觀

Heres a character thats worth keeping an eye on

“觀”是賞心悅目的美景，也是永不枯竭的好奇心

Gazing at the night sky， wondering how we are related to the vast expanse above， has been a hobby of humans since primitive times. The ancient Chinese viewed the night sky as a reflection of the Earth. It was divided into different sections， each representing a Chinese state or prefecture. Astronomical phenomenon in a particular section of the sky was regarded as a blessing or misfortune in the corresponding area on land. The brightest stars were deemed representations of prominent living figures.

The most important was the “Purple” or Northern Star. Because all the other constellations seemed to revolve around it， the Purple Star was considered the emperors own. Such a notion is behind many of the supernatural plots in the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms， in which strategists view the sky at night to predict military actions， or determine the fate of emperors and generals. The greatest strategist of all， Zhuge Liang， even predicted his own death based on a faded star， making stargazing， or 觀星 （gu`nx～ng）， a life-or-death hobby. Even today， a branch of fortunetelling called “purple star astrology” is still going strong， especially in Taiwan.

Monitoring the night sky was not just for fortunetelling， but an important matter of state. Only the careful observations of the sun， moon， and other planets daily movements could help ancient Chinese to adjust the calendar and carry out agricultural activities accordingly. Therefore， theres nothing supernatural about 觀 （gu`n）， which means to “l(fā)ook， see， watch， or observe.”

The earliest form of the character appeared in oracle bones and later bronze script， resembling a bird （some say an owl） with a pair of huge eyes. To emphasize the meaning， a radical （ji3n， “see”） was added on the right， resulting in its traditional form， . When simplified， it becomes 觀.

Historically， observing the night sky was called 觀星 or 觀象 （gu`nxi3ng）. Imperial astronomers worked from an observatory， or 觀象臺(tái) （gu`nxi3ngt1i）. In Beijings Dongcheng district， the imperial observatory of the Ming and Qing dynasties is now a museum. Monitoring the motion of stars and planets is called 觀測(cè) （gu`nc-， observe and survey， measure）， which can also apply to wind， rain， and general meteorology. More generally， 觀察 （gu`nch1） means “observe.”

Words with 觀 are often related to visuals. For instance， to visit a place is 參觀 （c`ngu`n）， “audience” is 觀眾 （gu`nzh7ng）， a sight or landscape is 景觀 （j@nggu`n）， and “to go sightseeing” is 觀光 （gu`ngu`ng）. And theres a special idiom for the type of sightseeing done by some tour groups： 走馬觀花 （z6um2 gu`nhu`）， which literally means “l(fā)ooking at flowers while riding on horseback”—to gain a superficial understanding through cursory observation. On your tour， if you spy a beautiful view， you can describe it as 美觀 （m0igu`n）； when the sight is particularly magnificent， use 壯觀 （zhu3nggu`n）； when its a view thats so improbable as to be out of this world， call it a 奇觀 （q！gu`n）.

Besides “observe，” 觀 can also be a different kind of watching—“to stand by， not participating.” If you say you are 觀望 （gu`nw3ng）， it means you havent taken any action yet， but are following the development of a situation. The character can have a negative connotation， as in 袖手旁觀 （xi&sh6u; p1nggu`n）， meaning “stand by with folded arms， look on unconcerned.” But sometimes， as suggested in the ancient military text The Thirty-Six Stratagems， it is wise to delay action. The stratagem 隔岸觀火 （g93n gu`nhu6） literally means to “watch the fire burning across the river”—to let all the other parties exhaust themselves fighting， then pick up the pieces.

Observation leads to thoughts and ideas. Therefore， 觀 could also mean “view，” as in 觀點(diǎn) （gu`ndi2n， point of view）， and 觀念 （gu`nni3n， mentality， concept）. When you dont see eye to eye with someone， you can jokingly say you two “dont share the same three views，” or 三觀不合 （s`n gu`n b& h9）. The “three views” refers to views on the world， life， and values （世界觀 sh#ji-gu`n， 人生觀 r9nsh8nggu`n， 價(jià)值觀 ji3zh！gu`n）， notions popularized in China by materialist philosophy. The three views are often invoked when discussing a persons character. If someone says money is the most important thing in life and you disagree， you might say that he or she has “skewed three views” or “三觀不正” （s`n gu`n b% zh-ng）， though most of the time， the phrase is used in a joking manner when arguing among friends.

When it comes to the viewpoints of oneself and others， 主觀 （zh^gu`n， selfs point of view） is subjective， while objectivity is 客觀 （k-gu`n， guests point view）. Along the same lines， optimism is 樂觀 （l-gu`n， happy views）， and 悲觀 （b8igu`n， sad views） is pessimism.

Although observation has increased our understanding about the universe today， we are still quite ignorant because our view is limited， as in the idiom 坐井觀天 （zu7j@ng gu`nti`n）– “observing the sky from the bottom of a well.” Hopefully， the FAST telescope in Guizhou will broaden our view. Who knows but its next discovery could change our entire 世界觀？ From picturing the huge eyes of an owl to understanding the world， 觀 is a word for those who are perpetually curious.

- HUANG WEIJIA （黃偉嘉） AND LIU JUE （劉玨）