A N A L Y S I S A N D A S S E S S M E N T .
PhD
School o f O rie n ta l and A fric a n S tudies D epartm ent o f East Asia
b y
Jtirgen Ludwig Grotz
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ABSTRACT
The p u rpo se o f th is s tu d y is to analyse and assess Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im paired p e rson s.
The s tu d y p ro v id e s a ge ne ra l d e s c rip tio n o f th e Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t, th e re fo rm o f Chinese language and th e re fo rm o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t. I t re v ie w s past and co n te m p o ra ry Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im paired persons and g ive s a g e ne ra l d e s c rip tio n o f th e c u r r e n t ly used Chinese w r itin g system s f o r v is u a lly im paired p e rson s.
The d iffe r e n t Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d persons are d iscussed and th e n a tu re o f th e re la tio n s h ip betw een speech and w r itin g in Chinese is ta ke n in to a cco un t. The d is c u s s io n concludes th a t change to th e e x is tin g w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d persons is e sse n tia l in o rd e r to p ro v id e fo r the f u ll and equal p a rtic ip a tio n of v is u a lly im paired p e rsons in Chinese society and c u ltu re .
The th e o re tic a l p o s s ib ilitie s fo r achievable and w o rth w h ile im provem ents to the system s are assessed. The assessment is set in a w id e r co n te xt b y ta k in g in to account developm ents in o th e r so cie tie s, n o ta b ly Japan and Korea, w here th e re are s im ila ritie s in problem s associated w ith n o n -a lp h a b e tic s c r ip ts . Developments in com m unications and com puter te ch n o lo g y and th e ir re la tio n s h ip to v is u a lly im p a ire d u se rs are also co n sid e re d .
The re s u lts o f fie ld re s e a rc h conducted in C hina, Hong Kong, Taiwan and B rita in are used to p u t these assessments in to p e rs p e c tiv e . The fie ld re se a rch c o n s titu te d a p ilo t s tu d y since no p re v io u s such stu d ies had been made. I t was concerned w ith v is u a lly im pa ire d u s e rs ' p e rc e p tio n s o f Chinese s c r ip t and Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rson s.
The th e sis o f th is w o rk is th a t s ig n ific a n t im provem ents could be b ro u g h t a bout b y c h a n g in g Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rs o n s . Key issues f o r such im provem ents are id e n tifie d and a fra m e w o rk fo r change is e s ta b lis h e d . To illu s tr a te the fra m e w o rk and the issues w hich m ig h t a ris e in its im ple m e ntatio n 1000 Chinese c h a ra c te rs have been encoded w ith B ra ille sym bols b u t no a tte m p t has been made to achieve a com prehensive e n cod in g. This could and should be le f t to bodies in China, e n tru s te d w ith th e d e ta ile d e la b o ra tio n and p ra c tic a l im plem entation of the changes.
Acknow ledgm ent page
In tro d u c tio n page
C hapter 1 Chinese s c r ip t page
1.1 Fundam entals o f Chinese c h a ra c te r
s c r ip t and Chinese c h a ra c te rs page 1.2 The p o litic a l im po rta n ce and s e n s itiv ity of
changes in la n g u a ge , w r itin g and s c r ip t in China d u rin g th is c e n tu ry page 1.3 The th re e main aspects o f p la n n in g w ith
w ith re g a rd to lan g u a ge , w r itin g and s c r ip t in th e People's R epublic o f China page 1.4 R ep re se n ta tion o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs page
C hapter 2 W ritin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rsons page 2.1 Communication system s fo r v is u a lly
im pa ire d persons page
2.2 A s h o rt h is to r y o f Chinese w r itin g system s
fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d persons page 2.3 Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly
im pa ire d persons page
2.3.1 Chinese P honetic B ra ille in the
People's R epublic of China page
2.3.2 Chinese P honetic B ra ille in Taiwan page 2.3.3 Chinese P honetic B ra ille in Hong Kong page 2.3.4 Chinese P honetic B ra ille in S ingapore page 2.3.5 F u tu re Chinese P honetic B ra ille in page
th e People's R epublic o f China
2.3.6 R e p re se n ta tion of sp e c ia lis t s c rip ts page 2.3.7 Chinese C h a ra cte r B ra ille in Japan page 2.3.8 Chinese C h a ra cte r B ra ille in Korea page 2.3.9 Chinese C h a ra cte r B ra ille in Hong Kong page 2.3.10 A d a p ta tion s and A r tific ia l In te lig e n c e page
C ha p te r 3 D iscussion page 91
C hapter 4 Field -re s e a rc h page 110
4.1 M ethodology page 111
4.2 P erce ptio n s of Chinese P honetic B ra ille page 120 4.3 P erceptions o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs and the
p o s s ib ility o f le a rn in g them page 124
4.4 Knowledge of Chinese c h a ra c te rs page 127
4.5 P e rce ptio n o f Chinese C h a ra cte r B ra ille page 133
4.6 Choice page 138
4.7 The e ffe c t o f co m p u te risa tio n page 148
4.8 The decession m aking process page 149
4.9 C ritic a l re fle c tio n on the chosen m ethods page 153
4.10 Summary page 154
C ha p te r 5 Chinese C h a ra cte r B ra ille P ro to ty p e 2 page 159
5.1 V e rb al id e n tific a tio n page 160
5.2 U n d e rly in g p rin c ip le s of the system page 166
5.3 Choice o f medium page 169
5.4 Eules fo r the c re a tio n o f c h a ra c te r codes page 171 5.5 The a rg u m e n t fo r fre q u e n c y page 175 5.6 The choice o f codes and p ra c tic a l
im plem entation page 178
5.7 D iscussion o f the system page 201
C ha p te r 6 Summary and conclusion page 214
B ib lio g ra p h y page 222
A pp en d ix page 249
Technical Notes
1.) Chinese P honetic T ra n s c rip tio n
F or th e tra n s c r ip tio n o f Chinese names and te rm s, h a n y u p in y in , the o ffic ia l p h o n e tic tr a n s c r ip tio n of the People's R ep u b lic of China, w ill be used in th is s tu d y , unless in d ic a te d o th e rw is e , (see te c h n ic a l notes on b ib lio g ra p h y ).
2.) Chinese c h a ra c te rs
Chinese c h a ra c te rs w ill be used in the te x t:
— when a Chinese w ord o r name is used in th e te x t fo r th e f i r s t tim e,
— i f th e y a re needed fo r the com prehension o f q uoted o r tra n s la te d p a rts .
Chinese c h a ra c te rs w ill be used in the b ib lio g ra p h y :
— to re fe re n c e Chinese w o rk s .
Chinese c h a ra c te rs w ill be used in the a p p e n d ix:
— fo r a ll m a te ria l w hich was p ro du ce d and used in Chinese.
3.) J ia n tiz i. fa n tiz i and m issing c h a ra c te rs .
The Chinese co m p uter system used fo r th is th e sis is E.T. 1.60. The system o r ig in a lly p ro v id e s fa n tiz i b u t is e q uip p ed w ith a separate fo n t fo r jia n tiz i. I t was in te n d e d to w rite a ll Chinese c h a ra c te rs in th is th e s is as jia n tiz i. T echnical problem s made i t necessary to use fa n tiz i in th e w r itte n te x t page 1 to page 248 b u t, jia n t iz i could be and are used in th e a p p e n d ix . The jia n t iz i p ro v id e d b y E.T. do n o t alw ays f u lly com ply w ith the re g u la tio n s in th e P.R.C. F u rth e rm o re the fo n t fo r fa n tiz i and th e fo n t fo r jia n t iz i d id n o t p ro v id e a ll re q u ire d c h a ra c te rs . Where c h a ra c te rs are m issing due to th is te c h n ic a l problem th e p o s itio n is m arked w ith a * follow ed b y a s u p e rs c rip t n u m be r (fo r example: * 1)*
The m issing c h a ra c te rs are p ro v id e d in h a n d w ritin g u n d e r th e heading
" M issing c h a ra c te rs " in th e a p p e n d ix, o rd e re d a c c o rd in g to the num bers w h ich fo llo w th e a s te rik s .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the course of th is re s e a rc h I have accum ulated d e b ts to num erous colleagues, fr ie n d s , fa m ily members and associates.
