{"id":7218,"date":"2025-12-07T23:54:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T07:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=7218"},"modified":"2025-12-09T20:46:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T04:46:29","slug":"shenhua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2025\/12\/07\/shenhua\/","title":{"rendered":"sh\u00e9nhu\u00e0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3>\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">sh\u00e9nhu\u00e0<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo a\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(sh\u00e9n\u00b7hu\u00e0\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">gods \u00b7 {(set[s] of) words \u2192 [story\/stories]} \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[mythology | myth; fairy tale]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e\u8bdd\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u795e\u8a71<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span style=\"color: hsl(100, 85%, 40%);\"> \ud83d\udc48\ud83c\udffc Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span>\n<\/h3>\n\n<p>Last year\u2019s MEotW <a href=\"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2024\/05\/19\/jia-xiaoxi\/\" title=\"ji\u01ce xi\u0101oxi - Mandarin Expression of the Week\">post<\/a> on <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201cji\u01ce<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">false; fake<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u5047\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u5047\/\u53da<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>xi\u0101oxi<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(xi\u0101o\u00b7xi\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">disappearing \u00b7 news \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[news; information]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u6d88\u606f)<\/span><i>\u201d<\/i> contains the following:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"margin-top: 0\">Myths and Misinformation About Chinese Characters, Etc.<\/h4>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Victor_H._Mair\" title=\"Victor H. Mair - Wikipedia\">Victor Mair<\/a> wrote the following in the foreword of the book <i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Ideogram-Chinese-Characters-Disembodied-Meaning\/dp\/0824827600\/\" title=\"Amazon.com: Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning: 9780824827601: Unger, J. Marshall: Books\">Ideogram: Chinese Characters and the Myth of Disembodied Meaning<\/a>,<\/i> by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/J._Marshall_Unger\" title=\"J. Marshall Unger - Wikipedia\">J. Marshall Unger<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nThere is probably no subject on earth concerning which more misinformation is purveyed and more misunderstandings circulated than Chinese characters (\u6f22\u5b57, Chinese <i>hanzi<\/i>, Japanese <i>kanji<\/i>, Korean <i>hanja<\/i>), or sinograms.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Also, in his book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Chinese-Language-Fact-Fantasy\/dp\/0824810686\/\" title=\"The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy: DeFrancis, John: 9780824810689: Amazon.com: Books\"><i>The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy<\/i><\/a><i>,<\/i> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_DeFrancis\" title=\"John DeFrancis - Wikipedia\">John DeFrancis<\/a> lists the following myths regarding Chinese characters, that many believe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Ideographic Myth\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2023\/10\/27\/hamijiduodun\/\" title=\"H\u0101m\u01d0j\u00eddu\u014dd\u00f9n - Mandarin Expression of the Week\">MEotW post<\/a> on <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201cH\u0101m\u01d0j\u00eddu\u014dd\u00f9n<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">Armageddon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u54c8\u7c73\u5409\u591a\u987f\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u54c8\u7c73\u5409\u591a\u9813<\/span>)<\/span><i>\u201d<\/i> contains a discussion of this myth, with some selected excerpts on this subject from DeFrancis\u2019 book.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The Universality Myth<\/li>\n<li>The Emulatability Myth<\/li>\n<li>The Monosyllabic Myth<\/li>\n<li>The Indispensability Myth<\/li>\n<li>The Successfulness Myth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Regarding these myths, in p. 2\u20133 of his aforementioned book, J. Marshall Unger provides this summary:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nPassing 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 <i>The Chinese Language<\/i> (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 <i>Ideographic<\/i> Myth, the notion that Chinese characters represent meaning directly, without reference to language (that is, speech) in any way. Its logical extension is the <i>Universality<\/i> Myth, according to which Chinese script allows for communication between mutually uninteligible dialects and languages. This leads in turn to the <i>Emulatability<\/i> 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 <i>Monosyllabic<\/i> Myth, <i>Indispensability<\/i> Myth, and <i>Successfulness<\/i> Myth. Each of these\u2014the names are more or less self-explanatory\u2014makes a strong claim about language and the writing system, claims that have had significant social and political consequences.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>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\u2019re not careful, we could end up parroting this political propaganda. (We could also end up parroting <em>worldly human cultural propaganda<\/em>, 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 <em>spiritual<\/em> consequences that should be of great concern to us. To complete the sentence quoted from the video mentioned at the beginning of this post:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nMisinformation isn\u2019t just inaccurate; it can also be dangerous!