The Meaning of Plants (20)

红杏出墙：A spray of red apricot blossom has already stuck out over the wall. It normally means, a woman be unfaithful to her husband.

叶绍翁 was a poet of South Song Dynasty (12/June/1127—19/march/1279). One of his poem游园不值 ‘A not worth travel’ said:

应怜屐齿印苍苔,

I am pity my shoes that stepped on the green moss,

 小扣柴扉久不开。

As I have knocked door of brushwood long but no one answer.

春色满园关不住，

The spring is full the garden, no one could confine it?

一枝红杏出墙来。

 A spray of red apricot blossom has already stuck out over the wall.

Later the film ‘The Adultress / Thérèse Raquin’ translated into Chinese is this红杏出墙

Pic from: http://zsxx.zhedu.net.cn/ebook/stuebook/gushi70/63.jpg

指桑骂槐 point at the mulberry and abuse the locust. It means on the surface that accuse one but in fact abuse another. It first appeared in a novel <金瓶梅词话>（1596）chapter 62.

Another Short History of Linguistics (42)

How to introduce mathematics into language or we may say how to improve our language by mathematics? In fact mathematics had been dwelling the language for long time, even longer than the language itself. In ancient time, before language appeared, people kept records by tying knots. When they read their dairy, they would find some knots there.

 Pic from: http://zkzs123.com/jiaoan/UploadFiles_7278/200707/20070703205245971.jpg

It tell us that in many times, we don’t need to know what we have done but only knowing how many things we have done. For instance, when we are away from home, to buy some goods, normally if you remember the goods, it will easily to make mistake. Such as cabbage, potato, egg, cheese, bread, tissue and paper. But if you remember there are seven item need to be bought, you will made no mistake. In this way, number is regarded as different profile of one’s memory. Of course the ancient Egyptian know this. The ancient Chinese knew this too. So they invented the Eight Diagrams 八卦 as a binary digital system to counting or describing things.

Pic from http://gg.a.5d6d.com/userdirs/7/4/emath/attachments/month_0909/09091110098beff528f51d4b38.png

 For instance they describe a certain organization from starting to the end as seven steps as:

1潜龙勿用；the dragon hiding in deep water – it means that it is not the time for action.

2见龙在田；Saw Dragon in the Fields

3夕惕若厉；from morning to evening the dragon take care about its behaviour.

4或跃在渊；in a hole or hidden place, the dragon can practice or exercise a while.

5飞龙在天；the dragon flying above heaven.

6亢龙有悔；The proud dragon repents itself have shown off too much.

7群龙无首.   No leader among a group of dragons: it means a group of men in a common cause without a leader. The typical example maybe that when Napoleon paid good money to his generals, as they were rich, they didn’t want to fight for him anymore.  

The question is that Chinese didn’t do further study, as what is between 1 and 2, or 2 and 3? Can we get the further detail? While the Greek did, they studied every detail between any points and later get the Limit Theory and calculus.

This problem might come from the tradition of Chinese didn’t allow anyone to question their ancestors. For instance, in the “易经” it said the world started from one, then two, then four then eight. While in the book of “道德经” it said, the world started from one, then two, then three, then everything. Throughout the two thousand years, no one had ever asked a question which one is right 易经or 道德经? If only someone ask this question, the China will have a different result. So I believe if no one challenge the authority in a society, this society will be corrupted easily.

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快刀斩乱蔴. Cut a tangled skein of jute with a sharp knife. It means make a lightning decision like Alexander cut the Gordian Knot. The word was from an emperor 文宣帝高洋（526－559）of the 北齐 Dynasty. His family was a minority shifting Han nation. (As the Han nation was the majority nation of China, many minority wanted to be a member of this nation they don’t need any formalities, just follow the life style of Han nation that will be done.) He was a taciturn man, not handsome in look. When he was young, his father had tested all the sons. He wanted them carding jute. No one can do it, only 高洋 said I can and he cut the jute then groom it neatly. The father was so happy with this son.