F o r p ro v id in g fin a n c ia l assistance I w ish to th a n k :
The C u ltu ra l and E d u catio n a l F oundation fo r the B lin d R.O.C., Bund d e r K rie g s b lin d e n D eutschlands e.V.,
The F o rio n g Endowment S c h o la rs h ip , The U lv e r s c r o ft F o u n d a tio n ,
my w ife and my p a re n ts .
F o r s u p p o rtin g me d u rin g my fie ld -re s e a rc h in in n u m e ra b le w ays, sometimes even accommodating me in t h e ir own homes, I w ish to s p e c ia lly th a n k Klaus K ru g e r, Bonnie Lee, P eiyan, Zhi Qiang, Xiao Yi, Xu Lao, Y u q in , Hai Yusen and Zhao Baoqing.
I have developed fe e lin g s o f frie n d s h ip and re s p e c t fo r many o f those who I met u n d e rta k in g my re se a rch and I w ish to th a n k e v e ry b o d y who p a rtic ip a te d o r a s s is te d . I w ant to th a n k a ll the o rg a n is a tio n s w here I u n d e rto o k my re s e a rc h and the men and women who made it possible fo r me to get such a u n iq u e in s ig h t in to th e d a ily liv e of these o rg a n is a tio n s .
I w ould also lik e to th a n k the colleagues and fr ie n d s who read d ra fts fo r th e ir v a lu a b le s u g g e s tio n s . Special th a n k s go to D r. David B ennet, D r M ichael T o b in, N in g li Skeel, S ally Hughes and P. T 'u n g .
F or h is c o n s ta n t encouragem ent, la b o rio u s re a d in g and u n d e rs ta n d in g my deep th a n k s go to my s u p e rv is o r P ro fe s s o r Hugh B aker.
To K r is tin , my p a r tn e r and w ife , th a n k s fo r e v e r y th in g , w hich is more th a n I could p o s s ib ly lis t .
While be in g th o ro u g h ly in d e b te d to a ll m entioned above and many more, I rem ain o f course th e o n ly one re s p o n s ib le fo r any m istakes in the fo llo w in g w o rk .
FOR HANNI
In tro d u ctio n
This s tu d y o rig in a te d fro m ju s t one, v e ry sim ple, q u e s tio n . "What w r itin g system fo r v is u a lly im paired persons is used in China?" The a tte m p t to a nsw er th is q u e s tio n led to the d is c o v e ry th a t no in fo rm a tio n was a va ila b le in the West on w hat system s were in use in China and th is fe d th e d e s ire to make a va ila ble to th e W estern re a d e r a com prehensive d e s c rip tio n o f Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rso n s. W hilst seeking th e sources f o r such a d e s c rip tio n , a p ro ble m , so fa r a p p a re n tly u n to u c h e d , began to em erge. In th e a tte m p t to a d dre ss th is problem i t became e v id e n t th a t sometimes a s u b je c t is so u n iq u e , a problem so u n to u c h e d , th a t in o rd e r to a d dre ss such a s u b je c t and d iscu ss such a pro ble m , science has to r e tu r n to its v e ry b a sis, the d e s ire to le a rn and o b serve and th e pow er o f reason. This s tu d y is u n d e rp in n e d b y th is fa c t, e sp ecia lly in as much as i t can dra w v e ry lit t le on p re v io u s w orks and in as much as the s tu d y its e lf has become p a r t o f th e developm ents i t o b s e rv e s . The problem w hich emerged concerned th e re la tio n s h ip betw een Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t and c u r r e n t ly used Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im paired persons and i t was to become the c e n tre of th is th e s is .
The p u rp o s e o f th is s tu d y is th e re fo re to analyse and assess Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im paired p e rso n s. The main ta s k is to c la r ify the re la tio n s h ip betw een Chinese s c r ip t and Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d persons and to d iscu ss th e im p lic a tio n s o f th is in o rd e r to overcome an a m b ig u ity w h ic h has existed and rem ained a p p a re n tly u n q u e s tio n e d fo r more th a n a c e n tu r y . The s tu d y
a tte m p ts th is n o t o n ly in o rd e r to p ro v id e th e W estern re a d e r w ith a com prehensive o v e rv ie w o f Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d u se rs b u t in o rd e r to s ta r t to elim inate th e d is c rim in a tio n a g a in s t v is u a lly im pa ire d persons w hich re s u lts fro m th e re la tio n s h ip betw een Chinese s c r ip t and c u r r e n tly used Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rso n s. The s tu d y th e re fo re la y s the fo u n d a tio n fo r w hat should become a c o n tin u in g fie ld of re s e a rc h .
In the West docum ents a b ou t Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rson s are s c a tte re d and scarce and w ith v e ry fe w , and alm ost in s ig n ific a n t, exceptions th e s u b je c t has n o t been d iscussed a t a ll. In China its e lf docum ents are u s u a lly a va ila b le a t specialised schools fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d persons b u t no com prehensive docum ented d is c u s s io n o f th e system s was fo u n d . A w id e -ra n g in g search of sources, m ainly in C hina, enables the s tu d y , h o w e ve r, to re v ie w past and c o n te m p o ra ry Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im paired persons and to place th is issue in to a w id e r c o n te xt of re la te d d is c u s s io n s .
China has an estim ated p o p u la tio n o f 7.5 m illio n v is u a lly im paired p e rso n s. More th a n 80% o f them liv e in r u r a l areas and the m a jo rity are e ld e rly . P ro v is io n s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rson s are available m ostly in u rb a n areas. A bout 3% - 10% o f v is u a lly im p a ire d c h ild re n o f school age re c e iv e educa tio n o f some s o rt.
T h is s tu d y b e g in s b y e x p la in in g th e fu n d a m e n ta ls o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t in g e n e ra l and th e c h a ra c te ris tic s o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs in p a r tic u la r . The p o litic a l im p o rta n ce and s e n s itiv ity o f changes of la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t in C hina a re illu s tr a te d and d is c u s s e d . This is set in a w id e r c o n te x t b y d is c u s s in g o th e r form s o f com m unication w here Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t is coded and tra n s m itte d .
F o llo w in g th is , a b r ie f in tr o d u c tio n in to com m unication system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rso n s is g iv e n . The w r itin g system f o r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rs o n s w ith w h ic h th e th e s is is p re d o m in a n tly co n cern e d is id e n tifie d and e x p la in e d . T his system is B ra ille s c r ip t. The s tu d y th e n g iv e s a b r ie f h is to r y o f Chinese w r itin g system s f o r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rs o n s . Due to r e s tr ic tio n s o f tim e and a v a ila b ility o f re s o u rc e s th is s tu d y c o n c e n tra te d its search o f h is to ric a l sources on th e M ainland and a f u r t h e r search f o r h is to ric a l sources in Hong Kong and Taiwan is p ro p o s e d . The s tu d y does p ro v id e a d e s c rip tio n o f th e Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rsons w h ic h a re c u r r e n t ly used in the People's R ep u b lic o f C hina, Taiwan and Hong Kong and o f th e system w h ic h is su g g e ste d fo r im m ediate im p le m e n ta tio n in th e People's R ep u b lic o f C hina. Q uestions c o n c e rn in g Chinese w r it in g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rs o n s a re placed in a w id e r c o n te x t b y in tro d u c in g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d persons fro m o th e r c o u n trie s w h ich enable them to com m unicate in Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t.
A fte r th is in tr o d u c tio n to Chinese s c r ip t and Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rso n s th e s tu d y e xplores th e im p lic a tio n s o f the
re la tio n s h ip betw een them . F or th is the term s e q u a lity , lite r a c y and illite r a c y are d e fin e d . The conclu sion o f th is e x p lo ra tio n makes it im p e ra tiv e to d iscu ss p o s s ib ilitie s fo r re p re s e n tin g Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t w ith a w r itin g system fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d u s e rs . The s tu d y discusses such o p tio n s in o rd e r to e s ta b lis h the p o te n tia l fo r re fo rm .
The s tu d y th e n p re s e n ts the re s u lts o f fie ld re s e a rc h u n d e rta k e n in o rd e r to in v e s tig a te th e p e rc e p tio n s o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs and its re p re s e n ta tio n s b y u se rs o f w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rsons in C hina. This is done in o rd e r to a d dre ss the la c k o f a va ila ble d a ta as w ell as in o rd e r to te s t th e h y p o th e s is contained in th e p re v io u s d is c u s s io n .
