(Disclaimer) The process and pictures described in the article are from the Internet, and this article aims to advocate positive social energy and no vulgar and other bad guidance.
preface
"Should we sacrifice for the sake of the Chinese characters, or should we let the Chinese characters sacrifice for us?" This is a question raised by Mr. Lu Xun in his 1934 book "Chinese Characters and Latinization".
After that, Mr. Lu Xun further elaborated on the answer to this question in an interview. In 1936, Lu Xun published "Answering the Rescue of the Sick Intelligence Interviewer", in this article, he said categorically:
"If Chinese characters do not perish, China will perish." As a titan in the Chinese literary circle, Mr. Lu Xun's remarks were questioned and even condemned by many people at the time.
However, 19 years after Mr. Lu Xun said these words, people gradually understood the deep meaning, and the original questioning and condemnation of him also underwent a polar reversal.
So, why did Mr. Lu Xun make such remarks? Why didn't people understand his good intentions until 19 years later? What historical stories have happened since then?
Let's take "Chinese characters" as a clue, go back to that historical period, and feel the style of the times when the whole country pursues reform and social progress!
Background to the premise of the text reform
Of course, it is necessary to explain here that the "Chinese characters" discussed at that time were not the simplified Chinese characters that we use in our daily life today, but the traditional Chinese characters and classical Chinese.
At a time of national crisis, the people of society as a whole are pursuing "efficiency", hoping to transform the past into a more direct way of expression.
Therefore, obscure classical Chinese and traditional characters with many strokes have naturally entered the scope of discussion among scholars in the literary world.
Hu Shi once gave some examples of classical Chinese, such as "If you are not knowledgeable, I am afraid that it will be difficult to do it, and it will be difficult to obey your fate", if it is expressed in vernacular, it means "I can't do it".
Of course, such a one-sided example has also attracted a counterattack from the bigwigs in the literary world. Peking University professor Huang Kan once shot back: If your wife dies, your family will say in the vernacular: "Your wife is dead, come back quickly to mourn." And in classical Chinese, it is: "The wife dies and returns quickly." ”
Such discussions are not outdated even today. In my opinion, this is just a discussion between two factions, both classical Chinese and vernacular, each with its own rationality.
But against the backdrop of a national crisis and a national fanaticism in the pursuit of reform, many people's thinking began to become irrational. The pursuit of progress is important, but the extreme pursuit of process and results will not work.
Such cases have been repeated countless times throughout history, in the past, in modern times, and in the future. Therefore, a basin of "cold water" was also needed at that time to calm everyone down.
Mr. Lu Xun's true intentions
Mr. Lu Xun's views are precisely to let everyone "calm down". Whenever I get to know Mr. Lu Xun deeply, I can clearly feel his deep insight into the Chinese.
Behind his insight, there is a kind of enthusiasm for "hating iron does not make steel", which is also the greatest thing about Mr. Lu Xun in my opinion. His emotion is a kind of selfless love, and he accepts even the shortcomings of the Chinese.
Because of this, Mr. Lu Xun will pick up the pen and turn it into a sharp sword to wake up the sleeping Chinese. I also like what Mr. Lu Xun said in 1927:
"Chinese temperament always likes to reconcile and compromise. For example, if you say that this room is too dark and you have to open a window here, you will not allow it. But if you advocate tearing down the roof, they'll be willing to compromise and agree to open the windows. ”
At that time, whether it was the "literary revolution" proposed by Hu Shi or the "simplification of Chinese characters" proposed by Qian Xuantong, they were typical "window-opening doctrine".
When you first come across these ideas, it's natural that people will be against them. And in order for the Chinese to "agree to open the windows", someone must stand up and put forward a more radical idea of "tearing down the roof".
Mr. Lu Xun's sentence "If Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish" is such a "tear down the roof" style of expression. Of course, this is also Mr. Lu Xun's decision after careful consideration.
As a thinker who sees through the character of the Chinese, Mr. Lu Xun certainly knows what kind of repercussions this sentence will provoke. This view may seem extreme on the surface, but in fact it was intended to promote the "literary revolution" of the time.
But even today, there are still some people who don't know Mr. Lu Xun out of context and see him as the "culprit" who wants to abolish Chinese characters.
Various histories after the literary reform
Finally, 19 years later, in October 1955, the People's Republic of China convened a conference on character reform, at which the "Hanyu Pinyin Scheme" and the script simplification plan were formally adopted, which marked a new historical moment for China.
With the implementation of simplified characters, the difficulty of literacy and writing has been greatly reduced, the illiteracy rate has decreased significantly after the reform, and articles are no longer as obscure as classical Chinese, which has directly promoted the popularization of education.
The use of simplified characters has also promoted the widespread dissemination of culture, especially in various publications such as newspapers, books, magazines, etc., which are more concise and easier for the public to read and access information.
Surprisingly, at the same time as the reform of simplified Chinese, Mandarin was also introduced. The joint promotion of Putonghua and simplified characters aims to unify the language and break the restrictions of local dialects on communication and education.
Driven by the popularization of Putonghua and the implementation of simplified Chinese characters, students across the country can finally learn in a unified language environment, which greatly improves the equity of educational resources.
As a result, the economy has changed dramatically, and there were many barriers to trade between regions, but with the unification of the language, the problems of various business activities have been simplified.
As more and more literary works and film and television works are disseminated, Mandarin and simplified Chinese characters have expanded the influence of culture, and people everywhere can more easily understand and accept cultural creations on a national scale.
Of course, there is nothing but good in the world. Today, despite the popularity of simplified characters, traditional characters still dominate in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and many overseas Chinese communities.
While simplified characters are concise and efficient, many people believe that traditional characters are more traditional and culturally significant. With the popularization of digitalization, conversion tools for simplified and traditional Chinese characters are widely used, and the writing systems of both sides can also be interoperable smoothly.
summary
However, when we look back at this period of history, Mr. Lu Xun's proposal that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish", seems radical, but it is precisely this extreme expression that prompts people to reflect deeply and promotes the later reform of writing.
In the end, the implementation of simplified characters and the popularization of Putonghua not only accelerated the popularization of education and social modernization, but also laid a solid foundation for China's cultural dissemination, economic development, and ethnic unity.
However, the coexistence of simplified and traditional Chinese characters and the challenges of cultural inheritance also remind us to balance tradition and diversity in our pursuit of efficiency and change.
History tells us that any reform is to meet the needs of the times, and how to balance inheritance and innovation will be an important topic when we continue to move forward!
Resources:
People's Literature Publishing House: Chinese and Latin
People's Literature Publishing House: "Answering the Sick and Saving the Intelligence"
Li Zehou: Lu Xun and Modern Chinese Literature