![]() ![]() Many Chinese words are used as verb, adjective, noun, or adverb depending on the context in which it is used. This multiple use of the word, tao, is not because it is a special word. Note that these definitions make no reference to any divine being or elevated state of consciousness.įurther note that the word, dào, which we commonly spell Tao, can be used as a noun or a verb or a unique part of Chinese speech called a classifier, which we will deal with later. The simplified dictionary of the book, Read & Write Chinese, provides us with these definitions: The Concise Chinese English Dictionary provides us with these definitions: However, to see what it means for the Chinese reading this symbol, let us look at a Chinese/English dictionary. For Westerners, it is linked with supernatural concepts like Nature, the Buddha, or even God. This Chinese word-concept has been popularized in books like the Tao of Pooh, the Tao of Physics, and the Tao of Computers. ![]() The meaning of the first ideogram is perhaps most familiar to people of the West. Let us translate the three ideograms that make up the title. While these three ideograms mean relatively the same thing to all Chinese, translating them into English, or any other non-East Asian language, is quite another story. For reasons that we will explore presently, we will call these Chinese symbols ‘ideograms’. They are just three of some 40,000 symbols that make up the Chinese written language. No matter what dialect was used, no matter which time period, these symbols had the same meaning. Furthermore with minor variations they have the same meaning or meanings throughout China’s millennia long history. While these symbols have different pronunciations, they have the same meaning throughout the land. Throughout China there are a multiplicity of different pronunciations of these same symbols. Generally in the north of China these symbols are pronounced dào zhóng guó, while in the south of China they are pronounced douh jùng gwok. Here are the characters, which make up my name. This will give you some idea as to the themes we are going to be exploring in the course of our literary journey. To better understand what I’m all about let’s deconstruct the elements of the calligraphy in my name. I prefer the Path of the Internal State or Method of the Inner Kingdom. My name is written in Chinese, which isn’t so easy to translate into English. More importantly I hope my words help to put you on your Path.īefore proceeding forth I would like to introduce myself. I’m hoping that you will come away from our experience together feeling both illuminated and transformed. Thanks for joining me for this little mental adventure. ![]()
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