Tag: Tradition

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Culture Experiences History Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

jiànshi

jiànshi+ (jiàn·shi [(getting to be)] {seeing → [meeting with; being exposed to]} · knowing [→ [[widening/enriching] knowledge/experience/sensibleness/insight]] 见识 見識) ← 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.]

A few years back, I wrote up a brief web page listing reasons for producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), etc. material for the Imitate (ia) book. Some, especially some who grew up in the West, may have felt that this book is made up of “just stories”, and ones that they were already quite familiar with, at that. However, we must remember that Chinese Bible students may often have a different perspective regarding the Bible accounts that are made to come to life in the Imitate book. As that web page said:

  • Many Chinese people in the world have not been exposed to Bible accounts the way many Westerners have.
  • Also, I have heard that some, perhaps many, Chinese Bible students tend to approach their Bible studies like intellectual exercises for accumulating chōuxiàng (abstract) head knowledge as if for a school exam, rather than as training for their hearts for their own real lives.

Later, the web page touches on how some of the real-world benefits of good storytelling like that found in the Imitate book involve empathy:

  • …
    • The actress Natalie Portman once said, “I love acting. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to do. Your job is practicing empathy. You walk down the street imagining every person’s life.”
  • The Imitate book helps build Bible students’ empathy towards Bible characters, which in turn helps Bible students realize that others would feel empathy towards them as well if they imitated these Bible characters—not everyone will just think they’re crazy, like many worldly friends or family members might think.

While even fictional stories can have the benefits described in the links and the quote above, true stories from the Bible can have even greater benefits, including spiritual ones.

Besides the Imitate book, another book from Jehovah’s organization that relates Bible accounts is the Learn From the Bible (lfb) book. The letter from the Governing Body in this book says that, similarly to the Imitate book, the Learn From the Bible book also “brings the Bible accounts to life and captures the feelings of those depicted”, while, unlike the Imitate book, it “tells the story of the human family from creation onward”. While the Learn From the Bible book is especially suitable for children, the letter from the Governing Body in this book says that “it can also be used to help adults who desire to learn more about the Bible”. So, it would be good to consider on this blog some of the expressions used in the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book.

“I Will Make Them Know”

This week’s MEotW, “jiànshi (jiàn·shi [(getting to be)] {seeing → [meeting with; being exposed to]} · knowing [→ [[widening/enriching] knowledge/experience/sensibleness/insight]] 见识 見識)”, appears in the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible in Jeremiah 16:21, which is quoted in Lesson 19 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book (WOL), entitled “Tóu (Head → [First] 头 頭) Sān (Three 三) Chǎng ([mw for recreational, sports, or other activities] 场 場/塲) Zāiyāng+ (Calamities → [Plagues] 灾殃 災殃)” (“The First Three Plagues”):

English:

“So I will make them know,
At this time I will make them know my power and my might,
And they will have to know that my name is Jehovah.”

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

📖 📄 📘 “Suǒyǐ (Suǒ·yǐ {that which} · {is the reason} → [so] 所以) wǒ (I 我) yào (will 要) ràng (make 让 讓) tāmen (tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們) zhīdào (zhī·dào know · {(the) way (of it)} → [know] 知道),
Zhè (this 这 這) yí (one 一) cì (time 次), wǒ (I 我) yào (will 要) ràng (make 让 讓) tāmen (tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們)
Jiànshi+ (Jiàn·shi {see → [be exposed to]} · know 见识 見識) wǒ de ((wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) dà (big → [great] 大)‐néng (ability 能)‐dà (big → [great] 大)‐lì (power 力),
Tāmen (Tā·men he/she · [pl] → [they] 他们 他們) jiù (then 就) zhīdào (zhī·dào {will know} · {(the) way (of)} → [will know] 知道)
Wǒ de ((Wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) míngzi (míng·zi name · word → [name] 名字) shì (is 是) Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華).”

