Collected Linguistic Papers of Zhou Youguang

Author: Zhou Youguang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Preface to the Selected Works
The author of this book, Mr. Zhou Youguang, is a renowned Chinese linguist and sinologist, born on January 13, 1906, in Changzhou, Jiangsu. When this collection of essays was published, Mr. Zhou had already entered his centennial years. We compiled this collection to introduce Mr. Zhou’s academic thoughts to readers, as well as to celebrate his centennial birthday. We sincerely wish this respected centenarian good health and longevity, and may he remain vibrant and youthful. Mr. Zhou Youguang’s original name was Zhou Yaoping. He began his studies at Shanghai St. John’s University in 1923, majoring in economics. In 1925, due to the May Fourth Incident, he left the university and joined the Guanghua University, which was founded by patriotic teachers and students, and graduated in 1927. From 1927 to 1948, he taught at Guanghua University, Jiangsu Institute of Education, Zhejiang Institute of Education, and other institutions; he also worked for Jiangsu Bank and Xinhua Bank, and was stationed in New York, USA, and London, UK, on behalf of the banks. After the liberation of Shanghai in 1949, he returned to China and taught at the Institute of Economics of Fudan University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, lecturing on economics while engaging in language and character research in his spare time. In 1955, he was transferred to Beijing and joined the China Commission for the Reform of Writing, dedicating himself to language and character research.
After arriving in Beijing, Mr. Zhou served as a member of the China Commission for the Reform of Writing, a member of the National Language and Character Working Committee, a professor at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a researcher at the Institute of Applied Linguistics and Literature, an academic consultant for the Great Dictionary of the Chinese Language, a of the Concise Encyclop?dia Britannica (Chinese Edition), and a of the Encyclop?dia Britannica (Chinese International Edition). In the 1950s, he was invited to teach courses on character reform at Peking University and Renmin University of China. Mr. Zhou also served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and as the deputy head of the Education Group. Over the past half-century, Mr. Zhou has devoted himself to the field of language and character, pioneering and innovating, publishing nearly 30 books and over 300 essays that have had a broad impact both domestically and internationally.
Mr. Zhou’s research spans a wide range of fields, with a central focus on the modernization of the Chinese language and script. He has provided a comprehensive and scientific interpretation of the theory of Chinese language modernization.
### Main Arguments of the Collection
This collection includes 42 of Mr. Zhou’s academic essays. Below is a brief introduction to the main points of these essays (some of which are adapted from his works not included in this collection) for reference.
1. The Historical Process of Human Language Life
Human language began to emerge with the formation of humanity. Ten thousand years ago, human society entered the agricultural era, and over the next five thousand years, humans created and spread writing. Three hundred years ago, the industrial era began, during which two major events occurred in language life: the establishment and popularization of a national common language, and the invention, development, and promotion of sound transmission technology. After World War II, the information age arrived. Two prominent developments in language life during this era are: the invention of electronic computers, which were used to process language and script and evolved into information networks, and the development of international common languages. Writing, national common languages, sound transmission technology, electronic computers, and international common languages are the five major milestones in the history of human language life. Among these, writing, sound transmission technology, and electronic computers enhance the communicative function of language, while national and international common languages expand its scope. Currently, the goal of developed countries is to advance informatization, while that of developing countries is to catch up with industrialization and informatization.
2. The Rise and Achievements of Chinese Language Modernization
Since the Opium War, China has embarked on a modernization process. In line with this overall trend of social development, the movement for Chinese language modernization has emerged. Over a century ago, the characteristics of Chinese language life were: dialects combined with classical Chinese, complex and difficult characters, and a high illiteracy rate. Such a backward language life hindered educational development and affected China’s modernization. A review of the demands of the series of movements for Chinese language modernization can be summarized into four aspects: the commonization of language, the colloquialization of style, the simplification of characters, and the alphabeticization of phonetics. Today, the characteristics of Chinese language life have evolved into: Mandarin combined with modern vernacular Chinese; characters that have been standardized and simplified, reducing their complexity, and supplemented by the Chinese phonetic alphabet. Chinese language modernization has supported China’s modernization. Looking ahead to the 21st century, the trends of Chinese and written Chinese are:
(1) The standardized Chinese language will be widely promoted among all Chinese people worldwide.
(2) Characters will become standardized, quantified, and unified.
(3) The Chinese phonetic alphabet will facilitate the convenient circulation of written Chinese on the internet.
