Wisdom of the language Jing Chen
Preface We all love wisdom. We seek wisdom far and wide. We seek wisdom at any cost. Yet we rarely seek wisdom from the language we use everyday. But language is the recording and witness of our evolutionary past. Language is the embodiment and distillment of ancient wisdom. We often try to relax and find it hard to achieve. But to relax is to re-lax. We have to be lax, stop being too strict on others and ourselves. Only when we are lax, we can re- lax. In modern days, we pile up one accreditation after another. Being credible is good. But being in-credible is great. We know that we are being fed with illusions. But we refuse to face the truth. We don’t want to get dis-illusioned. Language offers us so much wisdom. Learning language is a process of discovering the ancient treasures. It is a refreshing journey. In this booklet, I compile some short notes and poems from my understanding of the language. Hope you find them enjoyable. I am also interested in the relation between language and thinking. From the standard theory, language expresses thinking, but does not affect thinking. I feel that language affects thinking as well. The notes and poems collected here are examples how learning a language affects my thinking.
Contents 1. A homage to our home 2. Credible and incredible 3. Lax and relax 4. Illusion and disillusion 5. Kind 6. To invest is to vest in 7. Embryo and embroil 8. Inspire and expire 9. Fine 10. Victor or victim 11. Your pleasure is my pressure 12. Understand and overlook 13. Traps and trappings 14. Am is love 15. Prevent 16. Envelop and develop 17. Maked or made: When to break rule 18. Observe and serve 19. Pretend and pretender 20. Yes is for yesterday 21. Only the powerful can proclaim to be powerless 22. Who is a radical 23. The rulers and the ruled 24. Story and history 25. Strive and strife 26. Like and dislike 27. How to take a rest 28. Invent 29. What is knowledge? What is father? What is have?
A homage to our home We pay homage to many people We pay homage to many places The people we should pay homage most Are the people in our home The place we should pay homage most Is our home
Credible and Incredible It is nice to be credible. We pile up credits and accreditations. But you don’t chase after all the credits and accreditations. Some people might say you are not credible. I would echo them and say you are incredible. You are incredible because you follow your own heart. It is nice to be credible. It is a wonder to be incredible.
Lax and Relax We don’t like being lax. We all enjoy relax. But without being lax, How can we re-lax? To relax, Let us be lax To ourselves, and to each other
Illusion and disillusion
If we seek truth
We will reject illusion
We will celebrate
The achievement of disillusion
Yet we need illusion
To decorate our plain life
We need illusion
To hide the ugly truth
We need illusion
To keep us happy and high
When reality trashes illusion
When reality smashes illusion
We become depressed
And disillusioned
We desperately seek new illusion
We vigorously reject truth
In the hope to avoid
Being dis-illusioned
Kind
Why we are kind to our children Because they are our kinder
Why you are kind to me Because we are the same kind
Why you are kind to him Because he is a kindred spirit
Thank you for being so kind to me You rekindle the flame of my life
Note: Kinder is children, such as in kindergarten.
To invest is to vest in
We all want to invest successfully. What is the secret of successful investment? The word invest itself already tells the secret. To invest successfully is to vest in. When we have a passion on something, when we have a vested interest, we naturally excel at it.
Currently, the stock market is where many invest their wealth. Are we deeply vested in those companies on the stock market? Not really! Stock market is there to provide liquidity, not vested interest, at least not for small investors. That is why most of us don’t do well in the stock market.
Historically, few people invested in the stock market. However, due to the higher and higher pension deductions, more and more people are forced to invest in where they don’t have vested interest, the stock market. The high pension deductions also diminish our opportunity to invest heavily in where we do have vested interest, our families and kids. With heavy taxation and heavy pension deductions, few families can afford many kids.
The current tax systems and pensions systems force us to invest in where we don’t have the vested interest and diminish our opportunity to invest in where we do have the vested interest. The is why our societies are not doing well.
On a personal level, we may invest less energy in where we don’t have vested interest, such as social media, and invest more energy in where we do have vested interest, such as our families. You might feel family life is too vested. You can devest from social media any time you want. But to invest well, you have to vest in.
Embryo and embroil
Out of embroil
Comes embryo
All the conflicts, all the fights
Give us so much sorrow
Give us so much anguish
Yet out of the ash of the embroil
Comes new babies, comes new life
Give us so much hope
Give us so much expectation
Out of embroil
Comes embryo
Out of embryo
Comes embroil
All new babies, all new life
Give us so much hope
Give us so much expectation
Yet with their growing up
All the conflicts, all the fights
Give us so much sorrow
Give us so much anguish
Out of embryo
Comes embroil
Inspire and expire
We all want to
Inspire
Nobody want to
Expire
But you can’t
Inspire
If you don’t
Expire
Similarly, young aspirants can’t
Inspire
If old authorities don’t
Retire and expire
Old authorities enjoy
Inspiring young people
But if they themselves don’t
Expire
Where is the room for newcomers to
Inspire
P.S. Inspire is inhale. Expire is exhale.