The “jiàn (see [→ [meet with; be exposed to]] | seeing → [view (opinion)] 见 見)” in “jiànshi (jiàn·shi [(getting to be)] {seeing → [meeting with; being exposed to]} · knowing [→ [[widening/enriching] knowledge/experience/sensibleness/insight]] 见识 見識)” is a well-know expression that basically means “see”. It some contexts, it can effectively mean “be exposed to”. The other morpheme in “jiànshi (jiàn·shi [(getting to be)] {seeing → [meeting with; being exposed to]} · knowing [→ [[widening/enriching] knowledge/experience/sensibleness/insight]] 见识 見識)” also appears in the well-known expression “rènshi (rèn·shi [(get)] {to recognize} · {to know} 认识 認識)”, and it means “know”. In the context of Jeremiah 16:21, it seems that “jiànshi (jiàn·shi [(getting to be)] {seeing → [meeting with; being exposed to]} · knowing [→ [[widening/enriching] knowledge/experience/sensibleness/insight]] 见识 見識)” effectively means “be exposed to, know”.

Imaginary vs. Real Power

The verse just before Jeremiah 16:21 tells us that the false gods that humans make for themselves were at issue:

Can a man make gods for himself
When they are not really gods?

In Moses time, the gods of the Egyptians were powerful in the imaginations of the Egyptian people, but through the plagues that he brought upon the Egyptians, Jehovah showed that actually, he was powerful in reality.

As Mandarin field language learners, we are exposed to the worldly admonition to devote ourselves to Chinese characters, those intricate visible avatars of Chinese language and culture. However, modern linguistics (language science), along with God’s Word the Bible, expose Chinese characters as false linguistic “gods”, mere secondary players at best, compared to speech, which is the true primary aspect of any human language.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

Jehovah’s Powerful Gift of Speech

Let us in a positive way get to know Jehovah’s power, including the power he put into his creations, such as the gift of speech. In contrast, writing is merely a human invention that’s based on Jehovah’s gift of speech:

Lauren: I think that is one of the things that makes it really hard for people who grow up in highly literate, highly educated societies to tease writing and reading apart from language. But actually, when you step back, you realise that writing is actually super weird.

Gretchen: It’s so weird! It’s this interesting – it really is a technology. It’s a thing you do on top of language to do stuff with language, but it’s not the language itself. There are thousands and possibly millions of languages that have never been written down in the history of humanity. We have no idea. We’ve never met a society of humans, or heard of a society of humans, without language. But those are spoken and signed languages, which are just kind of there. Writing, by contrast, was invented somewhere between 3 and 4 times in the history of humanity.

Human inventors sometimes have the humility to admit that they were standing on the shoulders of giants. Well, Jehovah, who created human speech, is indeed a giant, upon whose shoulders the puny human inventors of writing were standing!

As an example of the power of Jehovah’s gift of speech, consider what Matthew 7:28 says about how powerfully Jesus spoke to those he taught in his ministry:

When Jesus finished these sayings, the effect was that the crowds were astounded at his way of teaching,

Yes, while the human-invented Chinese characters have captured the imaginations of many people, and while these people imagine characters to be powerful, what most powerfully praises Jehovah and moves people’s hearts in reality is Jehovah’s gift of speech, when wielded skilfully as Jesus wielded it.

Purposefully Focusing on Speech

How can we similarly speak powerfully in Mandarin to those we meet in the Mandarin field? We can be helped to directly and purposefully reach this goal, to personally jiànshi (jiàn·shi {see → [be exposed to]} · know 见识 見識) or know the power of Jehovah’s gift of speech, if we focus on developing the invisible but powerful skill of speaking well in Mandarin, rather than allowing ourselves to fall for the alluring but silencing diversion of the visible Chinese characters.

(Of course, the current reality is that some spiritual information is still only available in characters, although Jehovah’s organization has been making more and more material available with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). From my experience, I recommend in general that Mandarin field language learners use Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) when they can, and that they just use characters when they have to.)

