The Chinese characters, Wei Ji, pictured here, have been popularly used to symbolize “crisis.” They have been popularized in speeches by political figures like President John F. Kennedy addressing international crises, by Vice President Al Gore in speeches on climate change, and by numerous motivational business speakers on grasping opportunity out of dangerous crises.

For example, Kennedy has said:

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger—but recognize the opportunity.”

This is a crucial point for us all to remember. However, the popularization of these crisis characters, while useful in many ways, is technically flawed. In an essay titled, “How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray” (Mair, 2009), Victor H. Mair, a professor of Chinese language and literature, has noted:

“While it is true that wēijī does indeed mean 'crisis' and that the wēi syllable of wēijī does convey the notion of 'danger,' the jī syllable of wēijī most definitely does not signify 'opportunity.' “The jī of........

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