A follow-up on language imperialism.
Existence necessitates thinking; and language controls thought. It is through language that communication is facilitated. It has been said that language is the mirror of thought. But as visual images are distorted by mirrors, thoughts are molded by language. Even the most accurate mirror does violence to the symmetry of its reflection. Why does a mirror turns an image right to left and not upside down as the lens of a camera does? The scientific answer is that a mirror image transforms front to back rather than left to right as commonly assumed. Yet we often accept this aberrant mirror distortion as uncolored truth and we unthinkingly consider the flawed reflection in the mirror as a perfect representation. Similarly, we reflexively accept as exact fidelity the encrypted labels assigned to our thoughts by the distorting mirror of language. Such habitual faulty acceptance is consequential because it is through language that ideas are transmitted and around language that culture develops.
As with other languages and cultures, Chinese thoughts are cerebrally ingrained with cultural concepts that have been molded by millennia of distorting linguistic conditioning. Among the most powerful and deep-rooted concept in Chinese thought is that of yin/yang (female/male) as diametrical opposites in the fundamentals of all in life. Ad verbum, these two simple characters denote a rather benign notion of negative/positive relationship. The bipolar extremes in this symbiotic duality professedly represent mere equal opposites that innocuously constitute a balanced and harmonious existence. Yet, the psycho-cultural interpretations of this elemental concept of unified duality are based on complex and thought-controlling semantics. In Chinese semiology, yin implies weakness, coldness, darkness, mystery, illegitimacy and evil, while yang implies power, warmth, brightness, openness, legitimacy and good. Unfairness is expressed in Chinese as yingong (female success). Treachery is expressed as yindu (female poison). Devious intrigue is expressed as yinmou (female scheming). Even an overcast sky is referred to as yintian (female sky).
The concept of yin/yang dualism permeates every major school of Chinese philosophy. One branch places so much importance in this relationship that it names itself Yin/Yang School (Yin Yang Jia). This school of philosophy, an offshoot of Daoism (Dao Jia), views the universe in terms of yin/yang principles. This all-encompassing duality involves infinite combinations of wuhang (five elements): metal, wood, water, fire and earth, considered as the fundamental ingredients for all matter. It is the Chinese counterpart of Aristotle's theory that the universe is made of four elements: earth, air, fire and water, and acted upon by forces of gravity and levity.
As time passes, specifics of these theories of bygone times would be rendered wanting by new knowledge. But while particular outmoded details are discredited, the myth that existence is governed by guiding principles remains unchallenged. As human understanding of the meaning of life becomes more sophisticated, more current interpretations of the principles governing the workings of life would replace outmoded ones, but the search for and the reliance on valid guiding principles would continue unheeded.
To the Chinese mind, yin is necessary to yang in life, but only as the devil is necessary to god in theology, or as bad is the cognitive opposite of good in philosophy. The female is considered as being not just biologically inferior, but also as conceptually secondary. In Chinese culture, a woman aspiring liberation needs to combat not only established male-dominated socio-economic and cultural-political institutions, but she also must rebel against a deeply rooted psycho-consciousness imbedded by an intensely sex-biased language. This is probably true for most cultures, but Chinese culture ranks among the top in this dubious honor. Chinese words composed with feminine hieroglyphic roots include: nu (slave), jian (treachery), wang (irrationality), du (envy), fang (obstruction) and lan (greed).
It would not be an exaggeration to hypothesize that the introduction of linguistic sex equality would demolish the fundamental structure of Chinese language, rendering it incapable of expressing abstract thought, particularly those dealing with concepts of evil. The French, whose appreciation of the fair sex is unsurpassed, must have acquired their exquisitely gallant insights from their elegant language which assigns a feminine gender to abstract nouns such as la victime and la civilization.
Now K, are you not glad that you are not a Chinese woman?
As I begin to understand more about your thought process through your postings, granted still just a quick glimpse, I feel compelled to make some friendly suggestions.
Oppressors have centuries of experience with the strategy of divide and rule. Oppressors delight in exploiting the idocyncratic differneces between the victims of oppression to stir up in-group fighting, thus deflecting attention to the true enemey, and neutralizing effective challenge to institutional oppression. Oppressors institutitonalize oppression to make it invisible or seem natural and mask it with individual exeptions and even occasional personal fairness. Oppressors shed crocdile tears and blame fate for life's unfairness and imperfection. Oppressors offer religion and philosophy as anesthetics while they piously blame the victims. The oppressed should focused on the true enemy and adopt the strategy that all enemeies of my true enemy are my friends. Focus your aim and unite all that can be united in your noble cause.
Henry C.K. Liu