danqi Posted January 4, 2005 at 03:20 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 at 03:20 PM Is the legend that the Chinese use the same word for crisis and opportunity true? If it is I have not learned it yet, and could not find it with my dictionary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted January 4, 2005 at 03:32 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 at 03:32 PM 危機 = crisis 危 = danger 機 = opportunity Thus in a crisis, danger and opportunities co-exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchyfeet Posted January 5, 2005 at 03:06 PM Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 at 03:06 PM On the other hand..... http://www.pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danqi Posted January 5, 2005 at 07:16 PM Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 at 07:16 PM Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_lab Posted January 6, 2005 at 05:13 AM Report Share Posted January 6, 2005 at 05:13 AM Let me boil down the essay: 機 = moment/juncture not opportunity/chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchyfeet Posted January 7, 2005 at 05:14 AM Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 at 05:14 AM (BTW: Sorry, on a computer at the moment that can't do Chinese input). Yeah, that's one of his points in_lab but i think the other broader point is: When etymological components enter into words, they take on the semantic coloring of their new environment and must be considered in thatcontext. Thus even if, hypthetically speaking, ji1 was taken to mean "opportunity" in the same sense as in English and wei1as danger (which is, of course, what wei1 denotes), then "wei1ji1" still would not mean "danger and opportunity" but simply "crisis," because the meaning of each character is modified by "the semantic coloring of their new environment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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