Simplified Chinese characters - Wikipedia

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Simplified Chinese
Standardized set of Chinese characters
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Simplified Chinese
Script type
Logographic
Published
1956
1964
1977
1988
2013
Period
1956–present
Direction
Left-to-right
Top-to-bottom, columns right-to-left
Official script
China
Singapore
Languages
Chinese
Related scripts
Parent systems
Oracle bone script
Small seal script
Clerical script
Regular script
Simplified Chinese
Sister systems
Traditional characters
Kanji
Chữ Nôm
Hanja
Khitan large script
Khitan small script
Bopomofo
ISO 15924
ISO 15924
Hans
(501)
, ​Han (Simplified variant)
Unicode
Unicode range
Not in Unicode
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese
简化字
Traditional Chinese
簡化字
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Jiǎnhuàzì
Bopomofo
ㄐㄧㄢˇ ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄗˋ
Wade–Giles
Chien
-hua
-tzŭ
Tongyong Pinyin
Jiǎn-huà-zìh
IPA
[tɕjɛ̀n.xwâ.tsɹ̩̂]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
Gáan faa jih
Jyutping
Gaan2 faa3 zi6
IPA
[kan˧˥ fa˧ tsi˨]
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese
简体字
Traditional Chinese
簡體字
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Jiǎntǐzì
Bopomofo
ㄐㄧㄢˇ ㄊㄧˇ ㄗˋ
Wade–Giles
Chien
-tʻi
-tzŭ
Tongyong Pinyin
Jiǎn-tǐ-zìh
IPA
[tɕjɛ̀n.tʰì.tsɹ̩̂]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
Gáan tái jih
Jyutping
Gaan2 tai2 zi6
IPA
[kan˧˥ tʰɐj˧˥ tsi˨]
This article contains
phonetic transcriptions
in the
International Phonetic Alphabet
(IPA)
. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
Help:IPA
. For the distinction between
[ ]
/ /
and ⟨
⟩, see
IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters
Simplified Chinese characters
are one of two standardized
character sets
widely used to write the
Chinese language
, with the other being
traditional characters
. Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the
People's Republic of China
(PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s.
They are the standard forms used in
mainland China
Malaysia
, and
Singapore
, while traditional characters are officially used in
Hong Kong
Macau
, and
Taiwan
Simplification of a component—either a character or a sub-component called a
radical
—usually involves either a reduction in its total number of
strokes
, or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the
WRAP
radical used in the traditional character
is simplified to
TABLE
to form the simplified character
By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of the character sets are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular
cursive
forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies.
The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the
Cultural Revolution
, a
second round of simplified characters
was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to the first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters;
the resulting
List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters
lists 8,105 characters, including a few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's
State Council
on 5 June 2013.
Chinese characters
Chinese family of scripts
Written Chinese
Kanji
Hanja
Chữ Hán
Evolution of
script styles
Neolithic symbols in China
Oracle bone
Bronze
Seal
Large
Small
Bird-worm
Clerical
Cursive
Semi-cursive
Regular
Flat brush
Modern typefaces
Fangsong
Ming
Hei
Properties and
classification
Components
Strokes
order
Radicals
Orthography
jiu zixing
xin zixing
Digital encoding
Collation and standards
Kangxi Dictionary
forms
(1716)
Commonly Used Characters
(PRC, 2013)
Commonly-Used Characters
(Hong Kong, 2007)
Nan Min Recommended Characters
(Taiwan, 2009)
Standard Form of National Characters
(Taiwan, 1982)
Jōyō
kanji
(Japan, 2010)
Reforms
Simplified characters
second round
Traditional characters
debate
Japanese script reform
kyūjitai
Homographs
and readings
Literary and colloquial readings
Kanbun
Idu
Variants
Zetian characters
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man'yōgana
hiragana
katakana
Jurchen script
Khitan
large
small
Nüshu
Bopomofo
Slavonic transcription
Transliteration of Chinese
Nomenclature
edit
In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name
简化字
jiǎnhuàzì
, or colloquially as
简体字
jiǎntǐzì
. The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure,
note 1
a practice which has always been present as a part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms.
History
edit
Background
edit
See also:
Variant Chinese characters
According to Chinese palaeographer
Qiu Xigui
, the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical
shape
字形
zìxíng
), the "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical
form
字体
字體
zìtǐ
), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes".
10
The initiatives following the founding of the
Qin dynasty
(221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their
small seal script
across the recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history.
Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of
woodblock printing
, was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the
Qin dynasty
(221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either
or
—with either
'Sun'
or
'window'
on the left, with the
'Moon'
component
on the right.
Li Si
d.
