Tag: Tradition

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Culture Language Learning Technology Theocratic

háowú

háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無) ← 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.]

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

“I Do Not Benefit at All”

This week’s MEotW, “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)”, is used in verse 3 (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_háowú_” in 1 Co. 13:3 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension. Other web browsers may also have extensions with similar functionality.)

In “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)”, “háo ({[(even) a] fine hair [(of)]} | milli- 毫)” literally refers to a “fine hair”. As for “wú ({not having}; without; none; no | nothing 无 無/无)”, it means “not having; without; none; no”. So, “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)” literally means “a fine hair is not having”, and effectively means “is not having even a little”. This is an interesting metaphor for emphasizing to us the ultimate futility of doing things out of pride and not out of love, things like focusing Mandarin field language-learning efforts on Chinese cultural traditions like characters rather than on how best to communicate the good news. As a metaphor, it reminds me of the English expression of not having even a shadow of a doubt about something.

Below are English and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus renditions showing how “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)” is used in 1 Corinthians 13:3 in the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible to correspond to “at all”, which is used in that verse in the current version of the English NWT Bible:

English:

And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all.

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

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算) biànmài (biàn·mài changing · sell → [sell off] 变卖 變賣) yíqiè (yí·qiè {one (whole)} · {corresponding (set of)} → [all] 一切) cáiwù (cái·wù wealth · things → [belongings] 财物 財物), ràng ({to allow} 让 讓) rén (people 人) yǒu ({to have} 有) shíwù (shí·wù eating · matter → [food] 食物) chī ({to eat} 吃 吃/喫), hái (also 还 還) shěshēn (shě·shēn {give up} · {(my) body} 舍身 捨身) juānqū (juān·qū {relinquish → [contribute]} · {(my) human body} 捐躯 捐軀), yǐcǐ (yǐ·cǐ using · this 以此) zìkuā (zì·kuā {(about) self} · {to boast} 自夸 自誇), què (but 却 卻) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · {do have} 没有 沒有) ài (love 爱 愛), zhè (this 这 這) duì (towards → [to] 对 對) wǒ (me 我) yě (even 也) háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {does not have} → [does not have even a little] 毫无 毫無) yìchu (yì·chu beneficial · place → [benefit] 益处 益處).

Having a Word, or Not

While the WOL puts a space between “háo ({[(even) a] fine hair [(of)]} | milli- 毫)” and “wú ({not having}; without; none; no | nothing 无 無/无)”, the dictionaries I have checked all treat this expression as one word, with no space between the two morphemes. So, that is how Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material renders “háowú (háo·wú {(even) a fine hair (of)} · {is not having} → [is not having even a little] 毫无 毫無)”.

There seems to be a tendency in typical modern Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to render many two-morpheme expressions this way, combined into single words. With Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, I have so far decided to go along with this common practice, since the resulting expressions are still relatively easy to read. However, I am not so accepting of extending this common practice to combining three, four, or even more morphemes into single words, with no spaces or even hyphens in them. Doing so produces long, undifferentiated strings of characters that are hard to parse, and thus hard to read and reason on. So, I have decided to generally break up such long expressions into one- or two-morpheme words separated by hyphens or spaces, depending on the situation.

For example, compare “bìbùkěshǎo (bì·bù·kě·shǎo certainly · not · {can; is able; could | may} · {be missing} 必不可少)” with “bì (certainly 必)‐bùkě (bù·kě not · {can; is able; could | may} → [cannot; is not able; could not | may not] 不可)‐shǎo ({[be] few; little} | {[be] less} | lack; {be deficient} | lose; {be missing} 少)”. While some of the few Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) traditionalists in existence may object to it, I think the latter rendering is much easier to read and reason on, so that is how Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material now renders this expression—one of the few good things about how commonly used Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is not is that there is not really much established Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) tradition or common practice to be “trampled” on, allowing for more leeway for exploring beneficial innovations, compared to the situations with relatively ossified and hidebound writing systems like Chinese characters, or even the modern English writing system.

As for the PRC government’s official national standard for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography, with the designation GB/T 16159-2012, as discussed in the MEotW post on “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)”, this is at most a set of recommendations that is not legally binding or anything like that, even in China itself.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

quèzáo

quèzáo (què·záo firmly; indeed; truly; really · {[is] chiselled} → [[is] [(shown) to be] conclusive; authentic; irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿) ← 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.]

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 relatively 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.

Is That a Fact?

Many people today dogmatically declare, “Evolution is not just a theory, it’s a fact, a fact, I say, a fact!”

This week’s MEotW, “quèzáo (què·záo firmly; indeed; truly; really · {[is] chiselled} → [[is] [(shown) to be] conclusive; authentic; irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿)”, can be useful when discussing this subject. It can be seen in use in the last paragraph of section 1 of the Origin of Life brochure, which section is entitled, in English, “How Did Life Begin?”:

English:

Given the facts, are you willing to make such a leap? Before answering that question, take a closer look at the way a cell is made. Doing so will help you discern whether the theories some scientists propound about where life came from are sound or are as fanciful as the tales some parents tell about where babies come from.

