Tag: Usage Examples

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Culture Current Events Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

jiǎ xiāoxi

jiǎ (false; fake 假 假/叚)
xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the whiteboard animation video “Protect Yourself From Misinformation”. The English and Mandarin versions of this video match the English word “misinformation” with this week’s MEotW, “jiǎ (false; fake 假 假/叚) xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息)”:

Screenshot from the video “Protect Yourself From Misinformation”, 0:32 mark, showing “Misinformation” in the subtitle

Screenshot from the video “消息满天飞，如何辨真假”, 0:32 mark, showing “假消息 (jiǎ xiāoxi)” in the subtitle

[Note: The MEotW post on “shèjiāo wǎngzhàn ((shè·jiāo {god of the land → [society] → [social]} · {meeting → [associating]} → [social contact/interaction] 社交) (wǎng·zhàn {net → [web]} · {stand → [station]} → [website] 网站 網站) → [social networking website; social network])” contains information about how to add unproofread computer-generated Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to the subtitles of Mandarin videos on jw.org in most browsers.]

“Jiǎ (false; fake 假 假/叚) xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息)” can also be translated as “false news”, “false information”, or perhaps even “fake news”, as confirmed by the entry for this expression in the excellent Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) resource.

Disappearing?

“Jiǎ ({[is] false; fake; phony; artificial} | if; supposing; assume; presume | borrow; {avail oneself of} 假 假/叚)” means “false” or “fake”, and “xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息)”, while used to effectively mean “news” or “information”, actually literally means “disappearing news”. Why “disappearing”? Perhaps that is a nod to the fleeting nature of news—relatively quickly, when it’s not new anymore, it’s not news anymore.

The Wiktionary entry for “xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息)” seems to bear this out, as it says:

消息 (xiāoxi) refers to news as in new information; to express the meaning of news as in reports of current events, use 新聞／新闻 (xīnwén).

“Xiāoxi (Xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news; information] 消息)” also appears in the expression “hǎo (good 好) xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news] 消息)”, meaning “good news”, which we use often in the Mandarin field. In fact, “Hǎo (Good 好) Xiāoxi (Xiāo·xi Disappearing · News → [News] 消息)”! is the title of the concluding song for this year’s Mandarin conventions! (English, Mandarin, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) Also, we will say “Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) de (’s 的) hǎo (good 好) xiāoxi (xiāo·xi disappearing · news → [news] 消息)” when we want to refer to “the good news of the Kingdom”. Of course, while the message of this good news will “disappear” as news when it is not news anymore, the Kingdom itself “will stand forever”!—Daniel 2:44.

Myths and Misinformation About Chinese Characters, Etc.

As Mandarin field language learners, we need to be aware that many myths and much misinformation have been spread about the Chinese languages, especially when it comes to Chinese characters. Indeed, there is so much misinformation about Chinese characters that Victor Mair wrote the following in the foreword of the book Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning, by J. Marshall Unger:

There is probably no subject on earth concerning which more misinformation is purveyed and more misunderstandings circulated than Chinese characters (漢字, Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji, Korean hanja), or sinograms.

Also, in his book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, John DeFrancis lists the following myths regarding Chinese characters, that many believe:

  • The Ideographic Myth
    • The MEotW post on “Hāmǐjíduōdùn (Armageddon 哈米吉多顿 哈米吉多頓)” contains a discussion of this myth, with some selected excerpts on this subject from DeFrancis’ book.
  • The Universality Myth
  • The Emulatability Myth
  • The Monosyllabic Myth
  • The Indispensability Myth
  • The Successfulness Myth

Regarding these myths, in p. 2–3 of his aforementioned book, J. Marshall Unger provides this summary:

Passing for the moment over the history of how the hunt for the perfect language unfolded, let us jump ahead to the result: the intellectual baggage about Chinese characters that we have inherited from the Renaissance and Enlightenment. John DeFrancis, in his classic book The Chinese Language (1984), sums up that weighty legacy under six headings, and a better summary would be hard to find. The source of all the confusion is what DeFrancis calls the Ideographic Myth, the notion that Chinese characters represent meaning directly, without reference to language (that is, speech) in any way. Its logical extension is the Universality Myth, according to which Chinese script allows for communication between mutually uninteligible dialects and languages. This leads in turn to the Emulatability Myth, which holds that Chinese script can serve as a model for a general system of signs that transcends natural language. These first three myths have little to do with the actual structure or history of the Chinese language or its writing system, in contrast with the remaining three: the Monosyllabic Myth, Indispensability Myth, and Successfulness Myth. Each of these—the names are more or less self-explanatory—makes a strong claim about language and the writing system, claims that have had significant social and political consequences.

At least some of the political consequences referred to above have been deliberate, meaning that at least some of the myths and misinformation spread about Chinese languages and Chinese characters qualify as political propaganda. If we’re not careful, we could end up parroting this political propaganda. (We could also end up parroting worldly human cultural propaganda, which is also a bad thing for people who seek to be no part of the world.) Also, all the difficulties and confusion caused by all the myths and misinformation surrounding Chinese languages and Chinese characters massively hinder the efforts of Mandarin field language learners to stay spiritually strong and to reach the hearts of Mandarin-speakers with Bible truth. This can result in deeply negative spiritual consequences that should be of great concern to us. To complete the sentence quoted from the video mentioned at the beginning of this post:

Misinformation isn’t just inaccurate; it can also be dangerous!

Categories
Science Technology Theocratic

pèngqiǎo

pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧) ← 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 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.

What a Coincidence!

This week’s MEotW, “pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧)”, which means “by chance” or “by coincidence”, occurs often (24 times, in fact) in section 1 of the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure, which in English is entitled “How Did Life Begin?”. For example, this Mandarin expression occurs twice in this portion of a caption for one of this section’s pictures:

English:

RNA (1) is required to make proteins (2), yet proteins are involved in the production of RNA. How could either one arise by chance, let alone both?…

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Yào ({(there) must} 要) yǒu ({be having} → [be] 有) RNA (1) cái ({only then} 才 才/纔) néng ({would (there) be being able} 能) zhìzào (zhì·zào {to make} · {to create} → [to make] 制造 製造) dànbái zhì ((dàn·bái egg · white → [protein] 蛋白) (zhì substances 质 質) → [proteins]) (2), ér ({and yet} 而) zhìzào (zhì·zào {to make} · {to create} → [to make] 制造 製造) RNA yòu ({on the other hand} 又) xūyào (requires 需要) dànbái zhì ((dàn·bái egg · white → [protein] 蛋白) (zhì substances 质 質) → [proteins]). Zhèi (these 这 這) liǎng (two 两 兩) zhǒng ({types of} 种 種/种) fēnzǐ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子) zěnme (zěn·me how · [suf] 怎么 怎麼/麽) kěnéng (could 可能) gèzì (gè·zì each · self 各自) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {be given birth to → [be produced]} · {be given birth to → [be caused to exist]} → [be brought into being] 产生 產生) ne ([? ptcl] 呢)? Liǎngzhě (Liǎng·zhě {two → [both]} · {ones → [of them]} 两者 兩者) tóngshí (tóng·shí {(at the) same} · {(particular) time} 同时 同時) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {being given birth to → [being produced]} · {being given birth to → [being caused to exist]} → [being brought into being] 产生 產生) jiù (then 就) gèng (more 更) búyòng (bú·yòng not · {do use → [do need]} 不用) shuō ({to speak of} 说 說/説) le ([(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了). …

Another occurrence of “pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧)” in this section of the Mandarin Origin of Life brochure can be found in this portion of highlighted text:

English:

If the creation of complex molecules in the laboratory requires the skill of a scientist, could the far more complex molecules in a cell really arise by chance?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shíyàn shì ((Shí·yàn {solidly → [truly]} · testing → [experimenting] 实验 實驗) (shì room 室) → [laboratory]) li (inside 里 裡/裏) héchéng (hé·chéng {close → [combine]} · {to come to be} 合成) de (’s 的) fùzá (fù·zá {turned around → [complex]} · mixed → [complex] 复杂 複雜) fēnzǐ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子), shì (are 是) kēxuéjiā (kē·xué·jiā {{branches of study} · learning → [science]} · -ist → [scientist] 科学家 科學家) yòng (uses 用) jīngzhàn (jīng·zhàn excellent · deep → [consummate] 精湛) de (’s 的) jìshù (jì·shù skill · technique → [skill] 技术 技術) zhìzào (zhì·zào {to make} · {to create} → [to create] 制造 製造) chulai (chu·lai out · {to come} 出来 出來) de ({’s (things)} 的), nàme (nà·me {(in) that (case) → [then]} · [suf] 那么/末 那麼/末) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · womb → [cell] 细胞 細胞) zhōng (within 中) fùzá (fù·zá {turned around → [complex]} · mixed → [complex] 复杂 複雜) de (getting 得) duō ({to be (much) more} 多) de (’s 的) fēnzǐ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子) ne ([(what about them) ? ptcl] 呢)? Zhēnde (Zhēn·de (they) really · ’s 真的) yǒu ({do have} 有) kěnéng (kě·néng maybe · {being able} → [possibility] 可能) pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) chǎnshēng (chǎn·shēng {to be given birth to → [to be produced]} · {to be given birth to → [to be caused to exist]} → [to be brought into being] 产生 產生) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

“Fancy Bumping into…”

The way that “pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧)” “works” as an expression is a bit odd. “Pèng (bump; touch; {knock against} 碰)” means “bump into”, and “qiǎo ({[is] clever; intelligent; skillful; ingenious} | {[being] opportune; coincidental} [→ [coincidentally]] 巧)” can mean “being coincidental”, so “pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧)” literally means “having bumped into being coincidental”.