208 BC
), the
Chancellor
of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin
small seal script
across China following
the wars
that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the
form of the character for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as
. However, the increased usage of
was followed by proliferation of a third variant:
, with
'eye'
on the left—likely derived as a contraction of
. Ultimately,
became the character's standard form.
11
The
Book of Han
(111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by
King Xuan of Zhou
d.
782 BC
) to unify character forms across the
states of ancient China
, with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what is referred to as the "
big seal script
". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the
Shuowen Jiezi
dictionary (
c.
100 AD
), is that the Qin
small seal script
that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to the founding of the Qin.
12
The
Han dynasty
(202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of
clerical script
through the process of
libian
Late Qing literature and Republican-era reform (1850–1949)
edit
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Kang Youwei
Excerpt of initial 1935 simplifications promulgated by the
Republic of China
Ministry of Education in 1935, later retracted in 1936
Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during the early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist
Lufei Kui
formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911
Xinhai Revolution
that toppled the
Qing dynasty
, followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919
May Fourth Movement
—many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see the country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist
Yuen Ren Chao
(1892–1982) and poet
Hu Shih
(1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from the use of characters entirely.
13
Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades.
14
Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time.
15
Lu Xun
, one of the most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" (
漢字不滅，中國必亡
). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling
Kuomintang
(KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935, the
Republic of China
Ministry of Education published the first official list of simplified forms, consisting of 324 characters collated by
Peking University
professor
Qian Xuantong
. However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936.
16
First round of simplification (1949–1977)
edit
Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the
Chinese Character Simplification Scheme
, a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over the following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with
pinyin
as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by
Zhou Enlai
in 1958.
17
In 1965, the PRC published the
18
(hereafter
Characters for Printing
), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme.
19
Second round of simplification (1977–1986)
edit
Main article:
Second round of simplified Chinese characters
second round of simplified characters
was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by the public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986.
20
The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round.
21
With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end.
22
Since 1986
edit
In 1986, authorities retracted the second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the
General List of Simplified Chinese Characters
. It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round:
; the form
is used instead of
in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable.
The
Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese
was published in 1988 and included
7000
simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised
List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese
, which specified
2500
common characters and
1000
less common characters.
23
In 2009, the Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of
8300
characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response.
24
Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public.
In 2013, the
List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters
was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of
8105
characters.
25
26
It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents.
Outside mainland China
edit
Singapore
underwent
three successive rounds of character simplification
, eventually arriving at the same set of simplified characters as mainland China.
27
The first round was promulgated by the
Ministry of Education
in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted the 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters.
Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools.
Methodology
edit
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Structural simplification
edit
All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of the 1986
General List of Simplified Chinese Characters
, hereafter the
General List
Chart 1 lists all 350 characters that are used by themselves, and can never serve as 'simplified character components'.
Chart 2 lists 132 characters that are used by themselves as well as utilized as simplified character components to further derive other simplified characters. Chart 2 also lists 14 components or radicals that cannot be used by themselves, but can be generalized for derivation of more complex characters.
Derivation based on simplified components
edit
Chart 3 of the
General List
includes
1753
characters which are simplified based on the same simplification principles used for components and radicals in Chart 2. This list is non-exhaustive, so if a character is not already found in Charts 1–3, but can be simplified in accordance with Chart 2, the character should be simplified.
Elimination of variants
edit
Series One Organization List of Variant Characters
zh
accounts for some of the orthography differences in mainland China versus in Hong Kong and Taiwan. These are not simplifications of character structures, but rather reduction in number of total standard characters. For each set of variants with identical pronunciation and meaning, one character—usually the simplest—is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are obsoleted. By 1993,
1027
variants were declared obsolete by this list. Among the chosen variants, those that appear in the 1986
Complete List
are also simplified in character structure accordingly.
Novel forms
edit
New standardized character forms
originated from the 1965
Characters for Printing
list containing
6196
characters. These tend to be
vulgar variant
forms for most of its characters. The 1988
List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese
(hereafter
Common Modern Characters
) contains
7000
characters, and replaces the 1965 list. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as being structurally simplified.
Structural simplification
edit
All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986
Complete List
. Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3 is derived.
Merging homophonous characters:
蒙、懞、濛、矇
復、複
乾、幹
髮、發
Adapting cursive shapes
草書楷化
):
Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol
(such as
and
):
Omitting entire components
Omitting components, then applying further alterations
Structural changes that preserve the basic shape
Replacing the phonetic component of
phono-semantic compounds
Replacing an uncommon phonetic component
歷、曆
Replacing entirely with a newly coined phono-semantic compound
Removing radicals
裡/裏
Only retaining single radicals
Replacing with ancient forms or variants
note 2
Adopting ancient vulgar variants
note 2
Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters
裡/裏
Copying and modifying another traditional character
义(乂)
髮、發
发(友)
龙(尤)
头(斗)
Simplifying components
edit
Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the
Complete List
, the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as a conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed:
The
Complete List
employs character components, not traditional radicals. A component refers to any conceivable part of a character, regardless of its position within the character, or its relative size compared to other components in the same character. For instance, in the character
, not only is
(a traditional radical) considered a component, but so is
Each of the 132
simplified characters
in Chart 2, when used as a
component
in compound characters, systematically simplify compound characters in exactly the same way the Chart 2 character itself was simplified. For instance,
is simplified in Chart 2 to
. Based on the same principle, these derivations can be made:
The 14
simplified components
in Chart 2 are never used alone as individual characters. They only serve as components. Example of derived simplification based on the component
, simplified to
), include:
Chart 1 collects 352 simplified characters that
generally cannot be used as components
. Even in rare cases where a Chart 1 character is found as a component in a compound character, the compound character cannot be simplified in the same way. For instance,
is simplified in Chart 1 to
, but
cannot be simplified to
⿰衤习
A character that is already explicitly listed as simplified character in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" cannot be alternatively simplified based on derivation. For instance,
and
are simplified in Chart 1 to
and
respectively, thus they cannot be simplified alternatively by derivation via
and
in Chart 2 to
and
⿰讠夸
is simplified in Chart 2 to
, thus it cannot be alternatively derived via
in Chart 2 as
Sample derivations:
), thus
, thus
, thus
, thus
, thus
, thus
Elimination of allographs
edit
The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst the chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow:
Sample reduction of equivalent variants
虖、嘑、謼
Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred
災、烖、菑
Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen
獃、騃
The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1
唘、啓
鬦、鬪、鬭
厤、暦
In some instances, the chosen variant is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character
which is eliminated in favor of the variant form
. The
'HAND'
with three strokes on the left of the eliminated
is now seen as more complex, appearing as the
'TREE'
radical
, with four strokes, in the chosen variant
Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance, the traditional character
, with 11 strokes is standardised as
, with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters.
Novel forms
edit
Main article:
Xin zixing
The new standardized character forms shown in the
Characters for Publishing
and revised through the
Common Modern Characters
list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow:
The traditional component
becomes
The traditional component
becomes
The traditional "Break" stroke becomes the "Dot" stroke
The traditional components
and
become
The traditional component
becomes
Inconsistencies
edit
A commonly cited example of the irregularity of simplification involves characters that share the "hand" component
, which is used in many simplified characters. While there is an observable pattern involving the replacement of 𦰩 with 又 as seen in
, when observing that
(not simplified) and
(not simplified), an inconsistency arises. This is due to the fact that in the Complete List of Simplified Characters,
appears in Chart 1 while
is listed in Chart 2 and
as a derived character in the non-exhaustive list in Chart 3. Therefore,
is defined as a 'simplified character component' according to the standard, while
is not. Based on
is simplified to
, and
to
. Since both
and
appear in Chart 1, they are not defined as derived characters. There are therefore no characters or components found in Chart 2 usable for derivation of
and
. Further investigation reveals that these two characters do not appear in Chart 1 nor in "Series One Organization List of Variant Characters". Thus they remain unchanged from traditional forms in the
Common Modern Characters
list.
Distribution
edit
The slogan
战无不胜的毛泽东思想万岁!
('Long live the invincible
Mao Zedong
Thought!') written using simplified characters on
Xinhua Gate
in Beijing
The People's Republic of China and Singapore generally use simplified characters. They appear very sparingly in texts originating in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities, although they are becoming more prevalent as mainland China becomes more integrated globally.
Mainland China
edit
The Law of the People's Republic of China on the National Common Language and Characters implies that simplified Chinese characters are the country's standard script, with traditional Chinese being used for purposes such as ceremonies, cultural purposes such as calligraphy, for decoration, in publications and books on ancient literature and poetry, and for research purposes. Traditional characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promotion of simplified characters, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional characters are also often used for commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertisements.
As part of the
one country, two systems
model, the PRC has not attempted to force Hong Kong or Macau into using simplified characters. The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the
People's Daily
are printed in traditional characters, and both
People's Daily
and
Xinhua
have traditional character versions of their website available, using
Big5
encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers; the reverse is also true.
Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters.
Hong Kong
edit
Textbooks, official statements, and newspapers show no signs of moving to simplified Chinese characters, including state-funded media. However, for example, Hong Konger students sometimes opt to write with simplified characters when taking notes or while taking exams, in order to write faster.
It is common for Hong Kongers to learn traditional Chinese characters in school, as well as some simplified characters incidentally, usually by consuming media produced on the mainland. For use on computers, however, people tend to type Chinese characters using an IME with a traditional character set, such as Big5. In Hong Kong, as well as elsewhere, it is common for people to use both sets, due to the ease of conversion between the two sets.
clarification needed
Taiwan
edit
Simplified characters are not used in any official capacity in Taiwan, including in government and civil publications in Taiwan. However, they are sometimes used in calligraphy and informal handwriting.
28
It is also legal to import and distribute publications printed in simplified characters. Specific simplified forms predating the 20th century are in common use, such as
Chinese
, the first character in the name "Taiwan", rivalling the orthodox form
Chinese
even in publications and academic contexts.
Southeast Asia
edit
In Singapore, where Mandarin Chinese is one of the official languages, simplified characters are the official standard and are generally used in most of official publications as well as the government-controlled press. While simplified characters are taught exclusively in schools and are generally used in most of official publications, the government does not officially discourage the use of traditional characters and still allow parents to choose whether to have their child's Chinese name registered in simplified or traditional characters. Traditional characters are widely used by older Singaporeans, and are widespread on billboards, stall menus, and decorations, as well as in newspapers and on television. There is no restriction on the use of traditional characters in mass media, and television programs, books, magazines and music imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan are widely available, almost always using traditional characters. Many shop signs and menus in
hawker centres
and coffee shops continue to be written with traditional characters.
29
Chinese is not an official language in Malaysia, but over 90% of ethnic-Chinese students in the country are educated in Chinese schools, which have been teaching in simplified characters since 1981.
citation needed
Traditional characters are also widely used by older people and are likewise widespread on billboards, to a greater extent than in Singapore.
citation needed
Most of Malaysia's Chinese-language newspapers compromise by retaining traditional characters in article headlines, but opting to use simplified characters for the bodies of articles.
citation needed
In Indonesia, Chinese is not an official language. However, the country is also home to a sizable ethnic-Chinese community, and similarly to Malaysia, ethnic-Chinese students typically receive their education in Chinese-language schools that almost exclusively use simplified characters. Traditional characters are seldom used, typically only for stylistic purposes.
citation needed
In education
edit
In general, schools in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore use simplified characters exclusively, while schools in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan use traditional characters exclusively.
Today, simplified Chinese characters predominate among college and university programs teaching Chinese as a foreign language outside of China,
30
such as those in the United States.
31
Mainland China
edit
In December 2004, Ministry of Education authorities rejected a proposal from a Beijing
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC) political conference member that called for elementary schools to teach traditional Chinese characters in addition to the simplified ones. The conference member pointed out that many, especially young people, have difficulties with traditional Chinese characters; this is especially important in dealing with non-mainland communities such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. The educational authorities did not approve the recommendation, saying that it did not fit in with the "requirements as set out by the law" and it could potentially complicate the curricula.
32
A similar proposal was delivered to the first plenary session of the 11th CPPCC in March 2008.
33
Hong Kong
edit
Most, if not all, Chinese-language textbooks in Hong Kong are written in traditional characters. Before 1997, the use of simplified characters was generally discouraged by educators.
citation needed
After 1997, while students are still expected to be proficient and utilize traditional characters in formal settings, they may sometimes adopt a hybrid written form in informal settings to speed up writing.
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
edit
Chinese textbooks in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are written exclusively in simplified characters, and only simplified characters are taught in school. Traditional characters are usually only taught to those taking up calligraphy as a
co-curricular activity
or Cantonese as an elective course at school.
Chinese as a foreign language
edit
Further information:
Chinese as a foreign language
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does not
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sources
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The majority of textbooks teaching Chinese are now based on simplified characters and Hanyu Pinyin – although there are textbooks originating in China which have a traditional version. For practical reasons, universities and schools prepare students who will be able to communicate with mainland China, so their obvious choice is to use simplified characters.
In places where a particular set is not locally entrenched, such as Europe and the United States, instruction is now mostly simplified, as the economic importance of mainland China increases, and also because of the availability of textbooks printed in mainland China. Teachers of international students often recommend learning both systems.
Europe
edit
In the United Kingdom, universities mainly teach Mandarin Chinese at the undergraduate level using the simplified characters coupled with pinyin. However, they will require the students to learn or be able to recognise the traditional forms if they are studying in Taiwan or Hong Kong (such as taking Cantonese courses). In Australia and New Zealand, schools, universities and
TAFEs
use predominantly simplified characters.