Fine I eat fine food I dress fine clothes I wear a fine manner I am a fine man However I don’t want to be defined By the society’s expectation I don’t want to be refined To lose all my edges I don’t want to be confined To a tiny field I will be fined For deviating from the defined path I will be fined For trashing the refined sophistication I will be fined For escaping the confined field I may lose fine food I may lose fine clothes I may lose fine manner But I will gain a fine Final resting place
Victor or victim
We are all victors
All victors
In the unbroken chain
Of four billion years of
Survival and reproduction
We are put up
By the grace of God
To enjoy the bountiful world
There are many more victims
Many more victims
On the treacherous road
Of four billion years of
Survival and reproduction
They are put down
By the mercy of God
To enjoy the eternal rest
We are all victors of the past
Are we going to be
Victors or victims in the future
God takes time to give his verdict
He spells out slowly
VICT
What are the last two letters
OR, or IM
We just have to wait
Wait for his grace and his mercy
It is up to him
To determine
If we will be gracefully granted
The privilege of living gloriously
Or we will be mercifully relieved
The duty of fighting fiercely
Your pleasure is my pressure
You take great pleasure
Dining in a fine restaurant
You demand fast, courteous service
I am serving many customers
At the same time
I am struggling to keep up the pace
Your pleasure is my pressure
Your take great pleasure
Feeling high
From injecting cocaine
I have to work hard
To cough up all the taxes
That support your doctors and social workers
Your pleasure is my pressure
You take great pleasure
Showering your benevolence
To help the helpless
I was stripped off
All my shirts and pants
Until I am utterly helpless
Your pleasure is my pressure
Understand and overlook
We hope to better understand
How things work
But we often overlook
Important signs
To better understand
We have to stand under
To shoulder the burden
Of life
When we stand under
We will understand
How the lowly and the silent
Support the high and glorious
When we stand under
We will understand
The burden, the pain, and the sorrow
The bond and the bondage
When we stand under
We will understand
How much we want to escape
Escape to the promise of religion
When we stand under
We will understand
How much we resent and admire
Those who stand over us
When we stand under
We will understand
How much we want to turn over
Turn over to stand over
When we stand over
The shoulders of the masses
We are far sighted
We lead the masses to a bright future
When we stand over
The shoulders of the masses
We are unburdened and free
Free to pursue our own interest
When we stand over
The shoulders of the masses
We will celebrate our farsightedness
We will celebrate our freedom
When we stand over
The shoulders of the masses
We want to make sure
We never have to stand under again
When we stand over
The shoulders of the masses
We will shackle the mind of the masses
We will overlook their misery
When we stand under
We shoulder the burden of life
We shoulder the bruises and pain
We understand the essence of life
When we stand over
The shoulders of the masses
We enjoy the farsightedness and freedom
We overlook the foundation of life
With better understanding
The standing under will topple
The standing over
Who overlook the standing under
The turn over between
The standing under and the standing over
Keeps the soil of life
Aerated and fertile
The turn over between
The standing under and the standing over
Keeps us understand more
And overlook less
Traps and trappings We actively avoid Traps We actively seek Trappings In the end, we are trapped By trappings
Am is love Am is love, as in amorous, enamour, amicable . Amateurs are the ones who do what they love. That is why great ideas are often initiated by amateurs. Mendel was a professional monk, and an amateur botanist. His discovery paved the way for genetics.
There used to be easy flow between amateur and professional scientists. Take Einstein for example. He was an amateur when he was doing his most important works. And his contributions were acknowledged by the professionals immediately. But as the scientific profession becomes lucrative, the barriers between amateur and professional scientists become almost impenetrable. Today's stale environment of academics is largely due to the banishment of fresh ideas from the amateurs.
Nowadays, amateurs are often belittled by the professionals. But amateurs should not belittle themselves. After all, one can never overestimate the power of love.
Prevent
Prevent is from pre-vent. Pre-vent is to let people with different opinions vent their grudge early to reduce the tension. This is probably the meaning of prevent when it was coined. Now prevent generally means suppress something from happening. Over time, the interpretations of powerful social groups dominate. There is a parallel in ecological system. In a newly opened field, many small species flourish, or pre-vent. But as dominant large species, such as large trees, take over, the shade of large trees prevent small species from growing. Biological diversity declines in a mature landscape, just like diversity in ideas declines in a mature society.
Envelop and develop The earth is enveloped by trees and grasses They absorb and store solar energy They release oxygen Oxygen envelopes the earth Oxygen protects hydrogen from escaping the earth So water can stay on the earth and envelop the earth Of all the planets in the solar system The earth is the only one Enveloped by vegetation Enveloped by oxygen Enveloped by water We can only survive On this enveloped planet But we love to develop To de-velop the land en-veloped by trees and grasses We develop trees to erect buildings We develop grasses to pave the roads with concretes We pride ourselves as developed We urge others to keep developing
Maked or made: When to break rules? Long ago, the past tense of make was maked. That was consistent with the rule. But maked is awkward to pronounce. Over time, maked turned into made, which is easier to pronounce. Why didn't baked turn into bade? Bake is less often used than make. There is not enough benefit to break the rule to turn baked into bade. When we look at the world from the lens of economics, things become easier to see.