When his father died, 高洋’s brother succeed to his father’s position. But one day, this brother; the new master was killed by a slave. Without a legal master, the whole family was threatened, only 高洋 was perfectly calm and collected in commanding the family. He killed the rebel slave and later he usurped the throne of that time.

Later高洋 proved that he was a brave warrior. Once, with one thousand soldiers, he beat an enemy of thirty thousand soldiers. And one day, he ordered one of his general carrying few thousand soldiers to fight with an enemy ten times to his men. This general was so afraid for the job, when 高洋 knew this, he didn’t give him more soldiers but take off half of his man. Finally this general win the battle.    

Another Short History of Linguistics (41)

Another proof of the Chinese geometry had been underdeveloped for a long period is that in ancient Chinese book, there were no unit for area. For instance a kingdom invaded other kingdom, they didn’t say how many square kilometres they had taken but say how many kilometres they had taken. This unit would be meaningless when counting land. As for the time, we have talked about the Seven-Steeps-Poem that is composing a poem within seven steeps, yet how long a step would be, what if he make filibuster? No one asked.

The ancient Chinese people had overconfident about their expressing system. They thought their character was the perfect one and no one doubt it. In this way they start discussing something out of writing symbols.  During the time of魏晋南北朝（220—589）the scholars and intellectuals loved to talking about得像忘言，得意忘像; that means: once we get the image, then we can forget the language and once we get the real meaning, we can forget the image too. But what if we get a wrong image? As above we have talked about plenty wrong image in the mind of ancient Chinese, do we still get the real meaning?

I believe the problem of pictogram is that with overconfidence, they

Didn’t get a right image of what they expressed.  And this overconfidence blind their eyes.

Many years ago Dr. Joseph Needham had asked a question: why didn’t science rise in China? I think this is the answer.

Now let’s make a summary. That at the beginning people believe that pictogram was connecting with the real world directly, for every symbol came from the nature. The ancient Greece worried about it as being an alphabetic language. When Thales faced this question, he decided using mathematics to overthrow the authority of pictogram. Pythagoras supported his master but they failed to do it, yet during this process they found the science for the human kind. Or we may say, when the pictogram language didn’t know what the correct image is as they indulge in self-delusion about their direct picture system, the alphabetic language was studying how to find the correct image.

But I believe that in the end, the world will still go back to pictogram language. Because the pressure of the increasing quantity of information. And although mathematics is a good assistance to help us to know the true image, yet it could note replace language. Another issue is that before pictogram language accept by peoples of all the world again, they have to introduce mathematic idea into it. 

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顺藤摸瓜 follow the vine to get the melon. It means following a certain clue we can find out the result. This word is normally appeared in detective stories.

 叶落归根  Falling leaves settle on their roots  . It means a person residing elsewhere may finally return to his ancestral home.

Pic from: http://zdgh.zju.edu.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=4418

披荆斩棘Break open a way through bramble and thistle. Imaging that you lost in jungle, you have to use knives or axes to cut out to get through. It means in your front, there are many difficulties, and you find out a way to over thrown it, similar Alexander cut the Gordian Knot.

Pic from: http://img1.cache.netease.com/catchpic/8/8F/8FBD67AD9AA92102BE70D23783C714CD.jpg

Another Short History of Linguistics (40)

For the mainland China, in recent year, without mathematic culture, the architecture can only develop the exterior decorations of other’s design. The Bird’s Nest of 2008 Beijing Olympic Game gave us a very good example for this. The saddle surface was copy The Peace and Friendship Stadium opened in 1985 of Greece.

Pic from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_and_Friendship_Stadium

Yet the designer felt shame to do this, they put some exterior decorations for fig leaf.

 Pic from: http://www.ticket2010.com/uploadfile/201235212735.jpg

Another building Water Cubic did the something, the frame was plainer than Birds Nest, but put bubbles for the exterior decoration.

