{"id":2940,"date":"2022-12-19T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=2940"},"modified":"2023-08-20T13:09:50","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T20:09:50","slug":"renkou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2022\/12\/19\/renkou\/","title":{"rendered":"r\u00e9nk\u01d2u"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tr\u00e9nk\u01d2u<\/span>\n(r\u00e9n\u00b7k\u01d2u\npeople \u00b7 {mouths of} \u2192<\/span> [population; number of people in a family]<\/span>\n\u4eba\u53e3)<\/span>\n\n \u2190 Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

Lesson 05, point 6 of the \nY\u01d2ngyu\u01cen Xi\u01cengsh\u00f2u M\u011bih\u01ceo de Sh\u0113ngm\u00ecng\u2014H\u00f9d\u00f2ng Sh\u00ec Sh\u00e8ngj\u012bng K\u00e8ch\u00e9ng<\/span>\n((Y\u01d2ng\u00b7yu\u01cen\nEternally \u00b7 {Far (in Time)}<\/span>\n\u6c38\u8fdc\n\u6c38\u9060<\/span>)\n(Xi\u01ceng\u00b7sh\u00f2u\nEnjoy \u00b7 Receive<\/span>\n\u4eab\u53d7)\n(M\u011bi\u00b7h\u01ceo\nBeautiful \u00b7 Good<\/span>\n\u7f8e\u597d)\n(de\n\u2019s<\/span>\n\u7684)\n(Sh\u0113ngm\u00ecng\nLife<\/span>\n\u751f\u547d)\u2014(H\u00f9\u00b7d\u00f2ng\n{Each Other} \u00b7 Moving \u2192 [Interactive]<\/span>\n\u4e92\u52a8\n\u4e92\u52d5<\/span>)\n(Sh\u00ec\n(Type<\/span>\n\u5f0f)\n(Sh\u00e8ng\u00b7j\u012bng\nHoly \u00b7 Scriptures \u2192 [Bible]<\/span>\n\u5723\u7ecf\n\u8056\u7d93<\/span>)\n(K\u00e8\u00b7ch\u00e9ng\nLessons \u00b7 Procedure \u2192 [Course]<\/span>\n\u8bfe\u7a0b\n\u8ab2\u7a0b<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [Enjoy Life Forever!\u2014An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]<\/span>)<\/span>\n<\/i> (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)<\/i>) book contains an illustration depicting the unparalleled availability of God\u2019s Word the Bible. One of the illustration\u2019s captions says the following:<\/p>\n

English:<\/p>\n

\nNearly 100% of the world\u2019s population have access to the Bible in a language they understand<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mandarin:<\/p>\n

