Solving the riddle of a lost translation

By Chad Swanson ( China Daily ) Updated: 2007-05-29 15:53:40

In English-speaking countries, there is a saying that the Chinese use the same word for "crisis" as they use for "opportunity". It is a saying that has been used in motivational seminars, self-help books, and courses for thinking outside the box. It has been used by John F. Kennedy, Al Gore, Condeleeza Rice, and even entered an episode of The Simpsons.

Solving the riddle of a lost translation I, like many other Westerners, have found the saying to be quite inspiring. It seems to have that wisdom-of-the-ages feel that I like. When difficult times have fallen upon me, I have sometimes thought about the wisdom of the East in order to guide me through.

Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the saying is a myth. I was telling a Chinese lady about my latest dilemma, and I said that I would take inspiration from the traditional Chinese philosophy of seeing a crisis as an opportunity.

Much to my surprise, instead of praising me for knowing China's ancient history and culture so well, she just said the words for crisis and opportunity were completely different.

Her answer was not what I was expecting. I looked at her strangely, and inquired if she was sure. Once more she repeated that not only did she not interchange the two words, but that they were so different that there is no possible way that there could be any confusion between the two. Admittedly, both use the "ji" syllable, however in English both "constipation" and "contest" use the "con" syllable, but that doesn't mean that having trouble going to the toilet is celebrated as some kind of competition.

The revelation was initially quite difficult for me to accept and so I went searching for a second, then third, then fourth opinion. As I kept getting the same answer, I had to conclude that either the Chinese didn't know their own language, or that all those seminars, self-books, and even The Simpsons might be wrong. Grudgingly, I accepted that the latter was probably the truth.

After accepting that the saying was probably based on a myth, I returned to the original lady who had informed me of my mistake.

I explained that it was a very easy saying to believe because Chinese people do seem very capable of turning a crisis into an opportunity.

I even gave an example of a scholar involved in researching organic farming, and how he is benefiting from concerns about food quality standards.

Again, my attempts at conveying an intimate knowledge of Chinese culture failed to resonate with her. I was duly informed that seeing a crisis as an opportunity was quite a negative way of thinking as it implied that a crisis is something that is inherently good, and that Chinese would therefore seek it out. In reality, stability and harmony are far more highly valued.

I had to agree that there seemed to be some wisdom in her answer, and that the saying was more of a reflection of the West than the East.

With that, I conceded that I still had much to learn, and that this grasshopper was a long way off ever becoming a grand sage.

(China Daily 05/29/2007 page20)