Observe and serve
Most like to observe
Few like to serve
Most want to be observant
Few want to be a servant
Yet, only when we serve
We will carefully observe
Only when we serve
We will perceptively observe
When we start to serve
Serve ourselves and others
We strive to observe
Observe ourselves and others
To be a great observer
We can’t be a mere spectator
To be a great observer
We have to be a genuine server
Pretend and pretender When life is harsh to you When life is hopeless You just pretend Pretend life is hopeful When you pretend You become the pretender When life is dull When nothing happens You just pretend Pretend life goes on according to your script When you pretend You become the pretender When the enemies are invincible When their fortress is impregnable You just pretend Pretend you will storm their fortress When you pretend You become the pretender When God is silent When he is not answering your call You just pretend Pretend God is listening When you pretend You become the pretender Yes is for yesterday
Yes is for yesterday
No is for now
For tomorrow and for now
I must say no
To yes from yesterday P.S. Yes might mean maple, one of the earliest powerful cultures. No might mean elephant (nose), a later comer. Only the powerful can proclaim to be powerless
The powerful dominate the media
Only the powerful can proclaim to be powerless
When the powerful are wronged once
The media air million times
When the powerless are wronged million times
The media may air once
The powerful control the government
Only the powerful can officiate their victim status
The powerful make laws to extract tributes
From the powerless for their supposed sin
The powerless make goods to pay tributes
To the powerful for their supposed victimhood
The powerful own the public opinion
Only the powerful can dole out reward and exact punishment
Many powerless kneel by the powerful And call it stand by
They exalt the virtue of the powerful
They condemn the vice of the powerless Who is a radical? Radical means root originally. In biology and mathematics, radical still means root today. A radical works hard underground to help the whole plant grow. He works silently for stems and leaves, for others. He doesn’t chase short term fame and glory. However, in popular press, the term radical is quite derogatory. Why is that? In any ecosystem, there exist establishment. They don’t want new plants to compete with them. Radicals, who are willing to be roots, help new plants grow. This is why the establishment hate radicals. The life of a radical is harsh. But if you become a radical, we are rooting hard for you.
The rulers and the ruled
The rulers set the rules
The ruled obey the rules The rulers are above the rules The ruled are bound by the rules
The rulers are ruling with the rules
The ruled are ruled by the rules The rulers are empowered by the rules The ruled are enslaved by the rules The rulers are ruling the ruled The ruled are ruled by the rulers Until the ruled are freed from the rules They won’t be freed from the rulers Story and history History is written by the winner History is winner’s story History is his story History is not your story His story is no more reliable than your story History is no more reliable than your story One day, when you become the winner Your story will be history Strive and strife
We want to strive
We want no strife
Yet when we strive
Strife follows
Yet without strife
Few actually strive
We want to strive
We want no strife
When we strive too much
Too much strife follows
With too much strife
We could no more strive
Like and dislike
Why they like you
Because you are like them
Why they dislike you
Because you are unlike them
P.S. "Nothing," says Nietzsche, "so offended the German savants as Schopenhauer's unlikeness to them."
How to take a rest? The Chinese word for rest is 休，a person by the wood. This suggests that a great way to take a rest is to be close to trees or to be immersed in the woods. It will refresh and recharge us. It will boost our immune system. There is a tremendous amount of scientific literature to explore the benefits of staying in the woods. But our languages are a great depository of ancient wisdom. The Chinese word rest, 休, is a good example. Most experts believe languages are expressions of our thinking. But some feel that languages not only express our thinking, but also guide and constrain our thinking. When I read the word rest, 休, it encourages me to spend more time in the woods.
Invent Nowadays invent simply means design something new. But what was its original meaning? Invent is in-vent, to pump in air. Metal making is the most important technology in most of human history. The key technology to make high quality metal is to pump more air into furnace. Invent, or in-vent, becomes synonymous with important new technology. Interestingly, in Chinese, invent ( 發明 ) means make it bright. Do today's inventions make the world pump in more air or make the world brighter? Many patents are designed to block others from entering businesses. So many of today's inventions can be more accurately called block-vent, not in-vent.
What is knowledge? What is father? What is have?
In Chinese, knowledge is 知，which means talking about arrow. The most important knowledge is about weapons and military. Historically, most technology breakthroughs and improvements are initiated from military applications.
In Chinese, father is 父, which originally means 斧，or axe. Someone who uses an axe is a very skilled man, who is usually the father in a family. Axe is often used as a weapon. Father is the one who fights for the family.
In Chinese, have is 有，which means holding a piece of meat. If you have meat, you are a have. You are a rich man. If you don’t have meat, you are a have not. You are a poor man.
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