\n\n\ud83d\udcd6<\/span> \ud83d\udcc4<\/span> \ud83d\udcd8<\/span>\n\nCh\u00e0\u2010bu\u2010du\u014d<\/span>\n((Ch\u00e0\n{falling short of by}<\/span>\n\u5dee)\u2010(bu\nnot<\/span>\n\u4e0d)\u2010(du\u014d\nmuch<\/span>\n\u591a)\n\u2192<\/span> [nearly]<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n100%<\/span>\n((b\u01cei\n{(one) hundred}<\/span>\n\u767e)\n(f\u0113n\ndividings \u2192 [parts]<\/span>\n\u5206)\n(zh\u012b\n{(among) them}<\/span>\n\u4e4b)\n(b\u01cei\n{(one) hundred}<\/span>\n\u767e)\n\u2192<\/span> [one hundred percent (of)]<\/span>)<\/span>\n\nsh\u00ecji\u00e8<\/span>\n(sh\u00ec\u00b7ji\u00e8\n{generation \u2192 [world]} \u00b7 extent\u2019s \u2192<\/span> [world\u2019s]<\/span>\n\u4e16\u754c)<\/span>\n\nr\u00e9nk\u01d2u<\/span>\n(r\u00e9n\u00b7k\u01d2u\npeople \u00b7 {mouths of} \u2192<\/span> [population]<\/span>\n\u4eba\u53e3)<\/span><\/strong>\n\nd\u014du<\/span>\n(even<\/span>\n\u90fd)<\/span>\n\nn\u00e9ng<\/span>\n(can<\/span>\n\u80fd)<\/span>\n\ny\u00f2ng<\/span>\n(use<\/span>\n\u7528)<\/span>\n\nt\u0101men<\/span>\n(t\u0101\u00b7men\nhe\/she \u00b7 [pl<\/i>] \u2192<\/span> [they]<\/span>\n\u4ed6\u4eec\n\u4ed6\u5011<\/span>)<\/span>\n\nm\u00edngbai<\/span>\n(m\u00edng\u00b7bai\nunderstand \u00b7 clearly<\/span>\n\u660e\u767d)<\/span>\n\nde<\/span>\n(\u2019s<\/span>\n\u7684)<\/span>\n\ny\u01d4y\u00e1n<\/span>\n(y\u01d4\u00b7y\u00e1n\nlanguage \u00b7 {(type of) speech}<\/span>\n\u8bed\u8a00\n\u8a9e\u8a00<\/span>)<\/span>\n\nd\u00fad\u00e0o<\/span>\n(d\u00fa\u00b7d\u00e0o\n{to read} \u00b7 {arriving at}<\/span>\n\u8bfb\u5230\n\u8b80\u5230<\/span>)<\/span>\n\nSh\u00e8ngj\u012bng<\/span>\n(Sh\u00e8ng\u00b7j\u012bng\n(the) Holy \u00b7 Scriptures \u2192<\/span> [the Bible]<\/span>\n\u5723\u7ecf\n\u8056\u7d93<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While \u201cr\u00e9nk\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(r\u00e9n\u00b7k\u01d2u\npeople \u00b7 {mouths of} \u2192<\/span> [population; number of people in a family]<\/span>\n\u4eba\u53e3)<\/span>\u201d, this week\u2019s MEotW, is used above to mean \u201cpopulation\u201d, as it is often used, one of the definitions for this expression in the highly regarded ABC Chinese-English Dictionary<\/i><\/a> is \u201cmouths to feed\u201d. This lends credence to the hypothesis that perhaps the morphemes<\/a> included in \u201cr\u00e9nk\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(r\u00e9n\u00b7k\u01d2u\npeople \u00b7 {mouths of} \u2192<\/span> [population; number of people in a family]<\/span>\n\u4eba\u53e3)<\/span>\u201d reflect that historically the governments of China have viewed their population as mouths that need to be fed, since this has often been a big challenge, to the point of famine<\/a>. Contrast this view to the perhaps more Western and modern cultural focus of a nation\u2019s population as its potential human assets. (Of course, humans who are assets also need to be fed, so a balanced approach would give sufficient weight to both aspects.)<\/p>\n

Eating or Being \u201cEaten\u201d?<\/h4>\n

It may be that historically the governments of China have had feeding the people as one of their primary concerns, however, ironically, it\u2019s also the case that archaeologists have found evidence of human sacrifice in ancient China, which involves ancient Chinese society \u201ceating\u201d individual members of its population. How much human sacrifice are we talking about? One web article<\/a> that I found speaks of exceptionally large scale<\/em> human sacrifice in ancient China, comparable in scale to the human sacrifice practiced in the ancient Mayan culture:<\/p>\n

\nWhile the phenomenon of ritual human killings have been present in many societies throughout history [source]<\/a><\/sup>, the types of human sacrifice that were practiced by ancient Chinese and pre-Colombian Mesoamerican<\/a> cultures\u2026were exceptional in terms of the sheer number of people sacrificed, the frequency at which it was done, and the high degree of formalization of their sacrificial rituals. Large-scale, systematic human sacrifice functioned as important political and religious spectacles in [the] Shang dynasty<\/a>.[source]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another web article<\/a> that I found gives us some estimated numbers:<\/p>\n

\nPrior worked revealed an extraordinary number of ritual human sacrifices were conducted during the Shang dynasty, which spanned from the 16th century B.C. to the 11th century B.C. It is the earliest dynasty in China for which archaeologists have evidence. For instance, sacrificial pits are common across the entire site of the last Shang capital, Yinxu, which researchers discovered in 1928 in central China’s Henan Province. Scientists have estimated that over the course of about 200 years, more than 13,000 people were sacrificed in Yinxu, usually males ages 15 to 35, and that on average, each sacrificial ritual there likely claimed at least 50 human victims. The biggest sacrifice found so far killed at least 339 people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the MEotW post<\/a> on \u201cx\u012bsh\u0113ng<\/i><\/span>\n(x\u012b\u00b7sh\u0113ng\n{sacrifice (n<\/i> or v<\/i>) | sacrificial} \u00b7 {[(as with a)] domestic animal} \u2192<\/span> [sacrifice]<\/span>\n\u727a\u7272\n\u72a7\u7272<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d noted:<\/p>\n

\nIt\u2019s interesting to note, though, that an Internet search for \u201cancient China sacrifices\u201d will turn up many references to human<\/em> sacrifices in ancient China, as there were in ancient Canaan\u2014let us be careful not to think more highly of worldly Chinese history and culture than they actually deserve!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Metaphorically Cannibalistic Society<\/h4>\n

