Английская Википедия:Chinese word for "crisis"
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Redirect Шаблон:Use American English Шаблон:Use mdy dates Шаблон:Chinese In Western popular culture, the Chinese word for "crisis" (Шаблон:Zh) is often incorrectly said to comprise two Chinese characters meaning 'danger' (Шаблон:Transl, Шаблон:Lang) and 'opportunity' (Шаблон:Transl, Шаблон:Zh). The second character is a component of the Chinese word for opportunity (Шаблон:Transl, Шаблон:Zh), but has multiple meanings, and in isolation means something more like 'change point' or inflection point. The mistaken etymology became a trope after it was used by John F. Kennedy in his presidential campaign speeches and is widely repeated in business, education, politics and the press in the United States.
Origin
Sinologist Victor H. Mair of the University of Pennsylvania states the popular interpretation of weiji as "danger" plus "opportunity" is a "widespread public misperception" in the English-speaking world. The first character Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Lang) does indeed mean "dangerous" or "precarious", but the second, highly polysemous, character Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Zh) does not mean "opportunity" in isolation, but something more like "change point". The confusion likely arises from the fact that the character for Шаблон:Transl is a component of the Chinese word for "opportunity", Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Zh).[1][2][3]
History
American linguist Benjamin Zimmer has traced mentions in English of the Chinese term for "crisis" as far as an anonymous editorial in a 1938 journal for missionaries in China.[4][1] The American public intellectual Lewis Mumford contributed to the spread of this idea in 1944 when he wrote: "The Chinese symbol for crisis is composed of two elements: one signifies danger and the other opportunity."[5] However, its use likely gained momentum in the United States after John F. Kennedy employed this trope in presidential campaign speeches in 1959 and 1960, possibly paraphrasing Mumford:[1] "In the Chinese language, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity."[6][7]
The word has since become a staple meme for American business consultants and motivational speakers, as well as gaining popularity in educational institutions, politics and the popular press. For example, in 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice applied it during Middle East peace talks.[8] Former Vice President Al Gore has done so numerous times, such as in testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, in the introduction of An Inconvenient Truth, and in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance lecture.[9][10]
Benjamin Zimmer attributes the appeal of this anecdote to its "handiness" as a rhetorical device and optimistic "call to action",[11] as well as to "wishful thinking".[3]
See also
References
Further reading
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ "The Straight Dope: Is the Chinese word for "crisis" a combination of "danger" and "opportunity"?"
- ↑ 3,0 3,1 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Chinese Recorder (January 1938, "The Challenge of Unusual Times")
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Speeches by President Kennedy at United Negro College Fund fundraiser, Indianapolis, Indiana, 12 April 1959, and Valley Forge Country Club, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 29 October 1960.
- ↑ Redaction of a speech made by President Kennedy at the Convocation of the United Negro College Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 12, 1959.
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