The s tu d y concludes w ith a p ra c tic a l su g g e s tio n to overcome the fu n d a m e n ta l problem ra is e d d u rin g th e p re c e d in g d is c u s s io n . The p ra c tic a l s u g g e s tio n in v o lv e s the encoding o f 1000 Chinese c h a ra c te rs in B ra ille .
T his s tu d y hopes to c o n trib u te to e ffo rts concerned w ith the a b o litio n o f problem s w h ic h are cre a te d b y the re la tio n s h ip o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t and Chinese w r itin g system s fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rso n s.
C hapter 1 Chinese s c rip t
In th is c h a p te r th e fu n d a m e n ta ls o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t in g e ne ra l and th e c h a ra c te ris tic s o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs in s p e c ific a re e xp la in e d . A fte r th is th e p o litic a l im p o rta n ce and s e n s itiv ity o f changes o f la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t in China a re illu s tr a te d and th e ir im pa ct on th e s u b je c t o f th e th e s is is d is c u s s e d . F in a lly th is is p u t in to a w id e r c o n te x t b y d is c u s s in g o th e r fo rm s o f tr a n s m ittin g w r itin g in Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t .
1.1 Fundam entals of Chinese ch aracter s c rip t and Chinese characters Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t is based on 'Chinese C h a ra c te rs '. Chinese c h a ra c te rs a re w r itte n o r p r in te d in such a way so th a t each takes up th e same am ount o f space and an em pty space is placed betw een each c h a ra c te r. Chinese c h a ra c te rs can e a s ily be w r itte n in b o th v e r tic a l and h o riz o n ta l lin e s . They can also be w r itte n e ith e r fro m le f t to r ig h t o r fro m r ig h t to le f t. Each Chinese c h a ra c te r has a u n iq u e fo rm and is , w ith v e r y few e xce p tio n s, p ro n o u n ce d as one s y lla b le . A Chinese c h a ra c te r re p re s e n ts th e sm allest in d iv id u a lly m e a n in g fu l lin g u is tic u n it in C hinese, th e m orphem e. In N o rth e rn Chinese th e re a re 413 d iffe r e n t s y lla b le s p ro n o u n c e d in 4 d iffe r e n t tones. S ylla b le s can, h o w e v e r, also a p p e a r w ith o u t a d is tin g u is h in g tone. In a s ta n d a rd hand b o o k on China i t is q u o te d th a t 1338 p h o n e tic u n its (s y lla b le and tone) a re a c tu a lly used (L a d s t£ tte r, 1974: 1274). The n u m b e r o f d if fe r e n t c h a ra c te rs used in a te x t depends on th e n a tu re o f th e te x t and th e time when i t was w r itte n . T a k in g m odern C hinese, fo r example, a to ta l o f fe w e r than 10,000 d if fe r e n t Chinese c h a ra c te rs seem to be in r e g u la r use.
C o n s id e rin g th e whole o f Chinese w r itte n w o rk s , i t is estim ated th a t th e re a re betw een 50,000 and 60,000 c h a ra c te rs and in c lu d in g v a ria tio n s o f these even up to 74,000 Chinese C h a ra c te rs (H uang, 1989: 51) A c h a ra c te r may be polysem ous and may have more th a n one p ro n u n c ia tio n . Given th e n u m b e r o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs and th e nu m be r o f p h o n e tic u n its i t is c le a r th a t many c h a ra c te rs m ust share th e same p ro n u n c ia tio n .
Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t is n o t d ir e c tly re la te d to th e p h o n o lo g y o f Chinese and fo r th is reason n o t d ir e c tly re la te d to h is to ric a l developm ents o f sounds o r d ia le c ts . U n d e r these c ircu m sta n ce s Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t rem ained fu n d a m e n ta lly u n c h a n g e d o v e r se v e ra l th o u s a n d y e a rs . O th e r c o n tr ib u tin g fa c to rs w ere th e changes in c a llig ra p h y w h ic h w ere p e rh a p s m a in ly due to a change in w r itin g m a te ria ls and o f co u rse th e changes in w r it te n s ty le s . D eFrancis co n clu d e s:
In th e th re e m ille n n ia and more fro m Shang to Qing th e changes in w r itin g w ere la r g e ly lim ite d to changes in th e fo rm o f the c h a ra c te rs w ith o u t a ffe c tin g th e basic n a tu re o f th e w r itin g system its e lf . (D eF ran cis, 1984: 240)
C lassical Chinese is a s ty le o f w r itin g in w h ic h i t is g e n e ra lly b e lie ve d th a t each Chinese c h a ra c te r is u n d e rs to o d on its ow n. The t u r n o f the c e n tu ry b r o u g h t a b o u t a d ra m a tic change in Chinese w r it in g , the in tr o d u c tio n o f m odern Chinese w r it in g . M odern Chinese w r itin g is m arked b y th e fa c t th a t i t re p re s e n ts w ord s w h ic h o fte n c o n s is t o f more th a n one c h a ra c te r. T h is change has, h o w e v e r, n o t a lte re d the s c r ip t, w here a space is s t ill placed betw een each c h a ra c te r. This
means th a t a lth o u g h com binations o f c h a ra c te rs a re to be u n d e rs to o d as w ords th e s c r ip t g ive s no s p e c ific in d ic a tio n o f th is .
The view o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs held b y th e g e n e ra l p u b lic and most scholars is a view o n ly concerned w ith th e v is u a l appearance o f the c h a ra c te r, b a s ic a lly a com bination of s tro k e s . A lth o u g h no s tu d y p ro v id e s co n c lu s iv e evidence of th is , th e re a p pe a rs to be a general b e lie f th a t th is v is u a l appearance is in d is p e n s a b le . The v is u a l appearance o f a Chinese c h a ra c te r w ill h e n c e fo rth be r e fe rre d to as th e C orpus o f the c h a ra c te r. Since to v is u a lly im p a ire d persons th e in k on the p a p e r has no, o r v e ry lit t le , m eaning, a w id e r view has to be a p p lie d in o rd e r to u n d e rs ta n d the n a tu re o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs . I t is indeed e sse n tia l to a p p ly such a w id e r view in o rd e r to be able to d iscu ss c o m p re h e n sive ly th e issue o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs re la tin g to Chinese w r itin g system s f o r v is u a lly im pa ire d p e rs o n s . T his w id e r view co n s id e rs n o t o n ly th e in k on th e p a p e r, b u t e v e ry th in g w hich re la te s to the c h a ra c te rs . This in c lu d e s codes fo r Chinese c h a ra c te rs such as the A S C II code fo r co m p uters, gene ra l know ledge a b o u t c h a ra c te rs and so fo r t h . While the v is u a l appearance of the c h a ra c te r w ill be re fe rre d to as th e Corpus, these o th e r aspects o f the Chinese c h a ra c te r w ill be r e fe rre d to as th e Geist o f the c h a ra c te r. Geist is a German p h ilo s o p h ic a l term w hich can be used to r e fe r to th e opposite of m aterial b e in g .
In the fo llo w in g , f i r s t l y the C orpus of th e Chinese c h a ra c te rs w ill be in v e s tig a te d and th e n , se co nd ly, the Geist o f th e c h a ra c te rs .
The C orpus o f th e Chinese c h a ra c te r is h ig h ly complex. Chinese c h a ra c te rs are n o t p ic to g ra p h s in the sense th a t th e ir m eaning is a p p a re n t to e v e ry b o d y a t a glance. C h a ra cte rs have long been d is tin g u is h e d a c c o rd in g to c e rta in c h a ra c te ris tic s , ta k in g in to a ccount th a t c h a ra c te rs a re o fte n complex lo g ic a l a rra n g e m e n ts o f sym bols.
A cc o rd in g to a c u r r e n t encyclo p e dia C ihai M M ) the c h a ra c te rs have been d iv id e d in to th e fo llo w in g six g ro u p s liu shu C/\ § ) since the Z h o u -D y n a s ty OK f t a p p ro x . 1122 - 255 B.C.). (C ihai, 1979: 783)
1.) Im ita tiv e Symbols o r Im ages, x ia n g x in g ( M M ) * C haracters w hich are s ty le d upon images o f re a l o b je c ts and can u s u a lly be tra c k e d down to th e ir p h y s ic a l o r ig in .
