence; produce a change] 牵动 牽動)”.

This “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)”, which basically means “move”, also appears in a variety of other Mandarin expressions, such as:

  • tuīdòng (tuī·dòng push · {to be moving} 推动 推動)
  • dòngjī (dòng·jī moving · intention → [motive; motivation; intention] 动机 動機)
  • huódòng (huó·dòng living · moving → [activities] | {to be living → [to be moving]} · {to move} 活动 活動)
  • dòngcí (dòng·cí moving · word → [verb] 动词 動詞)
  • dòngwù (dòng·wù moving · thing → [animal] 动物 動物)
  • yùndòng (yùn·dòng carrying; transporting · moving → [exercising | sports; athletics; exercise | motion; movement | movement; campaign; drive] 运动 運動)
  • zhǔdòng (zhǔ·dòng {(being) master} · moving → [taking the initiative] 主动 主動)

This “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” was also discussed in the MEotW post on “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)”.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation 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.