Thread by @thebencheah

You know the old saying that the Chinese word for 'crisis' is composed of the characters for 'danger' and 'opportunity'?

It stems from a literal mistranslation of the phrase.

It's a mistake.

Or is it?

/1

The Chinese word for 'crisis' is 危机.

危 carries the connotation of danger.

机 has a huge variety of definitions, from 'machine' to 'intent' to, yes, 'opportunity'. But here, it means a 'critical point'.

危机 is best read as 'critical point of danger'. /2

Unlike English, Chinese characters cannot be read as individual words.

Every Chinese word influences all others around it. To understand one word, you must understand the entire phrase or sentence.

You cannot break apart words and read them in isolation like in English. /3

Chinese words aren't 'words' at all.

Every character is a logogram. Every radical inside a logogram carries a specific meaning.

A logogram expresses the sum of the meanings of every radical.

A Chinese character carries not a discrete meaning, but a concept. /4

危机 doesn't mean 'crisis' and 'opportunity'.

It cannot be read as two isolated words. It is, instead, two concepts joined together to form a meta-concept.

Therefore, it is more properly meant as a 'critical point of danger'.

However...

Notice the word 'point'. /5

Not 'era'.

Not 'age'.

Not a prolonged period of time.

Only a discrete POINT in time.

What is the deeper connotation of this?

/6

Change is a core component of classic Chinese philosophy.

The Yi Jing holds that the universe is constantly changing, and teaches the practitioner to read how one situation will change into another.

Buddhism teaches that nothing is permanent, that everything changes. /7

危机 means a critical point of danger.

But that point does not last.

It, too, will pass.

The situation will change. The circumstances will change. Everything will change.

Gold and glory go to he who can read and flow with the winds of change. /8

Things may be dangerous now, but they won't be later.

危机 will become 机会.

Crisis BECOMES opportunity.

In every crisis lies the seed of opportunity.

It is up to you to see it and seize it. /9

Let's look at the world right now.

#Covid19. Failure of healthcare systems. Lockdowns. Economic disaster.

Pundits claim the world will never be the same again.

If you cling to the old ways of doing things, you will be swept up and destroyed.

So change. /10

Change with the times.

Pivot away from current danger and towards future opportunities.

In changing yourself you ride the tides of change instead of being swept away by them.

You can't change the world. But you can change yourself to harmonise with the world and times. /11

Crisis becomes opportunity.

Opportunity becomes crisis.

The world is always changing.

Ride the waves of change, or be swept away.

/end