2.) In d ic a tiv e Sym bols, z h is h i QU If! ); C h a ra cte rs w hich s u g g e s t t h e ir meaning o fte n b y re p re s e n ta tio n o f ideas.
3.) L o gica l com binations, h u iy i H ): C h a ra cte rs w hich c o n s is t o f d iffe r e n t p a rts w ith th e meaning o f each p a rt c o n tr ib u tin g to th e meaning o f th e c h a ra c te r as a whole.
4.) M e a n in g -e n la rg e m e n ts, zh u an zh u ($$ $£ ): C h a ra cte rs w hich th ro u g h s lig h t changes to th e ir o rig in a l shape o r com bination communicate a f u r t h e r m eaning.
5.) P honetic com pounds, x in g s h e n g Q& ): C ha ra cte rs w hich c o n s is t o f a com bination o f an element w hich in d ic a te s the meaning and an element w h ich re p re s e n ts the p ro n u n c ia tio n ,
6.) B orrow ed c h a ra c te rs , jia jie (fit # ): E x is tin g c h a ra c te rs w h ich a re used to re p re s e n t o th e r ideas as w ell.
Use o f the above m entioned g ro u p s fo r the d is tin c tio n o f c h a ra c te rs is n o t u n iv e rs a lly agreed u pon. The C ihai, fo r example, states th a t zh u an zh u and jia jie are today not used to d is tin g u is h betw een c h a ra c te rs (C ihai, 1979: 783) and some a u th o rs do n o t use them (Wu,
1988: 15). O ther a u th o rs lik e W ippermann r e fe r r in g to K ra to c h v il s till use a ll six g ro u p s p re sum a b ly because th e y w ere la id o u t in the Shuowen J ie z i Q $,3cM )» th e f i r s t know n s ta n d a rd w o rk on Chinese e tym o lo g y. (W ipperm ann, 1985: 1)
One o f th e few c le a rly n o ticea b le changes to th e C orp u s o f the c h a ra c te rs o v e r th e c e n tu rie s , h o w e v e r, was th e use o f s e v e ra l s ty le s in w h ic h th e c h a ra c te rs w ere w r itte n . T his can to a c e rta in e x te n t be a ttr ib u te d to developm ents in w r itin g m a te ria ls . G e n e rally e ig h t s ty le s a re m entioned in th e fo llo w in g c h ro n o lo g ic a l o r d e r (Wu, 1988: 31).
- S ty le o f c h a ra c te rs used on sh e lls and bones - in s c r ip tio n s jia w e n (tp X ),
- S ty le o f c h a ra c te rs used on b ro n z e vessels and o b je c ts in th e Z h o u -D y n a s ty jin w e n ( & ' % ) ,
G reat Seal s ty le dazhuan C*C £& )»
Small Seal s ty le xiaozhuan (/> ), O ffic ia l s ty le lis h u ($& ^ ),
- Grass s ty le caoshu (M H ), - R e g u la r s ty le k a is h u ($§ ),
R u n n in g s ty le x in g s h u ( f t S )•
Th e re a re many v a ria tio n s o f th e a b o ve -m e n tio n e d s ty le s and o f course a few more s ty le s w h ic h some a u th o rs c o n s id e r w o rth m e n tio n in g in a g e n e ra l o v e rv ie w , b u t th e re is no need to go in to d e ta il a b o u t these h e re , since i t is v e r y u n lik e ly th a t th e d if f e r e n t w r itin g s ty le s w ill have a n y im p o rta n c e when d is c u s s in g w r itin g system s f o r v is u a lly im p a ire d p e rs o n s . The d if fe r e n t w r itin g s ty le s a lte re d th e a c tu a l form s o f some c h a ra c te rs and th is a t tim es also a ffe c te d th e n u m b e r of s tro k e s th e y c o n s is te d o f. In th is re s p e c t th e re d u c tio n in th e nu m be r of s tro k e s o f some 2000 c h a ra c te rs in th e m iddle o f th is c e n tu r y ,
kn o w n as jia n tiz ih u a (fl§ ^ -ft ), can be view e d as th e most re c e n t change in th e s ty le o f w r it in g a Chinese c h a ra c te r.
The le x ic a l o r d e r o f th e Chinese c h a ra c te rs , when n o t lis te d a c c o rd in g to t h e ir p ro n u n c ia tio n , can be achieved th ro u g h c o u n tin g th e n u m be r o f s tro k e s th e y c o n s is t o f and s ta n d a rd iz in g c e rta in s tro k e s o r
com b in a tio ns of s tro k e s o f th e c h a ra c te rs . F o r example, in many m odern s ta n d a rd d ic tio n a rie s c h a ra c te rs are re la te d to one o f 214 d iffe r e n t basic com b in a tio ns o f s tro k e s , w h ich w ill be r e fe r r e d to as g ra p h ic com ponents, bushou t=f ). The g ra p h ic com ponents a^e o rd e re d a c c o rd in g to th e n u m b e r o f s tro k e s th e y c o n s is t o f and th e c h a ra c te rs u n d e r th e ir s p e c ific lis tin g are p u t in to o rd e r a c c o rd in g to th e n u m be r o f th e re m a in in g s tro k e s in th e c h a ra c te r. The n u m b e r o f s tro k e s a c h a ra c te r co n s is ts o f and th e g ra p h ic com ponent u n d e r w hich a c h a ra c te r is o rd e re d a re th e re fo re im p o rta n t fe a tu re s o f a c h a ra c te r.
There is a v e r y c le a r in d ic a tio n o f th e changes in c a llig ra p h y and changes in w r it in g s ty le s th ro u g h a rch a e o lo g ica l fin d s and a n c ie n t m a n u s c rip ts , b u t th e re is o n ly lim ite d in fo rm a tio n a b o u t changes in the p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e c h a ra c te rs . Such in fo rm a tio n can f o r example come fro m d ic tio n a rie s f o r p o e try . H ow ever, th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e c h a ra c te r was alw ays an im p o rta n t a n d , in some re s p e c ts , e sse n tia l p a rt o f th e c h a ra c te r. T h is is most o b vio u s in p o e try , s o n g w ritin g , and in th e use o f s p e c ific a lly c r y p tic w r it in g . Some g ra p h ic com ponents can even be b e a re rs o f a s p e c ific p ro n u n c ia tio n w h ic h can be an e sse ntia l p a r t o f th e v is u a l image o f th e c h a ra c te r. I t is in th is re s p e c t, th a t th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e c h a ra c te r can be co n s id e re d b o th p a rt o f the C orpus and o f th e Geist o f th e c h a ra c te r. F o r th e n o ta tio n o f th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f c h a ra c te rs s e v e ra l system s lik e z h iy in (H i=f ) and fa n q ie ) have been d e v is e d , th e most re c e n tly in tro d u c e d o f w h ic h is h a n y u p in y in ($| §g ^ ),
While th e a b o ve -m e n tio n e d fe a tu re s com prise p a rts o f th e C orpus o f a Chinese c h a ra c te r, th e fo llo w in g fe a tu re s w ill be r e fe r r e d to as th e Geist o f a Chinese c h a ra c te r. The Geist o f a Chinese c h a ra c te r is w hat g iv e s i t its u n iq u e p o s itio n am ongst th e w r it in g system s o f th e w o rld . While th e sym bol in an a lp h a b e t in g e n e ra l o n ly b ears p ro n u n c ia tio n th e Chinese c h a ra c te r b e ars p ro n u n c ia tio n , m eaning and an alm ost in f in it e b o d y o f fe a tu re s o f G eist.