While as a writing system, characters do ultimately represent Mandarin speech, they do so in such an unnecessarily complex and hard-to-deal-with way that the characters end up actually stifling and stultifying Mandarin speech. In contrast, unlike the Chinese characters that demand attention for themselves so that people can admire—and be able to cope with—their complexity and fancy visual designs, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) simply and directly helps us to actually focus on the Mandarin manifestation of Jehovah’s powerful gift of speech, and it helps us without distraction to develop our ability to use it well.

So, don’t just privately study Chinese characters. Listen closely to the Mandarin speech of those who speak it well. Try to get a sense of the sound and “feel” of good spoken Mandarin. Practise speaking Mandarin out loud when you can. (It may feel strange and uncomfortable at first, but if you stick with it, you’ll get used to it.) Don’t ignore or neglect Mandarin tones, which are as essential to Mandarin as vowels sounds are to English. Ask for and accept advice from those who speak Mandarin well about how to improve your spoken Mandarin. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by character snobs and traditionalists into not using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). Instead, make good use of this modern alphabetic full writing system that lets you focus on Mandarin speech itself. As you take purposeful and practical steps such as these, you will be helped to in the Mandarin field imitate Jesus’ way of using Jehovah’s powerful gift of speech.

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Learn From the Bible book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Learn From the Bible 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 Learn From the Bible 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 Current Events Experiences Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

zhēngyì

zhēngyì+ (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議) ← 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.]

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.

Controversy!

This week’s MEotW, which appears in the section of the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure entitled “Jiǎnjiè+ (Jiǎn·jiè {Simple → [Brief]} · {Being Situated Between → [Introduction]} 简介 簡介)” (“Introduction”), is “zhēngyì (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議)”:

English:

Was life created, or are you purely the product of random, undirected events? Few questions create more controversy.

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

📖 📄 📘 Shēngmìng (life 生命) láizì (lái·zì came · from 来自 來自) chuàngzào (chuàng·zào initiating · {making, creating} → [creating] 创造 創造) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Háishi (Hái·shi {still more → [or]} · {is (it a)} 还是 還是) chúncuì+ ({being pure} → [purely] 纯粹 純粹) yóu ({due to} 由/繇) yìxiē (yì·xiē one · {indefinite number of} → [some] 一些) suíjī+ (suí·jī {coming along with} · chance → [random] 随机 隨機), bú (not 不) shòu ({having received} 受) zhǐhuī (zhǐ·huī {(pointing with) finger → [pointing]} · {spraying → [directing]} → [directing] 指挥 指揮) de (’s 的) shìjiàn (shì·jiàn events · [mw] 事件) yǎnshēng+ (yǎn·shēng {having been spilled over} · {having been given birth to} → [having been produced] 衍生) chulai (chu·lai out · {to come} 出来 出來) de ({’s (thing)} 的) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)? Zhèixiē (Zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些 這些) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · subjects → [questions] 问题 問題) bèishòu (bèi·shòu fully · receive 备受 備受) zhēngyì+ (zhēng·yì contending · discussing → [controversy] 争议 爭議),

As can be seen from the above quotes, the Mandarin Was Life Created? brochure uses “zhēngyì (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議)” to translate the English word “controversy”.

War!

In “zhēngyì (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議)”, “zhēng (contend; fight; vie; strive; dispute [→ [argue; debate; ]] 争 爭)” means “contend”, and “yì (discussing; conferring; {exchanging views}; {talking over} [→ [(exchanged) opinion; view]] 议 議)” means “discuss”. Together, they can be understood to mean something like “contentious discussion”, which leads us to the meaning of “controversy” in cases such as its use in the Was Life Created? brochure that is mentioned above.

Interestingly, the “zhēng (contend; fight; vie; strive; dispute [→ [argue; debate; ]] 争 爭)” that’s in “zhēngyì (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議)” also appears in “zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)”, which means “war”. Is it going too far to associate creation vs. evolution discussions with war? Well, for what it’s worth, consider that “Creation–evolution controversy” is listed as a related link on the Wikipedia page for “culture war”.

