The first time I read that the Chinese word for ‘crisis’ included components or elements of the words ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’ was in James Lovelock’s ‘Gaia- A New Look at Life on Earth’ over 20 years ago, (see the wiki for Gaia Theory or a review of The Ages of Gaia). I have heard this reference literally hundreds of times since, and I have also perpetuated this idea countless times.
Well, chalk this one up as a fallacy or urban legend!
According to Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania …”crisis” (w?ij?) consists of two syllables that are written with two separate characters, w?i and j?.
The j? of w?ij?, in fact, means something like “incipient moment; crucial point (when something begins or changes).” Thus, a w?ij? is indeed a genuine crisis, a dangerous moment, a time when things start to go awry. A w?ij? indicates a perilous situation when one should be especially wary. It is not a juncture when one goes looking for advantages and benefits.
But j? is mistakenly believed to signify opportunity because j? added to huì (“occasion”) creates the Mandarin word for ‘opportunity’ (j?huì). However by itself j? does not mean ‘opportunity’. If j? can be interpreted as “incipient moment” or “crucial point”, then the j? in ‘opportunity’ can also be a crucial point. So in both j?huì and w?ij? there are crucial points, but there is no ‘opportunity’ found in the Chinese word ‘crisis’.
The problem here is that despite the fallacy, I think that this is such a powerful metaphor to live by!
On the other hand, Mair thinks that this muddled thinking, “is a danger to society, for it lulls people into welcoming crises as unstable situations from which they can benefit. Adopting a feel-good attitude toward adversity may not be the most rational, realistic approach to its solution.”
Although I agree that ‘looking for’ or ‘seeking out’ a crisis in order to find an opportunity is not healthy, (I think here of hostile takeovers as an example), there is an inherent element of ‘good’ in looking for hidden opportunities when you find yourself in a crisis.
“When life feeds you lemons, make (and then sell) lemonade!”
Originally posted: April 2nd, 2006Reflection upon re-reading and re-posting: I spend a lot of time examining and using metaphors in this blog. I think storytelling and the use of metaphors are grossly underused in teaching. The ‘Truth’ behind a story or a metaphor is far less important than the meaning that we can get out of a well-timed example, a colourful description, or an off-the-wall comparison that brings a teachable moment alive. I think it is healthy to see the silver lining in a gray cloud or to look for the opportunities a crisis may present. |