3. China’s Bilingual Life
The modern era is an era of bilingualism. A multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country needs both a national common language and an international common language. Daily life and national culture use the national common language, while international affairs and modern culture use the international common language. Originally, China’s bilingualism referred to the promotion of Mandarin: from speaking only dialects to speaking both dialects and Mandarin. Dialects are family and local languages, while Mandarin is the language of schools and society, representing domestic bilingualism. Now, it has a second meaning: from speaking only Mandarin to speaking both Mandarin and English, representing international bilingualism. English has become the de facto international common language, not only free from class distinctions but also without national boundaries. It is a global highway that everyone can use, and those who utilize it will find it convenient.
4. The Duality of Chinese Characters
Any writing system has both technical and artistic dimensions. Phonetic scripts are technically strong but artistically weak, while Chinese characters are the opposite, being weak in technicality but strong in artistry. The artistic advantages of Chinese characters mask their technical disadvantages. During the historical transition from ancient civilization to modern civilization, Chinese characters were both treasures of ancient civilization and burdens of modern civilization. The difficulty of learning and using Chinese characters lies not in their complexity but in their sheer number. The evolution of writing follows the pattern of reducing the number of characters and establishing a quantitative system. To reduce the difficulty of learning and using Chinese characters, the number of characters must be limited, common characters must be retained, rare characters must be phased out, and standardization must be achieved. At the same time, the role of the Chinese phonetic alphabet must be leveraged, and it should be used where Chinese characters are inconvenient or inapplicable. The study of Chinese characters includes three parts:
(1) Historical Chinese characterology;
(2) Modern Chinese characterology;
(3) Foreign Chinese characterology. Modern Chinese characterology studies the characteristics and issues of modern Chinese characters, aiming to reduce their inconvenience in modern life.
5. Research in Comparative Linguistics
To determine the position of Chinese characters in the history of human writing, comparative linguistics must be studied. To classify the world’s writing systems, a "three-phase" classification method for writing must be established. The "three phases" refer to three aspects of writing features: symbolic form, linguistic segment, and expression method. Every writing system has "three phases," and the combination of these phases determines the type of the writing system. For example, modern Chinese characters belong to "character·word and syllable·pictographic and phonetic" ideophonic scripts. Over the 5,500 years of history, the direction of writing development is "pictographic, ideographic, and phonetic," both for individual scripts and writing systems. In China, Chinese characters have undergone only quantitative changes, not qualitative ones. When they spread to Japan, from writing Chinese to writing Japanese, from Man'yōgana to hiragana and katakana, this was a qualitative change from ideographic to phonetic. The evolution and development of writing are extremely slow. Writing has a strong inertia; the longer it has been in use, the stronger its inertia. Whether you love or hate Chinese characters, ordering their abolition is unfeasible and would not occur. Chinese characters are relatively stable in China, and there are no signs of replacing them with phonetic scripts. The phonetic alphabet is only an auxiliary tool for phonetics.
6. The Formulation and Promotion of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
The Chinese phonetic alphabet is based on three principles:
(1) Latinization, using the most widely used Latin alphabet in the world;
(2) Phonemicization, adopting a phonemic syllable structure;
(3) Colloquialization, spelling the phonetic system of Beijing dialect.
The Chinese phonetic alphabet has three "is not" and three "is":
(1) It is not a system for romanizing Chinese characters but the Chinese phonetic alphabet.
(2) It is not a system for romanizing dialects but the system for romanizing Mandarin.
(3) It is not a system for romanizing classical Chinese but the system for romanizing vernacular Chinese.
The formulation of the Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet transformed the Chinese alphabet from "national form" to "international form," from "domestic use" to "international use," and from "national standard" to "international standard." The Chinese phonetic alphabet is a phonetic spelling system based on syllables. To enable the Chinese phonetic alphabet to spell Chinese, a Chinese phonetic orthography must be established, which is a spelling standard based on words.
7. The Dual-Track System for Chinese Information Processing
To keep Chinese information processing in line with the times, a dual-track system must be adopted: on one hand, computers for Chinese characters, and on the other, computers for the Chinese phonetic alphabet. The "pinyin transformation method," where pinyin input is automatically converted into Chinese characters, has become the mainstream of Chinese information processing. For Chinese to occupy an appropriate position on the internet, the pinyin orthography must be used as a medium for processing Chinese text. Networking cannot be separated from the Chinese phonetic alphabet or orthography. The Chinese phonetic alphabet is the interface between computers and Chinese. An open China is aligning with the world. The Chinese phonetic alphabet is the international cultural bridge between Chinese culture and international culture, facilitating mutual exchange.
8. Modern Culture Research
Language and writing are carriers of information and are closely related to culture. On China’s path to modernization, it must not only embrace advanced world culture but also absorb beneficial elements from traditional culture. Modern culture and traditional culture are complementary. The advantages of traditional culture are: starting from the familiar, mastering the easy, conforming to habits, and achieving twice the result with half the effort. However, when utilizing traditional culture, one must be cautious of clinging to the old and harming the present. The Chinese culture has both glory and shadow, and sometimes the shadow overshadows the glory. To loudly praise the glory while avoiding the shadow is self-deception. To confront the shadow is the starting point for progress.
