It is naive to think that there is a one-to-one equivalency for every word in English and Chinese. There are always the “oddballs” that simply do not have corresponding counterparts in the other language. Even for those that do, their translation varies depending on the context and meaning. One that is particularly perplexing is “感動” {gan3-dong4}.
It may look harmless on the surface but it gets tricky fast. For starters, “我很感動 is “I’m moved/touched”, nothing fancy. “感動我” is “move/touch me”, which is not too bad either. But if you are with us for long enough, you surely have heard “我的感動“, which depending on the context, can be many different things (but certainly not “my move” or “my touch”). This is where we venture into the territory of spiritual jargon. For that, we must first resort to the Bible. Yet behold, there is no straight answer in there either.
So how does the Bible use “感動”? The most memorable example comes from 1 Th 5:19, “不要消滅聖靈的感動“, or “Do not quench the Spirit”. Here, “感動” is implied, which isn’t much help. Another famous example in 2 Ki 2:9, “願感動你的靈加倍地感動我” is “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit”. This is even worse because they don’t even share the same sentence structure. What gives?
It turns out there is no consistent word for “感動” in Hebrew, Greek, or English. When “感動” appears in the Chinese version (CUV), it corresponds to no fewer than ten different sayings in other languages. They largely carry the same meaning, but they do take on many different linguistic forms.
For example, the Spirit can “be at work in Peter“, “come on Azariah“, “come powerfully upon you“, “stir him“, “put into the heart of Titus“, or “put in his mind“. Similarly, anyone can be “in the Spirit“, “by the Spirit“, “through the Holy Spirit“, “have the Spirit of God“, “carried along by the Holy Spirit“, or have their hearts “touched by God“. All of the above, and many others, are translated as 感動 or 被感動 in Chinese.
So, what’s the takeaway? IMO, this calls for interpretation by context where we stop trying to interpret word for word. Rather, we understand the context and use one of the options above to interpret the sentence instead.
A simple sentence such as “他被聖靈感動” can be “He’s moved by the Spirit.” “她被聖靈感動說…” can be “She spoke by/in/through the Spirit, …” “我們大大的被聖靈感動” can be “The Holy Spirit comes powerfully upon us.” Remember every week our pastors end the service with a prayer that mentions “聖靈的感動”. For that one, we do have a proper translation worth remembering, which is “fellowship” or “communion”, found in 2 Co 13:14.
You may have noticed that there is not a single instance in Bible that mentions “我的感動” or any human being’s “感動”. When people say that, they usually mean their inspiration, conviction, what they have received, or what God puts upon their hearts. So we can interpret it as such. Thankfully, there are not many words out there that are as tricky as “感動”. Even for those, each leads to an interesting story that brings more light and depth to the Bible and the languages we use.