To Speak about Military Preparedness and Troop Management 講武治兵

In the western part of the central plains, there was once a group called the Qiang people, known for their formidable strength. Their metal-tipped weapons led to the creation of the word Qiang, meaning a spear. Today, we use Shouqiang, or handguns, and those who steal things are called bandits or Qiangdao. If someone speaks with sharp words, opposing and hurting others, it is called Qiang. A strong, irritating smell that stings the nose is called Qiang. And when one chokes on a liquid, it's also called Qiang. Plants with thorns are collectively called Qiangwei. Many prickly roses growing together can form an impenetrable barrier, like a wall, or Qiang. Caterpillars also have many thorns on their bodies. Eventually, they spin silk, form a cocoon, and metamorphose into butterflies. The shape of the silkworm cocoon resembles the swaddling clothes, or Qiangbao, of a human baby. If you break down the character xiang, it contains two characters, both pronounced as mu. One mu means eye, and also belongs to the same elemental family as wood, or the other character mu. So we can say that the character xiang actually contains two eyes. This means that the true xiang, or appearance of something, is not always easily seen and requires careful discernment. The officials who assist the emperor in governing the world are called chengxiang, prime minister. There is zuoxiang, the left prime minister, youxiang, the right prime minister, or simply xiang, just minister. The English word speak is similar to the word spike, which is a sharp object. So the character jiang, which means to speak, carries the idea of using a sharp truth, zhenxiang, to pierce through lies. This embodies the idea that fiery eyes and golden pupils, or huoyan jingjing, can see through falsehoods, or jiaxiang, and help people discern the truth, zhenxiang. Therefore, many words in English that include sp, and then the letters c or k, are related to seeing, such as the words spectacles, perspective, or inspection. You may also notice that the which means strong, and the character for qiang, which means swaddling clothes, both contain a part of the character for chong, or insect. When the silkworm spins silk and forms a cocoon, much like a skilled craftsman, or jiang, metamorphoses into a butterfly inside. Now, if an insect dies, its body becomes rigid, jiang, but usually when it's alive and moving, its body is soft. If you accidentally step on an insect, you may find that its body contains liquid, jiang, which is sticky, much like sauce, or jiang, that people eat. Of course, jiang, or ginger, similarly also contains juice. What brings life to people and nutrients to farmland is the jiang river, which often runs through an entire territory, or jiang. A general, jiang, defends the borders of the territory, jiang. A great general, jiang, who wins battles or defends the borders in the battlefield, jiang chang, often then receives the emperor's jiang, or reward. White lime, or jiang, can be used to paint a wall, a qiang. There's also a saying, xiang niu yi yang, bu zhuang nan qiang, bu hui tou, which means, like an ox not turning back until it hits the southern wall, which refers to someone being stubborn. That's why to control oxen and horses, we need jiang, reins. Whether it be in Chinese chess, or Western chess, each player of the game has two ministers, or bishops, which are also called xiang. The shi xiang, which is that minister or bishop, is placed to the left and to the right of the jiang, or the general, in Chinese chess. In the Western chess equivalent, this means they are placed beside the king and the queen. This leads into another Chinese story called jiang xiang he, or the harmony between the general and the minister. Stay tuned for that story next time. Thanks for watching.