In Chinese there are several words that refer to "situation". You have probably heard of 情况（Qíngkuàng） which is the most common. This Qing Wen will probe into the situation by discussing similar words such as 状态 （Zhuàngtài），状况 （Zhuàngkuàng），形势 （Xíngshì），情势 （Qíngshì），and 态势 （Tàishì）。