Confucius said, "Being firm, resolute, simple and reticent is close to being humane," (Wangdao 21).
子曰：刚，毅，木，讷 近 仁。
zi yue: gang, yi, mu, ne jin ren.
I have decided to share the old Chinese for the analect this week in that it is very short. It doesn't help all that much for me to learn the meaning of the analect in Chinese, even though the old-style language is fun to practice. But I wanted to show how short the Chinese can sometimes look against the English. It's amazing the connotations that the smallest of words have when they're put together, whereas English, as my friends and I have figured out, is full of adjectives. Yet each language conveys the same meanings. I love how language plays a major role in human communication. Sometimes it plays a large role in miscommunication, too. I've noticed, lately, that the more I learn about how to speak in Chinese, the more I speak in both languages. Telling stories constantly, I think at times I hog the limelight. Language is a beautiful tool, but interesting people are interested. So this week, I am going to let others tell their stories in whatever way is comfortable for them, instead of filling up even the quiet moments with my own.
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