It’s long been bandied about by a lot of very educated people that the Chinese ideogram for crisis is composed of two symbols -  one for danger and one for opportunity. Consultants, trainers, authors and supposed experts have been “championing” the “Chinese perspective” on danger and change based on this conclusion.

Except there is a lot of evidence that it’s simply wrong. Of course there may be differences of opinion on such things, but here’s some information on the topic:

The Chinese word weiji (危機 translated as “crisis”) is often said to be composed of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity”; the implication being that in Chinese culture, a crisis is regarded not merely as a danger, but also as an opportunity. This is a misconception or etymological fallacy. In fact, wei (危) does mean “danger, dangerous; endanger, jeopardize; perilous; precipitous, precarious; high; fear, afraid”, but the polysemous ji (機) means “machine, mechanical; airplane; suitable occasion; crucial point; pivot; incipient moment; opportune, opportunity; chance; key link; secret; cunning”. While the word jihui (機會) means “opportune, opportunity” in modern Chinese, its ji component has many meanings, of which “opportunity” is only one. In weiji (危機), ji means “crucial point”, not “opportunity”.[1]

Origins

Mark Liberman traces the history of weiji in English back to an anonymous editorial in a journal[2] for missionaries in China.[3] The use of the term gained momentum when John F. Kennedy delivered a speech in Indianapolis on April 12, 1959:

When written in Chinese the word crisis is composed of two characters.
One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.[4]

Kennedy employed this trope routinely in his speeches, and it was then appropriated by Richard M. Nixon and others. The usage has been adopted by business consultants and motivational speakers and has gained great popularity in universities and in the popular press.[not specific enough to verify] For example, in 2007, Condoleezza Rice repeated the misunderstanding during Middle East peace talks, [5] and Al Gore did so in testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee,[6] and in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.[7]

There is an undeniable appeal to the misappropriation of weiji.[original research?] It is dramatic in its compression; in two syllables it offers inherent proof of the opportunity hidden within every crisis. This presumed oriental wisdom is used to communicate the inspirational notion that a crisis should be a time of optimism by erroneously deconstructing weiji (crisis) as wei (danger) and ji (opportunity).

Footnotes and references

  1. ^ Crisis” Does NOT Equal “Danger” Plus “Opportunity”: How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray, Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature,University of Pennsylvania
  2. ^ Chinese Recorder (January 1938, “The Challenge of Unusual Times”)
  3. ^ Language Log, March 27, 2007
  4. ^ Remarks by President Kennedy at the Convocation of the United Negro College Fund
  5. ^ Kessler, Glenn. “Rice Highlights Opportunities After Setbacks On Mideast Trip“, The Washington Post, January 19, 2007, p. A14. Retrieved on 2007-12-12. 
  6. ^ Testimony of Honorable Al Gore
  7. ^ Gore, Al (2007-12-10). Al Gore: The Nobel Peace Prize 2007: Nobel Lecture. Nobel Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  8. ^ April 26th, 2006 edition of The A.V. Club
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