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

📖 📄 📘 Kànguo (Kàn·guo {looking at} · {having passed} → [having looked at] 看过 看過) yǐshàng (yǐ·shàng at · above’s 以上) shìshí (shì·shí matters · {being solid} → [facts] 事实 事實) zhīhòu (zhī·hòu it · {after (that)} 之后 之後), nǐ (you 你) xiāngxìn (xiāng·xìn it · {do believe (that)} → [do believe (that)] 相信) shēngmìng (life 生命) shì (was 是) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {given birth to → [produced]} · {given birth to → [caused to exist]} → [brought into being] 产生 產生) de ({’s (thing)} 的) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)? Huídá (Huí·dá {circling back} · {to answer} 回答) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · subject → [question] 问题 問題) zhīqián (zhī·qián it · {before (that)} 之前), qǐng (please 请 請) zǐxì (zǐ·xì {the young of domestic animals → [with attention to detail]} · {finely → [carefully]} 仔/子细 仔/子細) kànkan (kàn·kan {look at} · {look at} 看看) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · womb → [cell] 细胞 細胞) de (’s 的) gòuzào (gòu·zào {constructing → [structure]} · making → [structure] 构造 構造). Zhèyàng (Zhè·yàng this · {form of → [way of]} 这样 這樣) zuò (doing 做) néng (can 能) bāngzhù (help 帮助 幫助) nǐ (you 你) kànchū (kàn·chū see · out 看出), yìxiē (yì·xiē one · {indefinite number of} → [some] 一些) kēxué‐jiā ((kē·xué {branches of study} · learning → [science] 科学 科學)‐(jiā -ists 家) → [scientists]) jiù (regarding 就) shēngmìng (life’s 生命) qǐyuán (qǐ·yuán {rising → [starting]} · source → [origin] 起源/原) tíchū (tí·chū {carry (hanging down from the hand) → [raise] → [refer to]} · out 提出) de (’s 的) lǐlùn (lǐ·lùn reasonings · {discussings → [theories]} → [theories] 理论 理論) jiūjìng (jiū·jìng {studied carefully → [actually]} · {in the end} 究竟) shì (are 是) zhèngjù ({(by) evidence} 证据 證/証據) quèzáo (què·záo firmly · chiselled → [(shown) to be irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿) de ({’s (theories)} 的), háishi (hái·shi {still more → [or]} · are 还是 還是) xiàng (as 像/象) yǒuxiē (yǒu·xiē {(there) are having → [(there) are]} · some 有些) fùmǔ (fù·mǔ fathers · mothers 父母) jiěshì (jiě·shì {untying → [solving]} · explaining 解释 解釋) bǎobao (bǎo·bao treasures · treasures → [precious/darling babies] 宝宝 寶寶) cóng (from 从 從) nǎli (nǎ·li which · inside → [where] 哪里 哪裡/裏) lái (come 来 來) shí ({(particular) times} 时 時) suǒ ({those which (they)} 所) shuō (say 说 說/説) de ({’s (things)} 的) nàyàng (nà·yàng that · {form → [way]} 那样 那樣) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · having 没有 沒有) gēnjù (gēn·jù root · evidence → [basis] 根据 根據).

Looking at the morphemes in “quèzáo (què·záo firmly; indeed; truly; really · {[is] chiselled} → [[is] [(shown) to be] conclusive; authentic; irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿)”, “què (firmly; indeed; truly; really 确 確)” can mean “firmly” or “indeed”, and indeed, it appears in the expression “díquè (dí·què {in reality}; truly; really · indeed; truly; really; certainly 的确 的確)”, which means “indeed”. As for “záo (chisel (v or n) 凿 鑿)”, in this context, this expression means “chiselled”. Taken together then, the morphemes in “quèzáo (què·záo firmly; indeed; truly; really · {[is] chiselled} → [[is] [(shown) to be] conclusive; authentic; irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿)” literally mean something like “firmly chiselled”, and are used to effectively mean “[(shown) to be] conclusive; authentic; irrefutable”.

What Is Actually Rock Solid?

While evolution is believed in by many in the world today, the evidence, such as that discussed in the Origin of Life brochure, shows that it is actually creation that is zhèngjù ({(by) evidence} 证据 證/証據) quèzáo (què·záo firmly · chiselled → [(shown) to be irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿) de ({’s (teaching)} 的), rock solid, as if chiselled in stone, firmly.

Similarly, in Mandarin language learning, many, because of the weight of long tradition and much worldly propaganda, believe in prioritizing Chinese characters, but it’s actually the modern linguistic principle that speech is primary, and writing is secondary that is zhèngjù ({(by) evidence} 证据 證/証據) quèzáo (què·záo firmly · chiselled → [(shown) to be irrefutable] 确凿 確鑿) de ({’s (teaching)} 的), by evidence from both modern linguistics and God’s Word itself.

For example, on their podcast called Lingthusiasm, linguists Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch said:

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.