The above eight aspects constitute the scientific system of Chinese language modernization theory, a precious gift that Mr. Zhou has contributed to society.
### Chinese Language Modernization Advances Amidst Debate
Mr. Zhou said, "Whether China’s language and writing need reform has been debated since the May Fourth vernacular movement. As the vernacular movement developed into simplifying characters and phoneticization, the debate intensified, and it expanded from within China to overseas Chinese communities worldwide. Debate is a positive phenomenon. Truth becomes clearer through debate. Criticism is the driving force for improvement. Chinese writing reform has advanced amid debate." "The trend of language reform constantly encounters resistance from retrogressive thought, and the opposing forces cancel each other out, causing reform to stall." "Chinese language modernization advances in waves, making progress slow. Slow progress is the law of language evolution. Today, in post-Cultural Revolution China, the language trend on the mainland has entered a new retrogressive period. Experience tells us that after a recession, there will be a rise. The overall trend of history is forward."
We believe that retrogressive thought in the field of language will ultimately not hinder the progress of language reform. Chinese language modernization is part of China’s modernization, and it aligns with the trend of historical development, supported by the understanding and approval of the majority of the people. Imagine: if Mandarin is not promoted and only dialects are used, communication would be impossible in many situations—how could there be industrialization and informatization? If classical Chinese, detached from spoken language and modern life, is used instead, how could it reflect the development of modern politics, economy, and culture? How could it meet the needs of modern written communication? If Chinese characters are not promoted for standardization, writing would be time-consuming and cumbersome, creating many obstacles for written communication and adding difficulties to network transmission. If the Chinese phonetic alphabet is not used, and instead, ancient romanization methods or phonetic symbols are employed, what would be done in situations where Chinese characters are inconvenient or unusable?" The issues mentioned above are frequently encountered by intellectuals and the general public in their work and daily lives.
On October 31, 2000, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Law of the People’s Republic of China on National Common Language and Characters, marking the legalization of language and character management in China. The Law stipulates: "The national common language and characters are Mandarin and standardized Chinese characters." "The state promotes Mandarin and implements standardized Chinese characters." "The national common language and characters use the Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet as a tool for spelling and phonetics." Mandarin, standardized Chinese characters, and the Chinese phonetic alphabet are all products of Chinese language modernization, and they are essential for China’s language life to continue moving forward in the direction of modernization.
### Learning from Mr. Zhou Youguang
We must study Mr. Zhou’s discussions on language modernization to firmly establish the direction of Chinese language reform. Language and writing research can be divided into two aspects: fundamental research and applied research. The traditional Chinese language research has emphasized fundamental research while neglecting applied research. Language modernization research belongs to applied research and is often overlooked. Mr. Zhou emphasized fundamental research but never underestimated applied research. For decades, he has made language modernization his research focus. The study of language modernization began in the late Qing Dynasty and continued to the 1950s, a long period with many problems, but true academic research was scarce. Mr. Zhou worked hard to link language modernization research with linguistics, making it a systematic discipline that could be logically argued and guiding practice. This is the contribution Mr. Zhou has made to China’s language cause.
China’s language reform issues are complex. Studying Mr. Zhou’s works can help us establish a scientific language perspective and distinguish right from wrong, progress from regression in language reform. We must learn from Mr. Zhou’s global perspective on China. Mr. Zhou is an elderly linguist in his twilight years, but in terms of academic thought, he has always been ahead of the times, constantly proposing new ideas and guiding language work forward. The reason for this is that he has a global vision and can view China within the context of the world. When studying language issues, he never separates China from the world but places China within the world as part of it. Combined with his erudition and expertise spanning both East and West, he can see the essence of things from a high vantage point and propose guiding opinions.
We must learn from Mr. Zhou’s tireless dedication and prolific writing. Despite his already significant academic achievements, Mr. Zhou is still striving to acquire new knowledge. His reading range is broad, and his reading efficiency is high. At the age of 82, he learned to use computers, and at 93, he published the monograph Preliminary Studies in Comparative Linguistics. Such achievements are rare in Chinese academia. Mr. Zhou’s academic thoughts are profound, extensive, and meticulous. The essays selected for this collection are only a small part of his works. To study his academic thought, one must carefully read his monographs, such as An Introduction to the Reform of Chinese Characters, Discussions on Chinese Language and Characters, The Historical Evolution of Chinese Language and Characters, The History of World Writing Development, and Preliminary Studies in Comparative Linguistics.
We believe that the publication of this collection will provide more people with the opportunity to read Mr. Zhou’s works, which will have a positive impact on the development of China’s language cause.