Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2020 September 23

= September 23 =

What exactly does "anointment" mean, in the context of US politics?
I quite often see people describe a politician that has been chosen to lead a party or to run for president as having been "anointed". Now, I'm pretty sure they aren't literally pouring oil over them in a religious ritual, so what exactly does this mean in this context? (As far as I can tell, it generally seems to be a pejorative. I would also say it seems to be more used by Republicans to describe Democrats, although here is an example of Sanders using it in reference to Clinton, so that may just be selection bias). Iapetus (talk) 15:07, 23 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Anointing (in the sense of your link) was/is an important component of most Coronation ceremonies in what used to be Christendom and its cultural heirs: it symbolises the Church's official confirmation of God's endorsement of the coronatee (if that's a word). Consequently, it has become a metaphor for the official and/or widespread acceptance of a political candidacy, or even of the planned successor to a non-political position such as CEO of a company.
 * Use of the term in a non-regal context implies a degree of detachment from the possibly over-enthusiastic or less-than-open process that produced the endorsement. Such use is not confined to the US (opines this Brit, who has encountered it locally). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.218.14.46 (talk) 16:39, 23 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Webster says "to choose by or as if by divine election" and "to officially or formally choose (someone) to do or to be something". Bus stop (talk) 16:57, 23 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Anoint is often used 1) when the selection is made by a single person whose choice is not to be gainsaid or 2) when the choice is made with the understanding that the group making the choice is planning on presenting a united support of the person. The first would be like a billionaire choosing the person who will take over his company after his death while the second would be like a political party choosing a candidate.--Khajidha (talk) 17:57, 23 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Wardog -- I believe that the word "anoint" is used most often in U.S. politics as a passive participle, in such phrases as "anointed heir", "anointed successor", etc. The use of the particular word "anointment" (with archaic and royal connotations) by Bernie Sanders was extremely sarcastic, and I doubt whether that form is very commonly used... AnonMoos (talk) 22:19, 23 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Note that "Messiah" and "Christ" both mean "the anointed". Calling a mortal being "anointed" often carries a degree of sarcasm. <-Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots-> 22:38, 23 September 2020 (UTC)
 * In the text of the Hebrew Bible, the word "mashiaH" (the source of "messiah") refers to anointed kings and priests (implying anointed with God's approval), but it does not refer to any kind of world-savior or prophesied apocalyptic savior... AnonMoos (talk) 23:08, 23 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Not in the Bible itself, but it definitely has that meaning in Judaism, specifically in Jewish eschatology. --Lambiam 10:30, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
 * The Biblical text is 1 Kings 1:38, "Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King", See Zadok the Priest. 176.227.136.190 (talk) 15:56, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

I'm curious about a Chinese (most probably) writing
I have a ceramic pot with the following writing on it. I uploaded it to https://ibb.co/ZLntY5S.

Can someone confirm it's Chinese and maybe add some links to its type/style of writing?

Would someone be so kind and either describe the writing or write it down in current Chinese characters? Regards. --Bumptump (talk) 22:44, 23 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Looks like some kind of "grass writing", which can take specialized knowledge to decipher... AnonMoos (talk) 22:58, 23 September 2020 (UTC)


 * It's clear from my perfunctory experiments that available OCRs won't produce anything of value, but do you mean that even a proficient Chinese speaker might not be able to read it? --Bumptump (talk) 23:34, 23 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Yes, grass script is highly stylized and even a native speaker would have a tough time interpreting things. I can make out a couple characters but I'm not quite sure what it says, because the words don't make sense in conjunction with one another. The middle is unambiguously 石棕科, "stone palm family," but that makes little sense. I searched a couple of Chinese poetry sites for different characters but nothing showed up. It would be helpful to know where you got it from; if it's not made in Asia it could very well be a pastiche of random characters just slapped together for aesthetic effect. I also suspect it might be in simplified Chinese (I think I see 时, 构, and 系, which are all simplified), which I feel bolsters the nonsense character theory. I note that about a year ago on Reddit, someone posted about a teacup with the exact same inscription, though the poster mistakenly thought it was Mongolian. The comments there failed to discern anything either.  bibliomaniac 1  5  19:46, 24 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Japanese calligraphy is very similar to Chinese calligraphy, as can be seen here. An expert (which I am not) may be able to tell the two apart. The style of the vase itself may be more telling about its provenance. --Lambiam 10:24, 24 September 2020 (UTC)