We can also note that, like “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” in last week’s MEotW, “pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance/coincidence] 碰巧)” has verb-object construction. (See that post for more information on that.)

Should we believe evolutionists’ claims that life in all its complexity and glory pèngqiǎo (pèng·qiǎo {having bumped into} · {being coincidental} → [by chance] 碰巧) came into being? It would be quite tiānzhēn (tiān·zhēn {(of) heaven → [natural]} · {(following) natural instincts} → [naive] 天真) (a past MEotW) of us to do so!

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
Current Events Theocratic

shìwēi kàngyì

shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威) kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議) ← 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 None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

At the time of this writing, perhaps because of the pro-Palestinian protests taking place on campuses across the US, jw.org was featuring the Awake! article “Is Protest the Answer?”. Where the English version of this article uses the word “protest”, the Mandarin version (for which official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is available) uses this week’s MEotW, “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威) kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)”. For example, the article’s title is rendered in English and Mandarin as follows:

English:

Is Protest the Answer?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shìwēi (Shì·wēi Demonstrating · Strength → [Holding Demonstrations] 示威) Kàngyì (Kàng·yì Opposing · Commenting → [Protesting] 抗议 抗議) Néng (Can 能) Jiějué (Jiě·jué {Untie → [Solve]} · Decide → [Solve] 解决 解決) Wèntí (Wèn·tí Asking · Problems → [Problems] 问题 問題) Ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

Breakdown

The “shì (show; indicate; notify; instructing; reveal; manifest; demonstrate 示)” in “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” can mean “show” or “demonstrate”, and other expressions in which it appears include “biǎoshì (biǎo·shì indicate; express · show 表示)”, “xiǎnshì (xiǎn·shì {to be evident/obvious} · show 显示 顯示)”, “shìfàn (shì·fàn {showing; demonstrating [of]} · pattern; model; example → [demonstrating; setting an example | demonstration] 示范 示範/范)”, and “Qǐshìlù (Qǐ·shì·lù {Opening → [Enlightening]} · Showing · Record → [Revelation] 启示录 啟示錄)”.

The “wēi (might; power; strength; force 威)” in “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” means “might; power; strength; force”, and it also appears in expressions such as “quánwēi (quán·wēi authority · power 权威 權威)” and “wēixié (wēi·xié {(with) power} · {upper part of the human body → [coerce; force] → [threaten]} → [threaten; menace; imperil; intimidate] 威胁 威脅)”.

So, “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” can mean “demonstration of strength”, as when people hold a demonstration to show how strongly supported their cause is. In different contexts, it can alternately mean “putting on a show of force”.

In “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)”, “kàng (resist; fight; oppose; defy 抗)” means “resist; fight; oppose; defy”, and other expressions that use it include “dǐkàng (dǐ·kàng resist; withstand · {resist; fight; combat; defy} 抵抗)”, “duìkàng (duì·kàng facing · resisting 对抗 對抗)”, “fǎnkàng (fǎn·kàng {turn over → [oppose]} · resist 反抗)”, and “kàngjù (kàng·jù resist; fight; defy · resist; repel; {ward off} 抗拒)”. The other morpheme “yì (discussing; conferring; {exchanging views}; {talking over}; commenting; remarking [→ [(exchanged) opinion; view]] 议 議)” can mean “discuss” or “comment on”, and it’s also used in “jiànyì (jiàn·yì {build; construct → [propose; advocate]} · discussing → [propose; suggest; recommend] | {building; constructing of → [proposing; advocating of]} · discussing → [proposal; suggestion; recommendation] 建议 建議)” and in recent MEotW “zhēngyì (zhēng·yì contending · discussing [→ [dispute; controversy]] 争议 爭議)”.

So, “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)” can mean something like “commenting about opposing”, and indeed, a protest is intended to make a statement about opposition to something.

Verbs? Nouns?

The two expressions “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” and “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)” can each be used on its own, but, as mentioned earlier, they are used together in the above-mentioned Awake! article to correspond with the English word “protest”. Interestingly, just as “protest” can be a verb or a noun, both “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [putting on a show of force | demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)” and “kàngyì (kàng·yì resisting; fighting; opposing; defying · {discussing | commenting [on]; remarking [on]} → [protesting | protest (n)] 抗议 抗議)” can also be a verb or a noun.

Additionally, by analyzing it down to the morphemes, we can see that “shìwēi (shì·wēi {showing; indicating; revealing; manifesting; demonstrating [of]} · might; power; strength; force → [demonstrating (as a protest); marching; holding a demonstration | demonstration] 示威)”—which can literally mean “demonstrating strength”—has 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.).