Pic from: http://www.10000xa.com/UploadFiles/2010-12/qingzhilv/BJ/%E9%B8%9F%E5%B7%A2%20%E6%B0%B4%E7%AB%8B%E6%96%B94.jpg

We have said that the East Asia have so many good looking buildings, only if translate them into the geometric language they will be great buildings. But today’s Chinese loved to copy the building of other cultures. This phenomenon is testing an idiom of China 邯郸学步。

The story said: Once upon a time, an idling man lived in 寿陵, people called him as superfluous of 寿陵. One day, he heard that the walking style of people lived in 邯郸 was the best one in the world. So he went there to learn their walking style. After one year, he didn’t get it but forgot his own walking style. How he returned home, but by creeping.

The Meaning of Plants (17)

負荊請罪，bring a birch on one's back and ask for punishment. During the time of War States, there were many kingdoms in China. Among them, 秦Qin was the superpower. (The first emperor 秦始皇Qin Shi Huang was from this kingdom). One day the king of Qin heard that the king of Zhao got a famous jade 和氏璧.  So the Qin king sent a message to the Zhao king that he wanted to exchange that jade with fifteen towns. It left the Zhao king a big problem. For if he refused Qin’s offer, Qin might have an excuse to start a war with him and if he accepted this offer, he knew the Qin might only take the jade but didn’t pay the fifteen towns.

One of the Zhao’s officer said, “I have a staff named 蔺相如, who can deal with the problem for us.”

The king said, “How you know that?”  

The officer said, “I know it, for once I have done a big mistake to you. I am so scared and I was trying to escape to the kingdom of Yan 燕. 蔺相如 told me, ‘how you know that the Yan king will accept you?’ I said ‘Once I have followed our king to see Yan king, he hold my hand and told me that he want to be my friend.’ 蔺相如 said ‘At that time, you are the favourite officer of our king, so he said this. Once you escaped to there, he dared not to keep you but tie you and send you back. I advise you don’t escape but tell the truth to our king and he will forgive you.’ I did what he said and you forgave me.”

Listen to this, the Zhao king accepted 蔺相如 as his envoy to bring the jade to Qin. When the Qin king got the jade, he was so happy and talked to his men and women about how beauty it was and left蔺相如 alone, never talking one word about the fifteen towns. 蔺相如 said, “Your majesty, there is a flaw on the jade, let me point out for you. ” So the Qin king returned the jade to蔺相如. When he got it back, 蔺相如 said, “Your majesty, I am only a normal person yet I have trust you and come here. As a king why don’t you keep your words? Don’t you afraid that people may say you are a coward? If you break your words about the fifteen towns, I will break this jade and died in front of you.”

The Qin king had no choice but returned him back with the jade.

 Pic from: http://image2.sina.com.cn/dongman/2004-01-09/U54P55T4D15550F50DT20040109004728.jpg

Later Qin did start a war with Zhao, and killed twenty thousand soldiers of Zhao. The next year Qin king told Zhao king that he wanted to be friend with Zhao king. But the two king had to meet at the border of their kingdoms.

At the meeting the Qin king asked Zhao king to play a music instrument called 瑟se for him and then he ordered his history officer wrote that date Zhao king had played 瑟 for the Qin king. It was an insult for the Zhao king, then蔺相如 stood up and asked Qin king to play another music instrument called 缶fou for the Zhao king at the point of the sword and ordered the history officer wrote that date Qin king had played 缶for Zhao king.

When they returned home, the Zhao king assigned 蔺相如 the highest rank of officer. It enraged an old general廉颇, he said “I have fought for the country so many years and I didn’t get the position, he didn’t fight in any war, does he deserve it? I will insult this蔺相如 as he dared accept a position in my front.” Hearing this, 蔺相如 always avoided to see廉颇. Someone asked 蔺相如, “Are you afraid of 廉颇? Why you always avoid him?”

蔺相如 said, “Do you think Qin king and廉颇, who is the more dangerous one? I am not afraid of the Qin king, why am I afraid of 廉颇?”

“If you aren’t afraid of him, why you always avoid him?”

蔺相如 said, “The Qin king dare not invade us because he know we are a united kingdom, once he know we have an infighting, he will defeat us.”

Hearing this the old general廉颇 felt sorry and he bearing birch on back to seeking forgiveness of蔺相如.

Pic from: http://www.hwjyw.com/jxyd/yjyl/cy/200909/W020090914323692341666.jpg