Speaking of Chinese society \u201ceating\u201d people, L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i><\/span>\n((L\u01d4\nStupid; Rash (surname<\/i>)<\/span>\n\u9c81\n\u9b6f<\/span>)\n(X\u00f9n\nFast; Quick; Swift<\/span>\n\u8fc5)\n(pen name of Zh\u014du Sh\u00f9r\u00e9n<\/i>, the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th cent. and a strong advocate of alphabetic writing)<\/span>)<\/span>, recognized as China\u2019s greatest 20th century writer, wrote a short story called \u201cKu\u00e1ngr\u00e9n R\u00ecj\u00ec<\/i><\/span>\n((Ku\u00e1ng\u00b7r\u00e9n\nMad\u00b7man\u2019s<\/span>\n\u72c2\u4eba)\n(R\u00ec\u00b7j\u00ec\n{Sun\u2019s \u2192 [Day\u2019s]} \u00b7 Record \u2192 [Diary]<\/span>\n\u65e5\u8bb0\n\u65e5\u8a18<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [Diary of a Madman (short story by L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i>)]<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d (\u201cDiary of a Madman\u201d) which uses this as a metaphor. Wikipedia provides the following summary<\/a> concerning this metaphor:<\/p>\n

\nThe story is not just a depiction of a man suffering from mental illness with the delusion of being eaten but rather a symbol of the cannibalistic nature of Chinese customs and society wrapped up in the veneer of Confucianism. The story progresses with the appearance of imagery such as that of a dog, which symbolizes cannibalism and a certain “slave mentality”.[source]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The metaphor of “eating people” symbolises the oppressive and feudalistic social structure and values entrenched within Chinese culture.[source]<\/a><\/sup> The madman represents the \u201cawakened\u201d individual who re-gains his individuality and refuses to abide by the traditional and harmful cultural norms society,[source]<\/a><\/sup> with the neighbors whom he believes to want to devour him representing Chinese society in general. \u2026<\/p>\n

Because China was built upon and continued to be informed by Confucian morality and principles over long stretches of history, concepts such as democracy, individualism, natural rights and freedom of thought did not exist and were therefore difficult to take root within the Chinese psyche. Lu Xun remarked that \u201c[we] Chinese have always been a bit arrogant –unfortunately it is never \u201cindividual arrogance\u201d but without exception \u201ccollective and patriotic arrogance\u201d.[source]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i><\/span>\n((L\u01d4\nStupid; Rash (surname<\/i>)<\/span>\n\u9c81\n\u9b6f<\/span>)\n(X\u00f9n\nFast; Quick; Swift<\/span>\n\u8fc5)\n(pen name of Zh\u014du Sh\u00f9r\u00e9n<\/i>, the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th cent. and a strong advocate of alphabetic writing)<\/span>)<\/span> ends \u201cKu\u00e1ngr\u00e9n R\u00ecj\u00ec<\/i><\/span>\n((Ku\u00e1ng\u00b7r\u00e9n\nMad\u00b7man\u2019s<\/span>\n\u72c2\u4eba)\n(R\u00ec\u00b7j\u00ec\n{Sun\u2019s \u2192 [Day\u2019s]} \u00b7 Record \u2192 [Diary]<\/span>\n\u65e5\u8bb0\n\u65e5\u8a18<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [Diary of a Madman (short story by L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i>)]<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d (\u201cDiary of a Madman\u201d) with this appeal:<\/p>\n

\n\n\ud83d\udcd6<\/span> \ud83d\udcc4<\/span> \ud83d\udcd8<\/span>\n\nJi\u00f9ji\u00f9<\/span>\n(Ji\u00f9\u00b7ji\u00f9\nsave \u00b7 save<\/span>\n\u6551\u6551\n\u6551\/\u6344\u6551\/\u6344<\/span>)<\/span>\n\nh\u00e1izi<\/span>\n(h\u00e1i\u00b7zi\n(the) children \u00b7 [suf for nouns<\/i>]<\/span>\n\u5b69\u5b50)<\/span>\u2026\n\n<\/p>\n

