Robert Logan once said: "China created what was probably the most sophisticated system of nonabstract science the world has known.” There is a deep connection to nature and a key to an almost physical way of thinking in the composition of Chinese characters, which then reveals itself in language so vivid and direct those who experience it for the same time will feel a jolt, before being taken to a wholly difference mode of experience. For example, the old Imperial Academy may be referred to by this abstract term, but the name in Chinese is "Forest of Pencils." A mouth and a dog means “bark” (吠). 口+犬. The word for "mountains" and the word for “rivers” make the word for "landscape" (山水). You never lose track of these original meanings, the way we have long ago lost track of the origins, for example, of the word “sincerity” or “sarcasm.”
Thanks Bruno, another majestic read. I suspect a big reason why this is your top-read article to date is because it takes more than one attempt to truly comprehend the span of the landscape you're depicting...in English, that is. Just like Zheng He's monument in Sri Lanka, you're inscribing a deep concept through double translation.
This reminds me of the film Arrival for many reasons. You have the arrival of foreign actor (aliens/pandemic irl). You have different international groups each studying and engaging with the foreign actor in competition or collaboration - the Chinese-led group is arguably the most influential in the endgame. You have the learning of the circular alien language which allows the linguist to see non-linear time which was the purpose of the arrival.
Thanks Bruno, another majestic read. I suspect a big reason why this is your top-read article to date is because it takes more than one attempt to truly comprehend the span of the landscape you're depicting...in English, that is. Just like Zheng He's monument in Sri Lanka, you're inscribing a deep concept through double translation.
This reminds me of the film Arrival for many reasons. You have the arrival of foreign actor (aliens/pandemic irl). You have different international groups each studying and engaging with the foreign actor in competition or collaboration - the Chinese-led group is arguably the most influential in the endgame. You have the learning of the circular alien language which allows the linguist to see non-linear time which was the purpose of the arrival.