One k e y p a r t o f th e Geist o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs is th e ir p ro n u n c ia tio n . The p ro n u n c ia tio n o f a c h a ra c te r is n o t n e c e s s a rily la id down as a p a rt o f its C orp u s b u t r a th e r has to be le a rn e d in d iv id u a lly . I t is ju s t because th e p ro n u n c ia tio n is n o t n e c e s s a rily p a r t o f th e C orpus th a t i t is p o ssib le to em ploy th e same w r itin g system f o r so many and so v e r y d if fe r e n t Chinese d ia le c ts . A n o th e r p a r t o f th e G eist o f a Chinese c h a ra c te r is it s use in com b in a tio n w ith o th e r c h a ra c te rs in w o rd -lik e co m b in a tio n s. These com binations w ill h e n c e fo rth be r e fe r r e d to as le x ic a l com pounds. To g iv e an example: th e Chinese c h a ra c te r fo r c a r,
che ($. ) com bined w ith th e Chinese c h a ra c te r fo r f ir e , huo ) in the o r d e r h u och e (ik. ^ ) in m odern Chinese sta n d s f o r "ra ilw a y t r a in " . J u s t as common as th e le x ic a l com pounds is th e use o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs in co m b in a tio n w ith a la r g e r n u m b e r o f o th e r c h a ra c te rs , as in idiom s o r in lin e s o f poems, songs, o r w ell kn o w n p h ilo s o p h ic a l and p o litic a l p h ra s e s . These w ill h e n c e fo rth be r e fe r r e d to as le xica l p h ra s e s . A d if fe r e n t p a r t of th e G eist is th e whole complex o f s tr u c tu r e s w h ic h have been added to th e c h a ra c te rs r a th e r a r t if ic ia lly . W hether i t is th e num bers g iv e n to in d iv id u a l c h a ra c te rs in the
M athews' Chinese E n g lis h D ic tio n a ry o r th e ASCII co d in g o f Chinese c h a ra c te rs fo r use on co m p uters, these added s tr u c tu r e s fo rm an im p o rta n t p a r t o f w hat can be know n a bout an in d iv id u a l c h a ra c te r. In th e fie ld o f co m p uter te c h n o lo g y fo r example th e need fo r com p uter in p u t fo r Chinese c h a ra c te rs has created a whole new w o rld of d iffe r e n t complex coding system s. These in p u t codes c o n s titu te the most re c e n tly added p a r t o f th e Geist of a c h a ra c te r. W ith these added s tr u c tu r e s , th e re a re many more components o f th e Geist o f a c h a ra c te r th a n th e re are com ponents o f th e C orpus. A Chinese w r itin g system fo r v is u a lly im p a ire d persons w hich re p re s e n ts in d iv id u a l Chinese c h a ra c te rs w ould also be an added s tr u c tu r e , a new com ponent of the
Geist o f th e c h a ra c te r.
In th is w o rk a Chinese c h a ra c te r is co n sid e re d to be th e sum to ta l of its com ponents, th e sum to ta l o f its C orpus and its Geist. The assum ption is th a t nobody is u s u a lly aware o f a ll co n no tatio n s and com ponents o f a c h a ra c te r. What th is means in p a r tic u la r is , th a t the v is u a l appearance, o r C orpus, of a c h a ra c te r - a lth o u g h h e lp fu l and n o rm a lly p a r t o f one's know ledge of th e c h a ra c te r - is not in d is p e n s a b le .
1.2____The p o litica l im portance and s e n s itiv ity of changes in language.
______ w ritte n s ty le and s c rip t in China d u rin g th is c e n tu ry
T h ro u g h o u t th is c e n tu r y C hina has e xp erie n ced m a jo r changes in la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t. The debate a b o u t these changes is s t ill n o t o v e r. The fo llo w in g w ill o u tlin e w hat these changes w ere, w h ic h m a jo r a rg u m e n ts w ere b r o u g h t fo rw a rd to s u p p o rt d iffe r e n t v ie w p o in ts and how v e r y p o litic a lly im p o rta n t and s e n s itiv e th is s u b je c t was and s t ill is in Chinese s o c ie ty .
The lit e r a r y r e v o lu tio n a t th e b e g in n in g o f th is c e n tu r y co n siste d of th e change fro m cla ssica l Chinese w r itin g , w enyan & I f ), to m odern Chinese w r it in g , baihua fgj ). E d u catio n and p ro fe s s io n a l w o rk in im p e ria l C hina placed s tro n g emphasis on kno w le dg e o f lite r a tu r e and a p e rs o n ’s lit e r a r y s k ills . E xam inations f o r p u b lic o ffic e w ere e n tir e ly based on such kn o w le d g e . The s ty le o f w r itin g used was chosen fro m a n c ie n t cla ssica l w o rk s and v e r y s t r ic t ly s ta n d a rd iz e d a c c o rd in g to tr a d itio n . F o r th is reason i t is u n d e rs ta n d a b le th a t lit e r a tu r e was a m a jo r fo cu s in th e re v o lu tio n a r y e ffo r t fo r change a t th e t u r n o f th is c e n tu r y . T h is change may be deemed one o f th e most im p o rta n t ones in Chinese w r itte n s ty le in re c e n t h is t o r y . I t th e re fo re has to be examined more clo se ly a t th e b e g in n in g o f th is s tu d y .
Wenyan, u s u a lly called cla ssica l Chinese, can be d e s c rib e d as an:
a b s tra c t system o f com m unication fo r th e u p p e r class, w hich in spoken o r read aloud fo rm w ould n o t be co m p re h e n sib le and w h ic h w ould n o t r e fle c t d ia le c t o r p ro n u n c ia tio n o f the m a jo rity of people. (M a rtin , 1982: 82)
The o n ly e xeptions to th is are a few w o rk s w hich were w r itte n w ith s tro n g v e rn a c u la r in flu e n c e . Baihua on the o th e r hand is re fe r r e d to as a:
sim ple and d ir e c t language [ w r itin g ] , in s p ire d b y th e spoken la n g u a g e , w h ic h does n o t use classica l clich e s and a llu s io n s .
(G ernet, 1988: 544)
In c o n tra s t to w hat is u n d e rs to o d b y most to be the s tro n g ly m onosyllabic w enyan, spoken Chinese and baihua are con sid e re d to co n sist m ainly of w ord s made up o f two o r more m orphem es. At the end o f th e la s t c e n tu ry many Chinese in te lle c tu a ls blamed the use o f wenyan and th e emphasis on know ledge o f lite r a tu r e as b e in g two of the main reasons fo r th e backw a rd n ess o f th e ir c o u n tr y , w h ich had been c ru e lly d is p la y e d to them as fo r example d u r in g th e B r itis h Opium War (1839-42) and o th e r in c id e n ts of W estern in te rv e n tio n in the n in e te e n th c e n tu r y . In t h e ir o p in io n i t was n o t o n ly necessary to change fo rm and v o c a b u la ry b u t also to develop a com pletely new th e o ry of lite r a tu r e and b r in g a bout a change in th e a ttitu d e s o f th e lit e r a t i. One o f th e ir main in te lle c tu a l leaders Hu S hi (&§ $§ 1891-1962) demanded th a t the new lit e r a t i:
(1) A void th e use o f classical a llu s io n s ;
(2) D iscard stale, tim e -w o rn lit e r a r y p h ra se s;
(3) D iscard th e p a ra lle l c o n s tru c tio n o f sentences;
(4) Do n o t avoid u s in g v e rn a c u la r w ords and speech;
(5) Follow lit e r a r y gram m ar;
(The above are su g g e stio n s fo r a re v o lu tio n in lit e r a r y fo rm and s ty le .)
(6) Do n o t w rite th a t you are sick o r sad when you do n o t fe e l s ic k o r sad;
(7) Do n o t im ita te th e w ritin g s o f th e a n c ie n ts ; w hat you w rite sh o uld r e fle c t y o u r own p e rs o n a lity ;
(8) What you w rite should have meaning o r re a l su b stance.
(The above are su g g e stio n s fo r a re v o lu tio n in c o n te n t.) (Chow, 1960: 274)
Some in te lle c tu a ls , lik e Qian X u a nto ng (i$ & |U ), even w en t so f a r as to demand th e a b o litio n o f Chinese as such and th e in tr o d u c tio n of E sp e ran to as th e s ta n d a rd lan g u a ge and w r itin g (D eF rancis, 1984: 243).
T h is o f co u rse d id n o t h a ppen, b u t an enorm ous change was n e v e rth e le s s u n d e r w ay. A fte r th e o r ig in a l dem ands had been made i t was th e May F o u rth Movement o f 1919 w h ic h c o n trib u te d d e c is iv e ly to th is change and as e a rly as 1920 th e M in is tr y f o r E d u catio n adopted baihua as th e new s ta n d a rd fo rm o f w r it in g . H ow ever, i t was to be decades b e fo re th e in te lle c tu a ls , in c lu d in g those who most v ig o ro u s ly dem anded th e use o f b a ih u a , w ould g e t used to i t (H eraldova, 1974:
1288). I t was n o t u n t il th e com m unists could e n fo rc e th e ir s t r ic t p o lic y on la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t th a t a c le a r and sim ple Chinese w r itin g e v o lv e d . This was needed and used f o r p ro p a g a n d a f o r the masses as demanded b y Mao Zedong (3§ HI ^ 1893-1976) in Yan'an
($E )• In o r d e r to illu s tr a te th e im p o rta n c e th a t was g iv e n to th is s u b je c t i t sh o uld be p o in te d o u t, fo r example, th a t s e v e ra l o f th e k e y speeches g iv e n b y Mao Zedong in Y a n !a n , such as "On th e new d e m o cra cy" in 1940 (Mao, 1968: 623-669) and a t a co n fe re n c e on a r t and lit e r a t u r e d u r in g a c ru c ia l stage in th e A n ti-J a p a n e s e and C iv il War in 1942 (Mao, 1968: 804-835), h ig h lig h te d th e im p o rta n c e of a lite r a tu r e w r itte n in th e lan g u a ge o f th e masses as a weapon in th e s tru g g le fo r v ic to r y . W ith such a p o lic y a sim ple and r a th e r u n ifo rm lan g u a ge and w r itin g was fo rc e d o n to th e in te lle c tu a ls too.
In c o n c lu s io n , c o n s id e rin g th e g re a t im p o rta n ce o f such a ste p , the change fro m th e use of wenyan to baihua in lite r a tu r e was made c o m p a ra tiv e ly q u ic k ly . I t meant th a t Chinese w r it in g could now be u n d e rs to o d when re a d alo u d . To le a rn to re a d , w rite and u n d e rs ta n d , i t w ould now be s u ffic ie n t to memorize the Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t r a th e r th a n also h a v in g to le a rn many o f the a n c ie n t te x ts . With the use o f b a ih u a t o rd in a ry e d ucation could be made more easily accessible to more o f th e p o p u la tio n . This was an achievem ent be lie ved to be to the ad van tag e o f th e v a s t m a jo rity o f Chinese. On th e o th e r h and, even to d a y , a llu s io n s to classical te x ts o r o b scure re fe re n c e s are s t ill co n sid e re d to be p ro o f o f h ig h in te lle c tu a l c a p a c ity b y some w r ite r s . Since baihua was in tro d u c e d th e re has alm ost alw ays been a tre n d am ongst c e rta in g ro u p s to r e tu r n to more com plicated form s o f w r itin g . F u rth e rm o re th e w r itin g used in some com plicated te x ts , as fo r example in c e rta in s c ie n tific te x ts o r p o e try , cannot be d e s c rib e d as b a ih u a . In such cases m odern Chinese ju s t lik e classical Chinese loses the above m entioned p a r tic u la r q u a lity of being com prehensible when read aloud.
Those who a rg u e d a g a in s t the a b o litio n of th e use o f wenyan as the s ta n d a rd o f w r itin g fe a re d a loss of c u ltu r a l h e rita g e , th e loss of lit e r a r y th e o ry and th e loss o f the old w o rld o rd e r, and i t was exactly these aims w h ic h th e re fo rm e rs had in m ind. The new lite r a tu r e was to become a v e h ic le fo r a new Chinese w o rld o rd e r, and as such i t was of course a p o litic a l to p ic . At the t u r n of th e c e n tu r y , a c ru c ia l time in Chinese h is to r y , i t was one o f th e f i r s t issues o v e r w hich c o n s e rv a tiv e and p ro g re s s iv e fo rce s clashed. The debate a b o u t re fo rm of lite r a tu r e
d iv id e d p o litic a l fa c tio n s and soon was to be fo u g h t o v e r w ith more th a n w o rd s . O nly a few decades la te r , a fte r th e f i r s t m a jo r b a ttle o v e r re fo rm had been fo u g h t and won b y th e re fo rm e rs , w ould i t become v ita l f o r th e com m unist re b e ls in the 1930s and 1940s to fin d a la n g u a g e w h ic h th e peasants co u ld u n d e rs ta n d and to base th e ir w r it in g , th e ir lit e r a t u r e , th e ir p o litic a l d is c u s s io n and t h e ir p ro p a g a n d a e n tir e ly on th is la n g u a g e . Once again lit e r a r y re fo rm was b e lie v e d to be o f m a jo r im p o rta n c e fo r social change and in th is case even f o r the in d iv id u a l s u r v iv a l o f e v e ry com m unist in th e s tru g g le a g a in s t the Japanese and th e N a tio n a lis ts .
D u rin g th is c e n tu r y th re e o th e r issues o f re fo rm o f la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t , a p a rt fro m th e a b o litio n o f wenyan w ere d isc u s s e d . F ir s t ly , th e need f o r one s p e c ific n a tio n a l la n g u a g e w ith a u n ifo rm p ro n u n c ia tio n s ta n d a rd . S e co nd ly, a p h o n e tic a lp h a b e t to docum ent th is p ro n u n c ia tio n s ta n d a rd . T h ir d ly , th e re was th e demand f o r c h a n g in g o r a b an d o n in g th e Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t.
The f i r s t issue was th e in tr o d u c tio n o f a n a tio n a l s ta n d a rd la n g u a g e . C hina is a m u lti-n a tio n a l c o u n try w ith a b o u t f i f t y - s i x e th n ic g ro u p s o f w h ic h f if t y - t h r e e have th e ir own la n g u a g e , e ig h te e n th e ir own w r itin g and eleven t h e ir own s c r ip t. Yet th e lan g u a ge o f th e la rg e s t g ro u p , the Han ($| ), alone is d iv id e d in to a b o u t e ig h t d if f e r e n t m a jo r d ia le c ts . A ru d im e n ta ry n a tio n a l lan g u a g e s ta n d a rd called g u a n h u a (H’ g§ ) a lre a d y e xiste d in im p e ria l C hina b u t was n o t used n a tio n a lly . Ramsey s ta te s :
... M a n d a rin [ g u a n h u a ], w h ich was based on th e educated speech o f th e P e king c a p ita l, was b y no means th e s ta n d a rd lan g u a ge in la te im p e ria l tim es. (Ramsey, 1987: 5)
Guanhua was th e la n g u a ge based on th e educated speech o f im p e ria l B e ijin g . In th is c e n tu r y 's d is c u s s io n some in te lle c tu a ls lik e Lu Xun ( # fH 1881-1936) and Mao Dun & JH 1896-1981) opposed th e need fo r a s in g le n a tio n a l lan g u a ge s ta n d a rd . They demanded equal re c o g n itio n o f a ll d ia le c ts (Ramsey, 1987: 14) b u t th e y n e v e r form e d a s tro n g o p p o s itio n to those dem anding a u n ifo rm n a tio n a l s ta n d a rd la n g u a g e . The need f o r a s ta n d a rd lan g u a ge in a m odern u n ifie d China was w id e ly accepted a cross th e p o litic a l s p e c tru m . H ow ever, th e name and p u rp o s e o f such a lan g u a ge s ta n d a rd became a c o n tro v e rs ia l issue betw een th e N a tio n a lis ts g u om in d an g (HI ^ M ) and th e Communists g o n g c h a n d a n g In th e 1930s, Qu Q iubai (|ft ^ 1899-1935), one o f th e m a jo r fig u re s in th e debate a b o u t la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t , p o in te d o u t, fo r example, w ha t he saw as th e d iffe re n c e betw een th e b o u rg e o is "n a tio n a l la n g u a g e ", g u o y u (HI 1§ ), w h ic h was in tro d u c e d b y th e g u o m in d an g and th e "common sp e e c h ", p u to n g h u a (@ ®§ )» w h ic h was su p p o s e d ly fo r th e people. The basis o f th e two h o w e ve r was e s s e n tia lly th e same. (P ickow icz, 1981: 158)
The second issue was th e re p re s e n ta tio n o f p ro n u n c ia tio n . The q u e s tio n o f re p re s e n ta tio n o f th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f a c h a ra c te r was n o t a new one. The fa c t th a t th e re was no fix e d d ir e c t re la tio n s h ip o f c h a ra c te rs w ith sounds had alw ays caused c e rta in problem s e s p e c ia lly w ith re g a rd to how to hand down p o e try and in th e c o m p ila tio n o f d ic tio n a rie s . To solve th is pro ble m c e rta in c h a ra c te rs w ere chosen and s ta n d a rd iz e d to
re p re s e n t c e rta in sounds ( z h iy in ), and la te r to re p re s e n t th e in itia l and fin a l sounds (fa n q ie ). Examples o f th e use o f fa n q ie can be fo u n d fro m as e a rly as th e tfa n -D y n a s ty C$| 204 B.C. - 220 A.D.) These s ta n d a rd iz e d c h a ra c te rs w ere also used f o r th e tr a n s c r ip tio n o f fo re ig n w o rd s and names. Between th e 1920s and 1940s th e re w ere s e v e ra l a tte m p ts to in tro d u c e d if fe r e n t p h o n e tic tr a n s c r ip tio n s in c lu d in g z h u y in zim u ( & W ^ © ) > gw oyeu ro m a tz y tf (© §§ ]§i ^ ) and la tin x u a sin
w e n z f Gf£ T $T ~$C ^ ) (M ils k i, 1974 a: 68). Z h u y in zimu was an a lp h a b e t w ith le tte r s o f Chinese o r ig in . Gwoyeu r o m a tz y tf and la tin x u a sin w e n z f used in s te a d le tte r s o f th e L a tin a lp h a b e t. Of co u rse th is s itu a tio n ra is e d q u e s tio n s o f n a tio n a l p rid e and d ig n ity and w h e th e r to bow to system s cre a te d b y th e n a tio n s w h ic h had d e g ra d e d C hina so much in th e p re c e d in g decades.
The t h ir d issu e was w h e th e r o r n o t to change o r even to abandon Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t. The need to im plem ent a p h o n e tic a lp h a b e t is n o t u ltim a te ly id e n tic a l w ith th e a tte m p t to a b o lis h c h a ra c te rs . H ow ever, th e q u e s tio n o f u s in g a la tin is e d v e rs io n o f a p h o n e tic a lp h a b e t to re p la c e th e c h a ra c te rs was n o t in it ia lly b u t c e r ta in ly v e r y s ig n ific a n tly ra is e d b y Mao Zedong h im s e lf:
We b e lie v e L a tin iz a tio n is a good in s tru m e n t w ith w h ic h to overcom e illit e r a c y . Chinese c h a ra c te rs are so d if f ic u lt to le a rn th a t even th e b e s t system o f ru d im e n ta ry c h a ra c te rs , o r s im p lifie d te a c h in g , does n o t e q u ip th e people w ith a re a lly e ffic ie n t and r ic h v o c a b u la ry . Sooner o r la te r , we b e lie v e , we w ill have to abandon th e Chinese c h a ra c te rs a lto g e th e r i f we a re to c re a te a new social c u ltu r e in w h ich th e masses f u lly p a rtic ip a te . We a re now w id e ly u s in g L a tin iz a tio n , and i f we sta y h e re fo r th re e more y e a rs th e problem o f illite r a c y w ill have been la rg e ly overcom e....
Mao Zedong, Y an'an, 25th S eptem ber 1939 (Snow, 1984: 485-486)
The c h a ra c te rs , h o w e ve r, have not been a b olishe d n o r has illite r a c y been f u lly overcom e, y e t the p h o n e tic is a tio n o f Chinese s c r ip t and th e q u e s tio n o f w h e th e r o r not the c h a ra c te rs should be abolished have become the most c o n tro v e rs ia l o f a ll lin g u is tic a rg u m e n ts in th is fie ld of s tu d ie s . Many lin g u is tic w o rks a tte m p t to s u p p o rt e ith e r one o r the o th e r v ie w p o in t. Two em inent W estern e xp e rts may be quoted a lth o u g h the debate has been ju s t as fie rc e o r even fie r c e r am ongst Chinese sch o la rs.
And who w ill s e rio u s ly propose th a t th e Chinese should u n d e rta k e to tra n s la te in to co llo q u ia l (and w hich co llo q u ia l? ) — a tra n s la tio n , m oreover, th a t w ould be e n tir e ly im p ra c tic a b le — his lite r a t u r e , w h ich is one o f the most volum inous in th e w orld?
S econdly, th is m a rvello us tie between a ll the p a rts o f the g re a t c o u n try w h ic h is form ed b y its lit e r a r y lan g u a ge , its w r itte n E sp e ra n to , w ould have to be b ro k e n . ... As i t is now, the Chinese possess a medium so in g e n io u s , so s u p p le , th a t th e p re s e rv a tio n of th e p o litic a l u n ity o f China th ro u g h th e ages can be a s c rib e d to a la rg e e x te n t to its u n ify in g fo rc e .
I f China does n o t abandon its p e c u lia r s c r ip t in fa v o u r of o u r a lp h a b e tic w r it in g , th is is n o t due to a n y s tu p id o r o b d u ra te co n s e rv a tis m . The Chinese s c r ip t is so w o n d e rfu lly w ell adapted to th e lin g u is tic c o n d itio n s o f China th a t i t is in d is p e n s a b le ; the day th e Chinese d is c a rd i t th e y w ill s u rre n d e r th e v e ry fo u n d a tio n o f th e ir c u ltu re . (K a rlg re n , 1923: 40-41)
K a rlg re n 's e litis t defense n o t o n ly of c h a ra c te rs , b u t of the classical s ty le as w ell, has the m usty o d or o f defense o f L a tin a g a in s t such a b re a k w ith the European c u ltu r a l p a s t...
(D eF rancis, 1984: 199)
The a rg u m e n t in fa v o u r o f th e a b o litio n o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t was, and s t ill is , based m ainly on th e assum ption th a t Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t may be th e m a jo r cause o f C hina's b a ckw a rd n ess and the c o u n try 's w idespread illite r a c y . The a rg u m e n t in fa v o u r o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t was and is based m ainly on the assum ption th a t a s p e c ific Chinese c u ltu re e s s e n tia lly re lie s on th e existence o f Chinese
c h a ra c te r s c r ip t. I t is fu rth e rm o re b e lie v e d b y many th a t Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t is e s s e n tia l to th e u n it y o f C hina.
Ir r e s p e c tiv e o f w h e th e r a change w ould be a d v is a b le o r n o t, th e re is o f co u rse th e a d d itio n a l q u e s tio n o f w h e th e r o r n o t such a change w ou ld be a t a ll p o s s ib le . A fr e q u e n tly q u ote d Chinese te x t seems to p ro v e th a t th is w ould n o t be th e case due to th e many hom ophones in Chinese la n g u a g e :
e m ft ± m Si , m m h# m m m m m .+ w ,m + m
i $ - R i t i . f t & J i + i i
(Renmin Ribao 1.11.1990) I t is p ro n o u n c e d as fo llo w s :
S hi s h i s h i s h i s h i s h i, shi s h i, sh i s h i s h i s h i. Shi s h i sh i sh i sh i s h i s h i. S hi s h i, s h i s h i s h i s h i s h i. S hi s h i s h i s h i, s h i sh i s h i, s h i s h i s h i sh i s h i. Shi s h i sh i s h i s h i s h i, s h i s h i s h i, shi sh i s h i, s h i s h i s h i s h i sh i s h i, sh i s h i s h i, sh i s h i sh i s h i shi sh i sh i s h i. Shi s h i, s h i s h i sh i sh i s h i, sh i s h i sh i s h i s h i, shi sh i s h i s h i.
And i t tra n s la te s as fo llo w s :
The 's to n e house p o e t1 Shi Shi was fo n d o f lio n s , and he swore he w ould eat te n lio n s . M r Shi o fte n w en t to th e m a rk e t to look fo r lio n s . A t te n o 'c lo c k i t happened th a t te n lio n s came to m a rk e t. When M r Shi saw th e te n lio n s he s tu c k to h is w ord and caused th e te n lio n s to d e p a rt fro m th is w o rld . M r Shi took these te n lio n co rp ses and w ent to th e stone house. The stone house was w et, so M r Shi had h is s e rv a n t w ipe th e stone house. Only when th e house had been w iped d id M r Shi t r y to eat these ten lio n co rp se s. O nly as he was e a tin g d id he re a lis e th a t these lio n co rpses r e a lly w ere te n stone lio n c o rp s e s . And now d e a r re a d e r please t r y to e x p la in th is s to ry .
