Towards the World in Chinese

Author: Ling Dexiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Language is the most distinctive cultural feature of a nation. The history of a language contains the cultural code of that nation—the relationship between language and civilized progress. The wisdom, creativity, and richness displayed by a nation's language are proportional to the degree of progress it demonstrates in all aspects of civilization. The Chinese nation has shown unparalleled great integrating power in its millennia of historical development, and its language and the culture it carries play an irreplaceable role. The unifying function of an excellent language is no overstatement for a nation. After unifying the six states, Qin Shi Huang aimed to complete the unification, which included writing. Taking it to extremes, it led to the burning of books. However, the achievement of unifying writing remains indelible. Because after the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the scripts and writing methods of the various states had become greatly different. Chinese is the most widely spoken language, and for the study of Chinese, it may also be one of the most solitary academic fields. We use our language every day, yet we often overlook its current state. The "Chinese fever" is rising in many countries, and the people in these countries are eager to establish increasingly broad and profound connections with us through Chinese. Although we do not expect to compete with English, we must indeed first make Chinese a truly attractive language, purify and develop it, so that we and our friends from around the world who love Chinese can together experience human harmony in the language.