A memory popped up when I was re-reading old friend Valerio’s comment of 07 Dec 2015, on my blog Why do we say someone is "ratty" when they're in a temper (London):
Valerio’s comment
QUOTE
Just yesterday I was listening to a radio show where they were talking of "functional medicine" as being the new trend, and this made me think that it may be just traditional Chinese medicine rediscovered...
UNQUOTE
Having a perverse sense of humour, I tend to say outrageous things in the course of my teaching, because it makes students laugh, which leaves a deeper impression, in turn helping them remember the word more easily.
Some 30+ years ago, when I was teaching newspaper (formal register) Chinese, we’d come across constructions such as 进行发展 jìnxíng fāzhǎn / “carry out development”, using 发展 as a noun, when they could’ve used 发展 as a verb. I’d tell the students that Chinese journalists got paid by the word count. Time after time, I’d repeat this joke whenever we came across such usage of language in formal register Chinese. A decade later, a student said she’d read somewhere that Chinese journalists DID get paid by the word count!
Another joke I used to apply to my teaching: in Chinese, one says 心里想 (xīn lǐ xiǎng / "heart inside think”) for thinking something to oneself (“inside the heart”, without saying it aloud). I'd say to the student, "The Chinese heart does all the emotional and intellectual processes. The Chinese brain doesn't do any work.” (I often say outrageous things because it’s more effective as a mnemonic, apart from making them laugh, but it does occasionally go down badly, with some students interpreting it as racist.)
A couple of years ago, I heard a programme on BBC’s Radio 4 saying scientists had discovered the human heart does more than just pumping blood around the body.
So, if it is true that language usage reflects thought/cultural processes, the Chinese must already have known long ago that the heart is in charge of all the intellectual and emotional processes as well.