Culture Wars and Spiritual Warfare

While the expression “culture war” does not seem to appear in the publications of Jehovah’s organization, searching the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) for “spiritual & (war | warfare)” (not including the quotation marks) returns lots of results. This blog also has a “Spiritual War” tag for posts that touch on this subject. And of course, in 2 Corinthians 10:3–5, the Bible itself explains to us that God’s true worshippers must fight a spiritual war:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things. For we are overturning reasonings and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are bringing every thought into captivity to make it obedient to the Christ;

Also, as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jesus’ true followers, we seek to follow Jesus’ example, as described by Jesus himself at John 18:37:

…For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.…

One way we can distinguish between the culture wars of this world and the spiritual warfare that true Christians engage in is that the world’s culture wars involve contentions over human ideas embodied in this world’s human cultures, while true Christian spiritual warfare involves bearing witness to and fighting for God’s truth, “the knowledge of God”. Also, the world’s culture wars often spill over into the political arena, whereas like Christ himself, true Christian spiritual warriors stay out of politics.—John 18:36.

Principled Spiritual Warfare

Since the theory of evolution obviously qualifies as a “lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God”, it can rightly be said that witnessing to Mandarin-speaking people—many of whom were taught to be atheists—about creation and evolution is an important part of fighting on the Mandarin front of the spiritual war that true Christians are involved in. Of course, though, it’s not true that “all’s fair in love and war”. Even the world has its law of war, and as true Christians, we fight our spiritual war in harmony with the counsel and principles in God’s Word the Bible, such as this counsel in 1 Peter 3:15:

But sanctify the Christ as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone who demands of you a reason for the hope you have, but doing so with a mild temper and deep respect.

How can we be effective spiritual warriors, and also be “doing so with a mild temper and deep respect”? Regarding this possible conundrum, I am reminded of a well-meaning circuit overseer I remember who, while saying that although God’s Word is the sword of the spirit, we should use it kindly, was making stabbing motions with his arm. 🤭

Seriously, though, when it comes to discussing creation and evolution with people, we can learn much by noting the example set by Jehovah’s organization re tone, wording, etc. in the Was Life Created? and Origin of Life brochures, in the “Science and the Bible” articles on jw.org, etc. For us Mandarin field language learners, resources like the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) WOL and the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources can help us to follow the organization’s example re tone, wording, etc. in Mandarin.

Mandarin Writing System Controversy?

To many, the idea that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is a full writing system for Mandarin and thus can and should be advantageously used as a full writing system (and not just as a pronunciation aid) in the Mandarin field may still seem controversial. However, the evidence for this idea is quite solid from a linguistics (language science) point of view. It’s only when looked at from a nostalgic, traditionalist point of view that it may seem controversial, even outrageous—Chinese characters have been the traditionally accepted writing system for the Chinese languages for thousands of years, and teachers continue to teach their students accordingly. Indeed, Chinese characters may literally represent the most deeply and widely embedded cultural tradition still in existence.

Even so, ultimately, tradition is now the only reason for using characters, because technically, objectively, characters are not necessary for writing any language (e.g., alternatives like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), Hangul, and the Vietnamese alphabet already exist), nor, with their extraordinary complexity, inconsistent design, and inhuman numerousness, are they advantageous, except for fitting in with prevailing tradition.

However, as true Christians, should we be bound by such tradition, deeply embedded as it is? In Jesus’ time, there were also many deeply embedded traditions that teachers promoted and people followed, but which made worshipping God unnecessarily difficult and burdensome. Do you remember how Jesus felt about that?

