A character capable of anything 從猛獸到無所不能

ByHuangWeijia（黃偉嘉）and ChuDandan（儲丹丹） TranslatedbyLiu Jue（劉玉）

Imagineamoderncompanystaffedbythe EightImmortalsfromDaoistlegends，each withdistinctiveandcomplementaryskills.If eversuchacompanywereto exist，itwouldbe unrivaledandunheardof—butnotindescribable. Infact， the Chinesealreadyhave the perfect idiom forsuchacollective：

八仙過海，各顯其能（Baxiānguohǎi，

gexi?n qinéng）， or“Eight Immortals crossing the

sea，eachshowcasingauniqueability.\"This

phrasecomesfromanancientstoryaboutthe

immortals leveraging their abilities （能力 néngli） to cross an ocean. For instance，Han Zhongli， often depicted as a bare-chested man， sailedonabanana-leaffan，whilegoddess He Xiangu rode a magic lotus flower through thewaves.

能力，or“ability，\"isabanalword， butthecharacter能（néng）has fascinating origins.In the bronze scriptsusedmorethan3，000 yearsago，能wasshapedlikea fierceanimal with sharp claws—it originallymeantbear，which we nowwritewithfourdotsunderneath to suggest legs，熊（xiong）.The

In today's workplace， it has implications： a compliment that recognizes your skills and effort while subtly signaling you should carry more load.

character能hassince shed itsassociation with the animal， evolving to mean “ability and\"talent.\"

In modern Chinese， 能 often appears in twocharacterphrases，suchas能力and能耐（nengnai）， tosuggestcapability.Skillsare技能（jineng），while talentis才能（cainéng）.Capablepeopleare能人 （néngrén），while individualswithspecialized skills are能手（néngshou，expert）.

Thereisalsoaseriesofidiomsassociatedwith 能：Apersonwhocanhandleanythingis無所不能 （wusuobunéng），andapersonwhoisaccomplished bothintellectuallyand physicallyis能文善武 （néngwénshanwu），or\"proficientinbothculture andcombat\";能歌善舞（nénggeshanwu）literally means\"good at singing and dancing，\" and is used todescribesomeonelivelyandartisticallygifted.

Aneloquentandpersuasivepersonis能言善辯 （néngyanshanbian），emphasizingthespeaker'slogic anddebateskills.Butasimilaridiom，能說會道 （néngshuo huidao），whichalso means\"articulate，\" stressesthespeaker'scharmandfluency.

能canalsobeaboutpersonal quality.Theidiom 能屈能伸（nengqunéngshen），literallymeaning \"ableto bend and stretch，\"describesresilience， the wisdom to endure hardship when necessary， and the ability to seize opportunity when the timeisright.

Inancient Chinese，能canalso mean people withtalent，andisoftenpairedwith賢（xián， virtuousandtalented）.Inthe1st-centuryBCE Confuciantext Book ofRites（《禮記》），Confucius describedan ideal societyinwhich\"thevirtuous andcapableareappointed（選賢與能xuanxián juneng）\"andhonestyandharmonyareupheld.

Mencius，a4th-centuryBCEConfuciusscholar， putrenewedemphasisonthesameideawhenit cametostategovernance，suggestingthatawise rulershouldletthosewith integrityhold high positionsand thosewithtalent take onimportant roles（賢者在位，能者在職xiánzhézaiwei néngzhézaizhi）.

On the other hand，Daoism-the other major school of ancient Chinese philosophy-points out adownsidetobeingoverlycapable.Thephrase能 者多勞 （néngzhé duoláo），meaning“thosewho can do，do more，\" first appeared in Zhuangzi （《莊子》）， a foundationalDaoist textfromthe 2nd to 3rd centuryBCE. ItreflectstheDaoistidealof“nonaction\"-allowingthingstounfoldnaturallyrather than forcing or interfering.

Butwatchoutifyourbossorcoworkerthrows thisidiomyourway—intoday'sworkplace，ithas implications：acomplimentthatrecognizesyour skillsand effortwhile subtly signaling youshould carrymoreload.

能canbeused inpraise，asin你太能了?。∟i tainéngle！）—“You'reimpressive！\"Butitcanalso haveasarcasticbite：就你能！（Jiuninéng?。癢ell aren’tyousomething？\"Formorenegativewords associatedwith thecharacter， there's低能（dinéng， dim-witted）and無能（wunéng，incompetent）.

Perhapsmostfrequently，能indicatesthatone possessescertainabilities，suchasachildwhocan talk（能說話néngshuohua）orwalk（能走路neng zoulu），oran internationalstudentwhocanspeak Chinese（能說中文néng shuo Zhongwén） or write Chinese characters（能寫漢字néng xié Hanzi）.

Another common use of 能 is to mean “energy’ inthescientificsense，asin能源（néngyuán），which includes電能（dianneng，electrical energy），能 （hénéng，nuclearenergy），太陽能（taiyangneng， solarpower），and more.Intherealmofscience andtechnology，能alsoappearsin智能（zhineng）， meaning\"smart\"or\"intelligent，\"asinsmartphone （智能手機(jī)zhinengshouj），orsmarthome（智能家居 zhineng jiaju）.

Currently，artificial intelligence，or人 能（réngongzhinéng），isfueling fiercecompetition amongdevelopers.Onemightsaytheseinnovators areliketheEightImmortals，individually demonstrating unique talents，butcapable of changingtheworld whentheycometogether.