I'm not sure where I first heard if, but it seems like the insight came from my brother Ron while studying for his Masters in psychology. He later got his Ph.D. and I doubt ever changed his tune about this very interesting Chinese word for "crisis." The word was composed of two different Chinese characeters, Wei and Chi, which mean Danger and Opportunity. Every crisis in life has these two components. Our response is to recognize the danger and embrace the opportunies presented in the crisis moment.Well, guess what? I stumbled upon a blog today that essentially blasted this notion to smithereens. According to the Pinyin website, this notion that the Cinese word for crisis is composed of danger and opportunity is a myth. The writer is not really pleased at having to be the one to point out the facts, but he does feel obligated to set the record straight.
Goodness! I think I have even written about Wei Chi and I know that the idea has been ricocheting across many a printed page and continues on the internet with no signs of abating. There may be as many as a million web pages with this incorrect interpretation of the Chinese word for crisis.
My take is that it sure was a handy insight, even if misguided and mistaken. I get the distinct impression that this guy is for real and his knowledge of Chinese firmly established. And until I hear otherwise, I will have to search for a better way to face my own crises, even if only linguistic.
To read the whole account as to how a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray, check it out here. It's a good read.
Excerpt: "I first encountered this curious specimen of oriental wisdom about ten years ago at an altitude of 35,000 feet sitting next to an American executive. He was intently studying a bound volume that had adopted this notorious formulation as the basic premise of its method for making increased profits even when the market is falling. At that moment, I didn't have the heart to disappoint my gullible neighbor who was blissfully imbibing what he assumed were the gems of Far Eastern sagacity enshrined within the pages of his workbook. Now, however, the damage from this kind of pseudo-profundity has reached such gross proportions that I feel obliged, as a responsible Sinologist, to take counteraction." ~ Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania
In a crisis, one has to "take the opportunity" to "get out of danger".
ReplyDeleteAnd, then there are "opportunISTS", (also known as "vultures", "ambulance-chasers", "insurance and pharmaceutical companies", "war-profiteers", "defense contractors", "certain government officials", etc., etc.), who somehow, always seem to profit off the victims of danger and disaster.
There's a Chinese word for those folks too, but it's unprintable. Translation is a difficult and tricky proposition. Especially, when sometimes I'm asked to translate over a cell-phone, and it's something that's being translated for some big-shot somewhere, and it kind of HAS to be right.