Mark 7:13 records Jesus saying this to the Pharisees and scribes:

Thus you make the word of God invalid by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

According to Wordnik, “invalid” could mean “deficient in health; infirm; weak; sick”, or “of no force, weight, or cogency; weak”. The experiences of many in the Mandarin field have shown that giving priority to Chinese characters can indeed lead to Mandarin language skills that are weak and sickly, such that many Mandarin field language learners ended up unable to speak the word of God in Mandarin with cogency, that is, “power of proving or of producing belief; the quality of being highly probable or convincing; force; credibility”.

Regardless of deeply embedded human tradition, do we dedicated servants of Jehovah God not owe it to him to do better than that, if we can?—Malachi 1:6–8.

On a more positive note, I can testify that my own Mandarin improved noticeably after I switched to using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) as much as possible, and only using characters when absolutely necessary. One indication of the degree of this improvement is that after I made that switch, native Mandarin-speakers started telling me that I sound like a native Mandarin-speaker, something no one ever said to me in all the many years that I spent focusing on characters.

How Will We Personally Deal with Controversy?

When faced with controversy, many just “go along to get along” (“conform to general expectations so as not to disrupt or endanger one’s sense of security or belonging”). As Jesus said, many just follow the crowd and take the broad road. (Matthew 7:13) However, Jesus did not do that when faced with burdensome, deeply embedded traditions in his day, we Jehovah’s Witnesses do not do that when it comes to widely accepted ideas about evolution, and we do not have to do that when it comes to how we view and use Chinese characters and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). As the MEotW post on “Yànwén+ (Yàn·wén {Proverb (Korean: Vernacular)} · Writing → [Hangul/Hankul (modern Korean writing system)] 谚文 諺文)” pointed out:

Your Own Personal Hangul for Mandarin?

However, while that may be the situation with the proud worldly nation of China, what about each of us Mandarn field language learners, as individuals who are dedicated to Jehovah God and not to any worldly human culture? …we are free to choose for ourselves to use Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) as a full writing system for Mandarin and thus be fully empowered by its simplicity and elegance to serve Jehovah better, as long as we don’t allow ourselves to be shackled by mere human tradition, or by peer pressure.

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.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

jīngmíng

jīngmíng+ (jīng·míng {[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart} · {[is] bright → [[is] understanding]} → [[is] shrewd; astute] 精明) ← 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.]

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.

Be Shrewd, not Naive

Like past MEotW “tiānzhēn (tiān·zhēn {(of) heaven → [natural]} · {(following) natural instincts} → [innocent; naive; simple and unaffected | (human) nature] 天真)”, this week’s MEotW, “jīngmíng (jīng·míng {[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart} · {[is] bright → [[is] understanding]} → [[is] shrewd; astute] 精明)”, occurs in Proverbs 14:15, which is quoted in the introductory section of the Origin of Life brochure, entitled, in English, “A Student’s Dilemma”. While the Origin of Life brochure, published in 2010, quotes older versions of the New World Translation Bible in its text, let us consider how this scripture is rendered in the current English and Mandarin translations of the NWT Bible:

English:

The naive person believes every word,
But the shrewd one ponders each step.

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

📖 📄 📘 Tiānzhēn+ (Tiān·zhēn {(of) heaven → [natural]} · {(following) natural instincts} → [naive] 天真) wúzhī (wú·zhī without · {knowing → [knowledge]} → [ignorant] 无知 無知) de (’s 的) rén (person 人), fán (every 凡 凡/凢) huà (word 话 話) dōu ({every one} 都) xìn (believes 信);
Jīngmíng+ (Jīng·míng shrewd · {bright → [understanding]} → [shrewd] 精明) shěnshèn (shěn·shèn {examining → [careful]} · cautious 审慎 審慎) de (’ 的) rén (person 人), bùbù (bù·bù step · step → [at every step] 步步) liúxīn (liú·xīn {makes to stay} · {heart} → [is careful] 留心).

