A non-peer-reviewed study of major news outlets shows that despite a historic event taking place, people have very little of substance to say about it.
Interesting observations. Thanks for taking the time to dive into this event the way you did. It sparked my curiosity why would Xinhua choose fight for ζδΊ instead of struggle. I am a complete amateur historian and I might be generous to myself to think I could pass even HSK 3 but it seems the word douzheng is imbued with Maoist philosophical meaning that couldn't be reduced to an idea like mere fighting, unless under the surface Xi Jinping thought is flipping the script on classical Maoism. And further, what could this new meaning mean?
I agree that the choice of translation is weird. It could be that Xinhua were trying to avoid tying the idea of having "the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape" directly to a time when China was more isolated during the Maoist period. It was also a time when China was at odds with the Soviet Union and US, as they were struggling against 'imperialists'. I think it also has a more internal feeling, China was trying to repel invaders and struggle for freedom, if that makes sense.
It could just be a weak translation, though I hesitate to accuse Xinhua of not imbuing every word they write with meaning. Interestingly, in his speech Xi's also translated as saying 'fight', but at the very end of his speech he says "strive to overcome all difficulties", which could also be translated as "have the courage/be brave", so there are many translation choices going on!
What a weird hybrid of political and economic elements China has become in the 21st century. Itβs not exactly anything, not exactly communist , not exactly capitalist, not exactly isolationist, not exactly globalist. All in a time it finds itself being lead by a new great helmsman. Here is an interesting article on the use of the word struggle in the time of Xi. Ok, the use of the word struggle is not the most important takeaway from the recent meetings but itβs just another interesting aspect of the overall tone Xi is setting. https://chinamediaproject.org/2019/09/19/a-new-era-of-struggle/
Thanks for sharing. I agree the idea of struggle isn't the most important thing, but it does serve as an underpinning of Xi's decisions, and definitely gives us some insight into his mindset!
Interesting observations. Thanks for taking the time to dive into this event the way you did. It sparked my curiosity why would Xinhua choose fight for ζδΊ instead of struggle. I am a complete amateur historian and I might be generous to myself to think I could pass even HSK 3 but it seems the word douzheng is imbued with Maoist philosophical meaning that couldn't be reduced to an idea like mere fighting, unless under the surface Xi Jinping thought is flipping the script on classical Maoism. And further, what could this new meaning mean?
I agree that the choice of translation is weird. It could be that Xinhua were trying to avoid tying the idea of having "the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape" directly to a time when China was more isolated during the Maoist period. It was also a time when China was at odds with the Soviet Union and US, as they were struggling against 'imperialists'. I think it also has a more internal feeling, China was trying to repel invaders and struggle for freedom, if that makes sense.
It could just be a weak translation, though I hesitate to accuse Xinhua of not imbuing every word they write with meaning. Interestingly, in his speech Xi's also translated as saying 'fight', but at the very end of his speech he says "strive to overcome all difficulties", which could also be translated as "have the courage/be brave", so there are many translation choices going on!
What a weird hybrid of political and economic elements China has become in the 21st century. Itβs not exactly anything, not exactly communist , not exactly capitalist, not exactly isolationist, not exactly globalist. All in a time it finds itself being lead by a new great helmsman. Here is an interesting article on the use of the word struggle in the time of Xi. Ok, the use of the word struggle is not the most important takeaway from the recent meetings but itβs just another interesting aspect of the overall tone Xi is setting. https://chinamediaproject.org/2019/09/19/a-new-era-of-struggle/
Thanks for sharing. I agree the idea of struggle isn't the most important thing, but it does serve as an underpinning of Xi's decisions, and definitely gives us some insight into his mindset!