More than 50 years after a major overhaul of the way in which Chinese characters are written, a far less ambitious project to simplify just a few dozen characters has sparked huge controversy in China.
The government has put forward proposals to change 44 characters out of the 3,500 most used, or 1.25 percent of the total, “to adapt to the requirements of the information era, the evolution of language and the development of society.”
After eight years of reflection and expert consultations in China and abroad, the education ministry and the State Language Work Committee called on members of the public for their opinions — a first for such a reform.
GRAPHIC: TAIPEI TIMES
The project was not expected to spark any major concerns, with just a few strokes removed from characters here and there.
For example, cha (茶), or tea, would lose a tiny upward stroke at its base — a change that is already noticeable on some shopfronts in Beijing. Xin (新), which means new, would also get rid of its little upward line.
Dissenting voices have run riot, however, particularly on the Internet. Polls by major Web portals or newspaper Web sites show that more than 80 percent of online users are opposed to the project.
They say the reform might only affect a few characters, but these are used often and their modification would have an important impact on dictionaries, school books, signs, publishers ... and the Chinese themselves.
“Chinese characters are a precious part of the cultural heritage left to us by our ancestors thousands of years ago,” one net user in Shandong Province said in a comment posted on sina.com. “We should respect them and protect them, not change them on a whim.”
Liu Jingbo, a calligraphy professional who organizes exhibitions in Beijing, said the changes would not go against the nation’s history.
“Chinese characters come from ancient history, but it is possible to reform them, respecting certain rules, if it helps to make life easier for people,” he said. “A lot of people, such as the elderly, are however opposed to this as they were used to these characters.”
In the 1950s, when the government decided to simplify more than 2,000 characters, the philologist Chen Mengjia (陳夢家) paid dearly for his opposition to this huge reform project.
Accused of being a “rightist” and sent to a labor camp in central China, he subsequently committed suicide in Beijing in 1966 after being subjected to public criticism sessions at the start of the turbulent Cultural Revolution.
Experts say the new controversy highlights strong attachment to the Chinese script — a unifying factor in a country that boasts many languages and dialects.
“Of the first measures taken by the first emperor after he defeated all other kingdoms, the unification of writing was not insignificant,” said Olivier Venture, a Beijing-based researcher for the French School of Asian Studies.
“It is extremely important — it is seen as the bond that unites Chinese culture, as part of the nation’s identity. A lot of things change, but people can always look to writing, even if in fact it always evolves,” he said.
Faced with the surge of protests on the Internet and in the press during the consultation phase in August, the ministry and the commission decided to wait, saying nothing had been decided and that discussions were ongoing.
“We are civil servants — our responsibility is to serve the people, and if the people are opposed, we will not budge,” Li Ningming, an official at the commission, said in comments broadcast on state TV.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS