4 ms·
Note that there is a link to the rest of the story (1950-) at the bottom. A worthy read.
by DrScump 10y ago
Note that there is a link to the rest of the story (1950-) at the bottom. A worthy read.
- vanni 10y agoLink at the bottom is broken. Working link: https://al3x.svbtle.com/on-chinese-writing-when-mao-reinvents-writing https://al3x.svbtle.com/on-chinese-writing-when-mao-reinvent...
- vilhelm_s 10y agoAlthough I feel the introduction is a bit narrow by only focusing on Mao and China. Japan adopted simplified characters at almost exactly the same time (during the American occupation). I wonder if this ties in to some kind of general modernist trend sweeping the world at the time.
- ralfd 10y agoGrotesque fonts versus Sans-serif?
- emodendroket 10y agoThere were debates about simplification and reform going back to the Meiji era and the reforms adapted ended up being very conservative.
- micheljones 10y agoJapanese change was just a codification of simplified forms already widely used in handwriting, and is rather limited in number (cca 370 characters). Chinese switch was motivated by the desire to improve literacy in the country, which was to be achieved by making the writing system more accessible/simple. The changes were far wider than in Japanese, and total count of characters that were simplified is cca 3500.
- vilhelm_s 10y agoI guess the point of codifying existing handwritten forms is probably true for the Chinese simplified characters also? Many of the simplifications were made by taking a cursive form and declaring it the "official" version.
- micheljones 10y agoYes, the 'how' is similar between the two, but 'why' and 'to what extent' are not. Like I said, in China primary motivator was improving literacy rate. The number of simplified characters (3500 out of 7000) closely matches the number of characters necessary for almost-full literacy (most common 3500 characters cover about 99.5% of everyday written language).
- gsklee 10y ago> I guess the point of codifying existing handwritten forms is probably true for the Chinese simplified characters also? > Many of the simplifications were made by taking a cursive form and declaring it the "official" version. Wrong. While many simplified characters were modeled after their cursive forms, it's not simply taking these cursive forms and declared them "official". Per se, the cursive form is cursive, and the simplified characters are in regular script. The problem is, when you forcibly bend the curves into straight lines, many lost their artistic aspects and became ugly abominations. > Like I said, in China primary motivator was improving literacy rate. The funny thing: Taiwan uses the traditional set and has a higher literacy rate than China. People used to blame the traditional characters as too complicated and a hinderance to literacy. Apparently what really matters at all is the education itself.
- echaozh 10y agoThe point is, simplified characters are easier to write, say, when they're leaving a note on the table before having to leave in seconds. Why are the cursive forms invented in the first place? Are they only artistic? They got their use in real life as well. People are lazy and always in a hurry.
- chewxy 10y agoIndeed! The most fascinating part was the simplification of the word "country". I didn't know a 1977 variant existed (which looks like the word for "mouth")