Of course, in keeping with the rock solid, evidence-based Bible teaching that God created us, rather than saying that spoken languages “are just kind of there”, we would say that God purposely created us to primarily use language through his gift of speech. It’s not surprising then, that God’s Word the Bible contains the following passage at 1 Corinthians 14:8–11, which emphasizes the primary importance of understandable speech, while not bothering to even mention the mere human invention of writing:

8 For if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you with the tongue use speech that is easily understood, how will anyone know what is being said? You will, in fact, be speaking into the air. 10 It may be that there are many kinds of speech in the world, and yet no kind is without meaning. 11 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.

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.

Categories
Experiences Technology Theocratic

chǎojià

chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架) ← 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. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

This week’s MEotW, “chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架)”, occurs in subtitle 5 of the transcript for the video for lesson 12, point 5 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

Because as far back as I remember, they have always argued with each other.

Mandarin:

5
00:00:16,996 → 00:00:20,875
📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) jìde (jì·de {to remember} · get → [(get to) remember] 记得 記得) xiǎo ({(when I) was little} → [(when I) was young] 小) shíhou (shí·hou {(particular) time} · season 时候 時候), fùmǔ (fù·mǔ father · mother 父母) chángcháng (cháng·cháng constantly · constantly 常常) chǎojià (chǎo·jià {were making noise (of) → [were quarrelling]} · {frames → [quarrels]} → [were quarrelling] 吵架).

Construction

In “chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架)”, “chǎo ({make [a] noise} [→ [quarrel; squabble]] | {[is] noisy} 吵)”, which literally means “make [a] noise”, is used to effectively mean “quarrel” or “squabble”. Another Mandarin expression in which “chǎo ({make [a] noise} [→ [quarrel; squabble]] | {[is] noisy} 吵)” is used is “chǎonào ({(disturbing by) making [a] noise} [→ [noisy; raucous | noisily disputing | harassing; disturbing | shouting; screaming | din; hubbub]] 吵闹 吵鬧)”, which means “(disturbing by) making [a] noise”.

The “jià (frame; rack; shelf; stand [→ [fight; quarrel]] | {put up}; erect | support; {prop [up]} 架)” in this week’s MEotW can literally mean “frame” or “rack”, as it does in “shízì‐jià ((shí·zì ten · character → [cross-shaped] 十字)‐(jià frame 架) → [cross])”. In the context of “chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架)”, “jià (frame; rack; shelf; stand [→ [fight; quarrel]] | {put up}; erect | support; {prop [up]} 架)” effectively means “fight” or “quarrel”—when two people are squared off against each other and quarrelling, they do indeed assume a kind of framing, a kind of geometry, as shown by the English expression “squared off”.

When put together, the morphemes of “chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架)” on a certain level of literalness mean “fight a fight” or “quarrel a quarrel”, so this expression is of verb-object construction. The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, says the following about verb-object construction in Mandarin:

V.O. (Verb-Object Construction, Dòng-Bīn Jiégòu 动宾结构).

Many English verbs get translated into natural Chinese as a verb plus an object noun, e.g. chīfàn for ‘eat’, shuōhuà for ‘speak’, etc. It is important for two reasons to know what is merely a verb in Chinese and what is actually a verb-object construction.

First, verb-object constructions can never take a second object, i.e. chīfàn can never be followed directly by something else to be eaten.

Second, a verb and its object can be separated from one another, thus allowing

(i) aspect particles to be placed directly after the verb, e.g. chīle fàn ‘after finishing eating’;
(ii) modification of the object, e.g. chī Zhōngguófàn ‘eat Chinese food’; and
(iii) quantification of the noun, e.g. chīle sān wǎn fàn ‘ate three bowls of rice’. See also Stative Verb (S.V.).

Arguing vs. Bearing Witness

Jesus is “the Prince of Peace”, but on occasion he “squared off” against opposers like the tradition-loving, self-centred Pharisees. (Isaiah 9:6) Note, though, that while “chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架)” is used in the Enjoy Life Forever! book in relation to parents arguing, it seems that it would not really be appropriate to use “chǎojià (chǎo·jià {make noise (of) → [quarrel; squabble]} · {frame → [fight; quarrel]} → [quarrel; have a row/spat] 吵架)” to describe the times when Jesus and the Pharisees, etc. exchanged words. Typically, the English New World Translation Bible just says matter-of-factly that they “said” things to each other, with “said” being translated in the Mandarin version as good old “shuō (say; said; speak; {speak of}; talk | scold 说 說/説)”.—Matthew 15:1–3 (English, Mandarin); Luke 6:9 (English, Mandarin).

Was Jesus wrong to speak up when confronted with such ones? No—Jesus was obligated to “bear witness to the truth”, because ultimately, there is no real peace without the truth. (John 18:37; Ezekiel 13:10) Even if most of the Pharisees and ones like them would not listen to and benefit from what Jesus said, “everyone who is on the side of the truth listens” to voices speaking the truth, including any others present to hear words of truth being spoken or later able to read words of truth recorded in writing. So, sometimes we also may need to speak up or write things down to defend the truth against the attacks and distortions of those who put traditions or their own personal preferences ahead of the truth, although of course, as followers of Christ, we should do so with Christian kindness and tact.—Colossians 4:6.

For convenience:

The direct link for the 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.