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It seems that it would be good for this blog to discuss more fully each of the above-mentioned myths about Chinese characters. As a prelude, this week\u2019s MEotW is <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201csh\u00e9nhu\u00e0<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(sh\u00e9n\u00b7hu\u00e0\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">gods \u00b7 {(set[s] of) words \u2192 [story\/stories]} \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[mythology | myth; fairy tale]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e\u8bdd\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u795e\u8a71<\/span>)<\/span><i>\u201d,<\/i> the Mandarin word generally used to translate \u201cmyth\u201d.<\/p>\n<h4>False Gods and False Stories<\/h4>\n<p>The <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201csh\u00e9n<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">god [\u2192 [supernatural; magical; miraculous]] | spirit; mind<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e)<\/span><i>\u201d<\/i> in <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201csh\u00e9nhu\u00e0<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(sh\u00e9n\u00b7hu\u00e0\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">gods \u00b7 {(set[s] of) words \u2192 [story\/stories]} \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[mythology | myth; fairy tale]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e\u8bdd\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u795e\u8a71<\/span>)<\/span><i>\u201d<\/i> is often used by Christendom to refer to \u201cGod\u201d, with a capital \u201cG\u201d. Occasionally, Jehovah\u2019s organization also uses <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201cSh\u00e9n<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">God<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e)<\/span><i>\u201d<\/i> to correspond with \u201cGod\u201d, as can be seen by comparing the renditions of Deuteronomy 4:35 in the current English and Mandarin versions of the New World Translation Bible:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wol.jw.org\/en\/wol\/b\/r1\/lp-e\/nwtsty\/5\/4#study=discover&#038;v=5:4:35\" title=\"Deuteronomy 4 \u2014 Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY\">English<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\nYou yourselves have been shown these things so you will know that Jehovah is the <strong>true God;<\/strong> there is no other besides him.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Mandarin (<a href=\"https:\/\/wol.jw.org\/cmn-Hans\/wol\/b\/r23\/lp-chs-rb\/nwtsty\/5\/4#study=discover&#038;v=5:4:35\" title=\"\u7533\u547d\u8bb0 4 \u2014 \u5b88\u671b\u53f0\u7ebf\u4e0a\u4e66\u5e93\">WOL<\/a>, <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">{Piecing Together of} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[Pinyin]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/nwtsty\/Pinyin_Plus\/1-Heb-Aram\/05-De\/De-04.html\" title=\"De 4 - NWT (nwtsty) (P\u012bny\u012bn Plus, Web)\">Plus<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plusParentNode(this)\" class=\"plusinfotransl\" title=\"Reveal All\" aria-label=\"Reveal All\" role=\"button\">\ud83d\udcd6<\/span> <span onclick=\"advParentNode(this)\" class=\"plusinfotransl\" title=\"Reveal Advanced\" aria-label=\"Reveal Advanced\" role=\"button\">\ud83d\udcc4<\/span> <span onclick=\"minusParentNode(this)\" title=\"Reveal None\" aria-label=\"Reveal None\" role=\"button\">\ud83d\udcd8<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">Zh\u00e8<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">these<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u8fd9\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u9019<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">y\u00edqi\u00e8<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(y\u00ed\u00b7qi\u00e8\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">{one (whole)} \u00b7 {corresponding (set)} \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[all]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u4e00\u5207)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">xi\u01ceng\u011bi<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(xi\u01cen\u00b7g\u011bi\n\t\t\t<span class=\"mt\">{having been shown} \u00b7 {to be given to}<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u663e\u7ed9\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u986f\u7d66<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">n\u01d0<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">you<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u4f60)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">k\u00e0n<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">{to see}<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u770b)<\/span>,\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">sh\u00ec<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">{has been}<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u662f)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">y\u00e0o<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">{to be going to}<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u8981)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">r\u00e0ng<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">let<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u8ba9\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u8b93<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">n\u01d0<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">you<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u4f60)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">zh\u012bd\u00e0o<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(zh\u012b\u00b7d\u00e0o\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">know \u00b7 {(the) way (of)} \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[know]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u77e5\u9053)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">Y\u0113h\u00e9hu\u00e1<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">Jehovah<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u8036\u548c\u534e\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u8036\u548c\u83ef<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">sh\u00ec<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">is<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u662f)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<strong>\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">zh\u0113n<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">true<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u771f)<\/span>\u2010<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">Sh\u00e9n<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">God<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e)<\/span>,\n\t\t\t<\/strong>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">ch\u00fale<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo a\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(ch\u00fa\u00b7le\n\t\t\t<span class=\"mt\"><span class=\"lit\">{eliminating \u2192<\/span> [besides]<span class=\"lit\">}<\/span> \u00b7 {to completion}<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u9664\u4e86)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">t\u0101<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">him<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u4ed6)<\/span>,\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">z\u00e0i<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">additionally<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u518d)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">m\u00e9iy\u01d2u<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(m\u00e9i\u00b7y\u01d2u\n\t\t\t<span class=\"mt\"><span class=\"lit\">(there) not \u00b7 {is having \u2192 [is]} \u2192<\/span> [(there) is not]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u6ca1\u6709\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u6c92\u6709<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">bi\u00e9de<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(bi\u00e9\u00b7de\n\t\t\t<span class=\"mt\">other \u00b7 \u2019s<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u522b\u7684\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u5225\u7684<\/span>)<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span onclick=\"plus(this)\">Sh\u00e9n<\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">God<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e)<\/span>.\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Usually, though, <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201csh\u00e9n<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">god [\u2192 [supernatural; magical; miraculous]] | spirit; mind<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u795e)<\/span><i>\u201d<\/i> is used to refer to \u201cgod\u201d with a lower case \u201cg\u201d, which typically refers to a false god that\u2019s not the true God. When that\u2019s put together with <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>\u201chu\u00e0<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(<span class=\"mt\">word; {spoken word}; saying; talk; speech [\u2192 [story]]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u8bdd\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u8a71<\/span>)<\/span><i>\u201d,<\/i> the resulting expression can mean \u201cstories about (false) gods\u201d, or \u201cmyths\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The above-mentioned myths about Chinese characters are widely believed and often repeated in this world that is controlled by Satan, but they are actually as false as false gods like Zeus, Apollo, <a href=\"https:\/\/wol.jw.org\/en\/wol\/d\/r1\/lp-e\/1200000505#h=7\" title=\"Baal \u2014 Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY\">Baal<\/a>, <span onclick=\"plus(this)\"><i>Gu\u0101ny\u012bn<\/i><\/span><span class=\"plusinfo a\" onclick=\"minus(this)\">\n\t\t\t(Gu\u0101n\u00b7y\u012bn\n\t\t\t<span class=\"lit\">(The One Who) Observes \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> <span class=\"mt\">[Guanyin; Goddess of Mercy]<\/span>\n\t\t\t\u89c2\u97f3\n\t\t\t<span class=\"trad\">\u89c0\u97f3<\/span>)<\/span> (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guanyin\" title=\"Guanyin - Wikipedia\">Wikipedia article<\/a>), etc. (<a href=\"https:\/\/wol.jw.org\/en\/wol\/b\/r1\/lp-e\/nwtsty\/62\/5#study=discover&#038;v=62:5:19\" title=\"1 John 5 \u2014 Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY\">1 John 5:19<\/a>) Be on the lookout for future posts on this blog that further discuss each of these myths, or fairy tales, about Chinese characters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last year\u2019s MEotW post on contains the following: 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,19,176],"tags":[25,428,598,432,104,429,431,31,97,426,85,427,514,172,430,89,218,136,30,126],"class_list":["post-7218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-language-learning","category-science","tag-chinese-characters","tag-emulatability-myth","tag-guanyin","tag-ideogram-chinese-characters-and-the-myth-of-disembodied-meaning","tag-ideographic-myth","tag-indispensability-myth","tag-j-marshall-unger","tag-john-defrancis","tag-linguistics","tag-misinformation","tag-monosyllabic-myth","tag-myths","tag-politics","tag-propaganda","tag-successfulness-myth","tag-the-chinese-language-fact-and-fantasy","tag-universality-myth","tag-usage-examples","tag-victor-h-mair","tag-writing-systems"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>sh\u00e9nhu\u00e0 - Mandarin Expression of the Week<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2025\/12\/07\/shenhua\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"sh\u00e9nhu\u00e0 - Mandarin Expression of the Week\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last year\u2019s MEotW post on contains the following: 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. 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