An amazing Chinese character:
Chinese is an amazing language. Look at the character “win” 赢for example, it’
s formed with five different characters: end 亡, mouth 口, moon 月, shellfish 贝
and 凡 ordinary.
The character “end” represents a sense of urgency and the need to be vigilant
of potential and impending crisis. We must always be aware of the changes that are taking place in our surroundings. The experiences that led to success in the
pass may just be the cause of failure in the future. Living in contentment and complacency for an excessive length of time may make us becoming meek and less motivated. Having a rival is can prevent us from keeping a slack hand. “End” also suggests that we need to come to terms with our reality. We need to keep an objective perspective in any situations. We need to understand our needs as well as that of our opponent. “End” can also signifies an end of a cycle, but the great cycle of life expands indefinitely, so “end” also implies invincible viability and boundless possibilities.
The character “mouth” represents communication. We need to openly communicate
with all concerned. We need to make our goals and determination publicly known.
Successful communication is bi-directional, besides having excellent oral communicating skills, we also need to be able to listen actively. Listening well will
lead to full comprehension of mutual desire, which can significantly contribute
to a mutually gratifying outcome.
The character “moon” represents time. Winning can only be achieved through unswerving effort and accumulation of time. Small feats achieved in hasty and ostentatious manners are flashy but short-lived. The character “moon” is also an abnormity of the character “flesh”, which implies self-disciplined. You cannot simply order others to come and help you succeed. You need to lead by example, be
an inspirational leader and cause others to surround you in the same fashion that stars surround the moon. This kind of unconditional support is what helps you
win.
The character “shellfish” represents wealth. Shellfish were used as currency in
ancient China, before coins and paper currency were invented. Great wealth can
certainly help you win, but bear in mind that knowledge, experiences and skills
are the key to amassing wealth. Copy right, patent, good relation network, track
record achievements, managerial experiences etc are priceless intangible assets
that can accumulate great wealth. “Shellfish” in a broader sense can also be
construed as jettons, something that can be utilized to add value to your self-
worth, your ken, your unique talent and temperament inclination. In this age ofknowledge, your attitude toward continuous development and life-long learning
is the precious jetton that guarantees winning.
The character “ordinary” represents poise and composure. Upon trying our utmost to win, the outcome may not always be what we expected. We need to have conviction that a disappointment may just be a blessing in disguise, and that every failure enshrouds a seed of success. We must learn to face failure with poise and
composure, and realize that the lessons we learn from our failure are often more
beneficial than those from success.
It must have taken many great minds to ponder deep, hard and long before the masterpiece character “win” was invented and pervasively approved and used by the
masses. From now on when I read and write Chinese, I’ll do so with great reverence and gratitude, for each character enshrines tremendous hard work and wisdom
of our forebears.
Neil
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轻松英语