(Save the children\u2026)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(The original text of \u201cKu\u00e1ngr\u00e9n R\u00ecj\u00ec<\/i><\/span>\n((Ku\u00e1ng\u00b7r\u00e9n\nMad\u00b7man\u2019s<\/span>\n\u72c2\u4eba)\n(R\u00ec\u00b7j\u00ec\n{Sun\u2019s \u2192 [Day\u2019s]} \u00b7 Record \u2192 [Diary]<\/span>\n\u65e5\u8bb0\n\u65e5\u8a18<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [Diary of a Madman (short story by L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i>)]<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d (\u201cDiary of a Madman\u201d) can be found here<\/a>. An English translation can be found here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Chinese Characters and Life and Death<\/h4>\n

Besides being one of China\u2019s greatest writers, L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i><\/span>\n((L\u01d4\nStupid; Rash (surname<\/i>)<\/span>\n\u9c81\n\u9b6f<\/span>)\n(X\u00f9n\nFast; Quick; Swift<\/span>\n\u8fc5)\n(pen name of Zh\u014du Sh\u00f9r\u00e9n<\/i>, the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th cent. and a strong advocate of alphabetic writing)<\/span>)<\/span> was also a strong proponent of alphabetic writing over Chinese characters. An English translation of an article he wrote on this subject can be found here<\/a>. In this article, he wrote:<\/p>\n

\nLatinization has another advantage: one can write fast. The Americans say, “Time is money.” But I think that time is life. To squander other people’s time for no reason is, in fact, no different than robbing and murdering them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed, since time is life, by unnecessarily taking such extraordinary amounts of time to learn and remember, Chinese characters make themselves part of the Chinese traditions that take away life from people. In this regard, one of the web articles<\/a> quoted above mentioned a connection that\u2019s been found between the earliest Chinese characters and human sacrifice:<\/p>\n

\nYinxu is also home to the earliest known writing in China, in the form of oracle bone inscriptions. Diviners carved these questions on turtle shells or ox bones, addressing the king’s concerns and ranging from personal issues such as unsettling toothaches to state matters such as crop failures. These inscriptions also recorded the king’s ritual activities, such as human sacrifices to the ruler’s ancestors or the gods.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, it\u2019s literally true that Chinese characters have been involved with taking life away from Chinese people since their very beginning! Additionally, regarding our life-saving preaching and teaching work today, my article \u201cP\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> Was Plan A<\/a> says:<\/p>\n

\nConcerning the obstacles presented by Chinese characters, the great Chinese writer L\u01d4 X\u00f9n<\/i>, who passed away in 1936, reportedly said, \u201cH\u00e0nz\u00ec b\u00fa mi\u00e8, Zh\u014dnggu\u00f3 b\u00ec w\u00e1ng.<\/i>\u201d (\u201c\u6c49\u5b57\u4e0d\u706d\uff0c\u4e2d\u56fd\u5fc5\u4ea1\u3002\/ \u6f22\u5b57\u4e0d\u6ec5\uff0c\u4e2d\u570b\u5fc5\u4ea1\u3002\u201d \u201cIf Chinese characters are not abolished, China will certainly die.\u201d) True, with the simplification of the characters, the assistance of P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i>, and the extra hard work put forth by the Chinese people to \u201ctough out\u201d the extra technical burdens presented by the characters, it now seems unlikely from a worldly viewpoint that the use of characters will cause the nation of China to die (although we know it will die at Armageddon, and its culture\u2019s influence will eventually fade away completely after that). However, how sad it would be if many Chinese people<\/i> died unnecessarily because the ongoing obstacles presented by Chinese characters hindered our efforts to reach their hearts with the life-saving message from God\u2019s Word.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed, how many Chinese people will ultimately end up getting sacrificed on the altar of worldly Chinese culture and tradition?<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s a Madman?<\/h4>\n

Speaking of madmen and Chinese writing, today, many would consider it mad to use an alphabetical system like P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> to write Mandarin Chinese, instead of the traditionally entrenched Chinese characters. However, remember that Jesus\u2019 relatives thought that he had \u201cgone out of his mind\u201d, when in fact their minds were stuck in their traditional worldview while Jesus was showing people the way forward. (Mark 3:21<\/a>) Now, we look back and think the people who had the opportunity to be taught by Jesus in person but passed on it were crazy!<\/p>\n

A couple of million years or so into the new system, if we ever think about it at all, we\u2019ll also undoubtedly think it was crazy that so many people thought that a writing system that had been around for just a few millennia was impressively old, and we\u2019ll also undoubtedly think it was crazy that so many people thought that everyone involved should always use an unnecessarily convoluted and time-consuming writing system like Chinese characters for an urgent life-saving work when a much easier-to-learn and much easier-to-use writing system like P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> was available.<\/p>\n

\n

For convenience:<\/p>\n

The direct link for the current generation P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together of} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever!<\/i> book is:<\/p>\n