Looking at the morphemes in “jīngmíng (jīng·míng {[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart} · {[is] bright → [[is] understanding]} → [[is] shrewd; astute] 精明)”, “jīng ({[(having)] energy; spirit} [→ [refined; excellent]] | {[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart} | {[is] skilled; proficient} | {[is] meticulous; precise} | essence | sperm; semen; seed 精)” here means “[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart”. In other contexts, it can have other meanings, as it does in “jīngdú+ (jīng·dú meticulous · reading 精读 精讀) běn ({root or stem} → [edition] 本)” (used in the name of the Mandarin New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)), “jīngshén+ (spirit [→ [mind; mental state; psycho-; -ism]] 精神)”, “shòujīng luǎn+ ((shòu·jīng received · sperm; semen; seed → [fertilized] 受精) (luǎn ovum; egg 卵) → [fertilized egg/ovum; zygote])”, etc.

As for “míng ({[is] bright} [→ [[is] understanding]] | {[make] clear; distinct [→ [sense of vision; sight | sharp-eyed; clear-sighted]]} | next (day/year…) 明)”, its basic literal meaning is “[is] bright”, and it also often has an effective meaning of “[is] understanding”, as it does in “jīngmíng (jīng·míng {[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart} · {[is] bright → [[is] understanding]} → [[is] shrewd; astute] 精明)” as well as in the well-known expression “míngbai+ (míng·bai {[is] bright [(about)] → [[is] understanding]} · clearly 明白)”.

Taken together, the morphemes in “jīngmíng (jīng·míng {[is] sharp; clever; shrewd; smart} · {[is] bright → [[is] understanding]} → [[is] shrewd; astute] 精明)” are used to effectively mean “[is] shrewd; astute”.

Being Shrewd with Regard to Evolution and Creation

Those who are truly shrewd will not be swayed by the prevailing winds blowing through the “air” of this world, “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience”. These prevailing winds constantly push people in the direction of believing, among other things, the baseless fairy tales of evolution, which serve “the ruler of the authority of the air”, Satan the Devil, and distance us from our loving Creator Jehovah God.—Ephesians 2:2.

Rather than just going along with the fēngqì+ (fēng·qì {winds → [common practices]} · {airs → [attitudes]} 风气 風氣) of Satan’s world, let us take to heart the counsel at Ephesians 4:14:

So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes.

Being Shrewd with Regard to Learning Mandarin

Us Mandarin field language learners will also show ourselves to be shrewd if we stand firm against the prevailing winds of characters-first thinking that comes from traditional worldly Chinese culture. Such thinking serves to glorify and glamourize a vain and proud part of Satan’s world, the only nation that names itself the “Central Nation” (past MEotW Zhōngguó+ (Zhōng·guó Central · Nation → [China] 中国 中國)) of the world, and this kind of thinking’s focus on the extraordinarily and unnecessarily complex square wheels that are Chinese characters can end up bogging down our efforts in the Mandarin field to glorify Jehovah and give spiritual assistance to right-hearted Mandarin-speaking people.

Instead of going along with the world’s focus on the self-indulgently complex Chinese characters, let us focus in the Mandarin field on learning to be able to hear with comprehension and produce with clarity understandable speech, as the Bible itself emphasizes at 1 Corinthians 14:8–11:

For if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle? In the same way, unless you with the tongue use speech that is easily understood [emphasis added—Ed.], how will anyone know what is being said? You will, in fact, be speaking into the air. It may be that there are many kinds of speech in the world, and yet no kind is without meaning. For if I do not understand the sense of the speech, I will be a foreigner to the one speaking, and the one speaking will be a foreigner to me.

Remember, while the Chinese people of times past may have invented Chinese characters, Jehovah God, who inspired the above passage of scripture, invented human language itself, and he knows way more than the ancient Chinese did about how us humans should learn and use language. Also, Jehovah is ultimately who we are working for in the Mandarin field, so that’s yet another reason to follow his direction over that of worldly Chinese people when it comes to how we should learn and use the Mandarin language in his service.

For convenience:

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

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Origin of Life 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 Origin of Life brochure will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.