© 2024 Georges Michelson Dupont
© 2024 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| Philosophical and Historical Approach to Quantum Mechanics | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 105 — March 2024 | Differences Between Simplified and Traditional Chinese Characters |
VERSION IN SIMPLIFIED CHARACTERS
VERSION IN TRADITIONAL CHARACTERS.
After 20 years of effort, the Chinese translation into simplified and traditional characters is completed. Each translation has its own story and this one is remarkable in more ways than one.
Like all early versions, these two must be considered as a first draft, especially since the translation of concepts revealed in the Urantia Papers into sinograms or logograms is complicated by the construction of the characters.
Fortunately, Chinese philosophical thought is rich in wisdom dating back thousands of years and possesses, in the way of constructing logograms, all the nuances necessary for the full expression of profound meanings.
¶ History of Chinese characters
(Excerpt from: https://www.lingueo.com/fiche-pedagogiques/les-caracteres-chinois-histoire-signification-utilisaiton-et-exercices-pratiques)
"Chinese characters have a history of over 3,000 years. They were created to represent concrete objects, such as the sun or the moon, and have evolved to include more abstract representations, such as ideas and concepts. The Chinese writing system has been influenced by neighboring cultures, such as Oracle culture and Bronze culture, as well as by exchanges with other cultures, such as Indian culture and Arabic culture.
Over time, Chinese characters have undergone modifications to make them easier to use. Traditional Chinese characters were simplified in mainland China in the 1950s and 1960s, while Taiwan and Hong Kong retained the traditional characters.
It should be noted that the “simplification” of characters, carried out by the Chinese Communist Party in 1950-1960, aimed to “make the majority literate” and to allow access to culture. In doing so, many profound meanings were lost in the simplification process, making translation into simplified Chinese all the more difficult.
Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and among the Chinese diaspora; simplified characters are used in mainland China and Singapore.
¶ THE MEANING OF CHINESE CHARACTERS
“Chinese characters are logograms. This means that instead of being written using the letters of an alphabet, logograms are made up of characters or “pictures” that represent a word. Egyptian hieroglyphs are a good example. Chinese characters have deep meaning. Chinese characters are often created by combining elements that represent objects or concepts. For example, the character “ren” (人) means “person” and is made up of the vertical and horizontal strokes, which represent the head and body respectively.
Some Chinese characters also have cultural significance. For example, the character “fu” (福) means “happiness” and is often used during Chinese New Year celebrations.
¶ AVAILABILITY OF BOTH VERSIONS
Both versions will be posted online on the Urantia Foundation website in March 2024, becoming the 27th translation of The Urantia Book. Thus, nearly 80% of the world’s population will be able to read the revelation in their native language.
Mainland China: In the current state of politics in Mainland China, the simplified version is likely to be tricky because of its religious content. However, depending on the opinion of the simplified Chinese translator, the way it is presented to the public may change the Communist Party’s perception of it. For example, the title “Cosmogony” or “Universal Philosophy” may be more acceptable.
Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora: Some members of the Foundation, including yours truly, will present the two versions of the Chinese translation in Taipei, on the island of Taiwan. The revelation is eagerly awaited by truth seekers and we know that the translator has prepared the “ground” for it to be widely disseminated. A 3-day conference is organized during which we will present, using PowerPoints translated into Chinese, certain concepts that we have been asked to present such as the Thought Adjuster, the Personality, cosmic consciousness or the life of Jesus.
We are expecting just over a hundred participants, from Taiwan, Hong Kong and also from mainland China.
| Philosophical and Historical Approach to Quantum Mechanics | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 105 — March 2024 | Differences Between Simplified and Traditional Chinese Characters |