My father participated in a work leadership retreat one week while I was in highschool. During the trip, in one of the sessions, my father mentioned he had a daughter. The facilitator asked my father to write down one word, one wish, that my father wanted for me.
Fascinating - Owen Barfield's work on the changing meaning of 'kind' seems relevant here - originally 'kind' had more to do with 'kindred' than 'being gentle' or 'being empathetic'. That meaning came in later. While Barfield is biased towards the latter evolution, I favour the more primal link you highlight here.
If there's no stronger argument for the need to learn how to read Chinese, it is this! Two characters can have the same pronunciation and tone but mean slightly different things. I learned the character for person (rén) 人 and its radical version 亻as a kid, and now I know 仁 which means "humane", and the way the components fit together is rather poetic. Thanks for sharing, Yina, this certainly helps me to remember it well.
Ah so glad it is useful Elizabeth! <3 I'm really repurposing ways my mom taught me how to remember the characters. It's so funny how once you see the radicals, you can build a lot of the underlying connections to the language!
Wish I had the time to myself but it's already 22:51 In South Africa and my mind can't keep up. Thanks for sharing this valuable insights. All remind me why I started with my publication.
Goal: to be more human every day ❤️
You are human enough 🍓
Fascinating - Owen Barfield's work on the changing meaning of 'kind' seems relevant here - originally 'kind' had more to do with 'kindred' than 'being gentle' or 'being empathetic'. That meaning came in later. While Barfield is biased towards the latter evolution, I favour the more primal link you highlight here.
Thank you for stumbling onto my page Leon, and for sharing this gem.
I had to look up the definition of what "kindred" meant to better understand the subtle nuance. I like this distinction. Thank you again for sharing.
If there's no stronger argument for the need to learn how to read Chinese, it is this! Two characters can have the same pronunciation and tone but mean slightly different things. I learned the character for person (rén) 人 and its radical version 亻as a kid, and now I know 仁 which means "humane", and the way the components fit together is rather poetic. Thanks for sharing, Yina, this certainly helps me to remember it well.
Ah so glad it is useful Elizabeth! <3 I'm really repurposing ways my mom taught me how to remember the characters. It's so funny how once you see the radicals, you can build a lot of the underlying connections to the language!
A beautiful wish for a father to share for his daughter. "To be human is to be kind," is something I want taped to my desk. Beautiful essay.
And you are one of my favorite humans Allie 🍓
Wish I had the time to myself but it's already 22:51 In South Africa and my mind can't keep up. Thanks for sharing this valuable insights. All remind me why I started with my publication.