Even s u p p o rte rs o f p h o n e tic is a tio n o f th e Chinese s c r ip t adm it th a t:
In th e case o f such unspe a ka b le Chinese th e Chinese c h a ra c te rs a re ind e e d in d is p e n s a b le . Only i f w r itte n Chinese re a lly conform s to th e d e fin itio n o f spoken Chinese w r itte n in c h a ra c te rs is i t p o ssib le fo r th e c h a ra c te rs to be re p la ce d b y a lp h a b e tic w r it in g . (D eF ran cis, 1984: 195)
B u t, th e y a rg u e , such conform ism could be a ch ie ve d and th e b e n e fits w ould be enorm ous. On th e q u e s tio n o f w h e th e r to use Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t o r n o t, em otions and a rg u m e n ts a re num erous and c o m p e llin g .
A n o th e r a p p ro a c h to lessen th e problem s w ith Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t was th e a tte m p t to s im p lify i t . Such s u g g e s tio n s had a lre a d y been made in th e Qing D y n a s ty (^f f t 1644-1911) and also u n d e r th e N a tio n a lis t (g u o m in d a n g ) g o v e rn m e n t. B ut th e re w ere no s ig n ific a n t moves to w a rd s s im p lific a tio n b e fo re th e Communists to o k p o w e r (M a rtin , 1982: 89).
1 3 The th re e m ain asp ects o f p la n n in g w ith re g a rd to la n g u a g e ._____
______ w r it te n s ty le an d s c r ip t in th e People's R e p u b lic o f C hina
In th e f i r s t h a lf o f th is c e n tu ry s tr in g e n t p o lic y c o n c e rn in g la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t was im possible due to th e tu m u ltu o u s n a tio n a l s itu a tio n . A fte r th e fo u n d a tio n o f th e People's R ep u b lic o f C hina, h o w e v e r, p la n n in g in a ll th e above m entioned aspects was placed on a n a tio n a l scale w ith a h ig h p r io r it y . In tr o d u c in g m easures th a t w ould re d u c e th e v e r y h ig h ra te o f illite r a c y and enable b e tte r and q u ic k e r e d u ca tio n fo r th e m a jo rity became a m a jo r p o litic a l ta s k in th e 1950s, Zhou E n la i (jl§ HI 1898-1976) in 1958 summed up th e ta s k s o f p la n n in g m easures in th e People's R ep u b lic o f C hina as fo llo w s :
C u rre n t ta s k s o f re fo rm in g th e Chinese w r itte n lan g u a ge in v o lv e th e s im p lific a tio n o f th e Chinese (han) c h a ra c te rs , p o p u la ris a tio n o f th e common speech (pu tu n g hua) and th e d ra w in g up and p u ttin g in to p ra c tic e o f the Scheme fo r a Chinese P honetic A lp h a b e t.
(Zhou, 1958: 7)
He dem anded re fo rm o f la n g u a g e , w r itte n s ty le and s c r ip t.
S im p lific a tio n o f Chinese c h a ra c te r s c r ip t meant th e a b o litio n o f those Chinese c h a ra c te rs w h ic h were h a rd to w r ite , h a rd to re co g n ize and h a rd to memorize (M a rtin , 1982: 270). An a tte m p t was made to re d u c e , th e re fo re , th e n u m be rs o f s tro k e s used in a Chinese c h a ra c te r, tra n s fo rm in g o ld and long Chinese c h a ra c te rs , fa n tiz i (§& ), in to new and s h o rt Chinese c h a ra c te rs , jia n t iz i (f$f ^ ). A d d itio n a lly , th e re was th e aim o f re d u c in g th e o v e ra ll n u m be r o f e x is tin g c h a ra c te rs . R e g a rd in g th e s im p lific a tio n o f c h a ra c te rs i t is now e v id e n t th a t s u ffic ie n t re s e a rc h had n o t been c a rrie d o u t w hen th e new c h a ra c te rs w ere f i r s t in tro d u c e d (Ramsey, 1987: 151). I t can be a rg u e d th a t p a r tic u la r ly w ith re g a rd to th is q u e s tio n i t m ig h t have been p o litic a l in flu e n c e w h ic h decided th e a rg u m e n t r a th e r th a n lin g u is tic c o n s id e ra tio n s . Wu Yuzhang ( ^ 5E ^ 1878-1966) is q u o te d as s a y in g :
In th e y e a r b e fo re la s t Chairm an Mao to ld me th a t we should proceed w ith th e s im p lific a tio n o f th e Chinese c h a ra c te rs in the f i r s t place, since lan g u a ge re fo rm w o rk sh o uld n o t d e p a rt from r e a lity . (M ils k y , 1973: 111)
I t is n o t c le a r w ha t m o tiv a te d th e p o litic a l p re s s u re on th is p a r tic u la r p a r t o f s c r ip t re fo rm , and even to d a y i t is d o u b tfu l w h e th e r the m easure has been a success as re g a rd s th e q u e s tio n o f im p ro v in g lite r a c y and e d u c a tio n . Yet i t is c le a r th a t i t cre a te d enorm ous e x p e n d itu re , fo r example in p r in t in g houses, and f o r some ye a rs c o n fu s io n w ith 'w ild s im p lific a tio n '. Wild s im p lific a tio n is th e use of u n a u th o riz e d s im p lifie d c h a ra c te rs , a phenom enon w h ic h s t ill is n o t uncommon.
The basis chosen f o r th e common speech (p u to n g h u a ) was th e p o p u la r la n g u a g e based on th e B e ijin g p ro n u n c ia tio n and th e gram m ar o f the n o r th e r n d ia le c t p lu s th e gram m ar used in p ro to ty p e m odern lit e r a t u r e (M a rtin , 1982: 204), T his became th e la n g u a ge s ta n d a rd a ll o v e r China called p u to n g h u a . I t is ta u g h t in a ll schools and used in a ll o ra l media a p a rt fro m loca l program m es in loca l d ia le c ts . T h is caused many to fe a r th e to ta l a b o litio n o f d ia le c ts , b u t th e Chinese g o v e rn m e n t made i t cle a r th a t such a move was n o t in te n d e d . Zhou E n la i made s p e c ific re fe re n c e to th is in 1958:
P o p u la riz a tio n o f th e common speech has as its aim th e rem oval o f th e b a r r ie r o f th e d ia le c ts , n o t o f p r o h ib itin g o r a b o lis h in g th e d ia le c ts . The a n sw e r to th e q u e s tio n w h e th e r p o p u la riz a tio n or th e common speech means to p r o h ib it o r a b o lis h th e d ia le c ts is d e fin ite ly 'n o !'. (Zhou, 1958: 16)
I t m ig h t be a rg u e d th a t even i f th is had been th e in te n tio n , the a b o litio n o f d ia le c ts w ould n o t have been s u c c e s s fu l a n y w a y .
In th e 1950s th e e a rlie r system s o f p h o n e tic alp h a b ets were abandoned and th e la tin iz e d fo rm h a n y u p in y in was im plem ented as a means o f d o cum e n tin g th e s ta n d a rd p ro n u n c ia tio n . B efore th is im ple m e ntatio n i t was b a s ic a lly o n ly th e q u e s tio n o f w h ic h form such an a lp h a b e t should ta ke w h ic h needed to be d e cid e d . Was i t to have p u r e ly Chinese c h a ra c te ris tic s lik e , fo r example, z h u y in zim u o r was i t to a p pe a r W estern to make i t e a sie r fo r people fro m th e West to le a rn ? A W estern system w ould show in te rn a tio n a lis m and w ould be c le a rly d is tin c t from th e e a rlie r system z h u y in fu h a o (& W M ) w h ic h is s t ill used today in Taiw an. A gain em otions and a rg u m e n ts were s tro n g and m any. Mao Z edong, fo r exam ple, had p re v io u s ly fa v o u re d a la tin iz a tio n b u t la te r