Russia and most East European nations are traditionally oriented on the education of the PRC's system for teaching Chinese, which uses simplified characters but exposes the learners to both systems.
East Asia
edit
In
South Korea
, universities have used predominantly simplified characters since the 1990s. In high school, Chinese is one of the selective subjects. By the regulation of the national curricula standards,
bopomofo
and traditional characters had been originally used before (since the 1940s), but by the change of regulation, pinyin and simplified characters have been used to pupils who enter the school in 1996 or later. Therefore, bopomofo and traditional characters disappeared after 1998 in South Korean high school Chinese curriculum.
In Japan there are two types of schools. Simplified Chinese is taught instead of traditional Chinese in pro-mainland China schools. They also teach Pinyin, a romanization system for standard Chinese, while the Taiwan-oriented schools teach bopomofo, which uses phonetic symbols. However, the Taiwan-oriented schools are starting to teach simplified Chinese and pinyin to offer a more well-rounded education.
34
Southeast Asia
edit
In the
Philippines
, the use of simplified characters has become increasingly popular. Before the 1970s, Chinese schools in the Philippines were under the supervision of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China. Hence, most books were using traditional characters. Traditional characters remained prevalent until the early 2000s. Institutions like the
Confucius Institute
, being the cultural arm of the People's Republic of China, are strong proponents of the use of simplified characters. Also, many schools are now importing their Mandarin textbooks from Singapore instead of Taiwan.
Public universities such as the Linguistics and Asian Languages Department of the
University of the Philippines
use simplified characters in their teaching materials. On the other hand, private schools such as
Chiang Kai Shek College
and
Saint Jude Catholic School
remain major proponents of the usage of traditional characters. Some private universities, such as the
Ateneo de Manila University
, also use simplified characters.
Use with computers
edit
In computer text applications, the
GB encoding scheme
most often renders simplified Chinese characters, while Big5 most often renders traditional characters. Although neither encoding has an explicit connection with a specific character set, the lack of a one-to-one mapping between the simplified and traditional sets established a de facto linkage.
Since simplified Chinese conflated many characters into one and since the initial version of the GB encoding scheme, known as
GB 2312
-80, contained only one code point for each character, it is impossible to use GB 2312 to map to the bigger set of traditional characters. It is theoretically possible to use Big5 code to map to the smaller set of simplified character glyphs, although there is little market for such a product. Newer and alternative forms of GB have support for traditional characters. In particular, mainland authorities have now established
GB 18030
as the official encoding standard for use in all mainland software publications. The encoding contains all East Asian characters included in
Unicode
3.0. As such, GB 18030 encoding contains both simplified and traditional characters found in Big-5 and GB, as well as all characters found in
Japanese
and
Korean
encodings.
Unicode deals with the issue of simplified and traditional characters as part of the project of
Han unification
by including code points for each. This was rendered necessary by the fact that the linkage between simplified characters and traditional characters is not one-to-one. While this means that a Unicode system can display both simplified and traditional characters, it also means that different
localisation
files are needed for each type.
In font filenames and descriptions, the acronym SC is used to signify the use of simplified Chinese characters to differentiate fonts that use TC for traditional characters.
35
Internet usage
edit
The
World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C)'s Internationalization working group recommends the use of the
language tag
zh-Hans
as a language attribute value and Content-Language value to specify web-page content in simplified Chinese characters.
36
Criticism
edit
Further information:
Debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters
Author
Liu Shahe
was an outspoken critic of the simplification of Chinese characters. He wrote a dedicated column entitled "Simplified Characters are Unreasonable" in the Chinese edition of the
Financial Times
37
Some critics pejoratively refer to Simplified Chinese as 殘體字 meaning "crippled characters."
38
See also
edit
Language portal
China portal
Ambiguities in Chinese character simplification
Chinese Character Simplification Scheme
Second round of simplified Chinese characters
Ryakuji
Shinjitai
Singapore Chinese characters
Differences between Shinjitai and Simplified characters
Modern Chinese characters
Notes
edit
The
Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian
defines the term as "Chinese characters that have undergone simplification" (
经过简化的汉字
).
This is very similar to the 'elimination of variants of the same character' in "Series One Organization List of Variant Characters", except that these eliminations happen in Chart 1 and Chart 2 of "Complete List of Simplified Characters". Characters simplified in Chart 2 can be further used for derivation of Chart 3, but those chosen in "Series One Organization List of Variant Characters" cannot.
References
edit
Citations
edit
教育部就《汉字简化方案》等发布50周年答记者问
GOV.cn
(in Chinese). 2006-03-22. Archived from
the original
on 2022-03-24
. Retrieved
2011-01-20
"Unihan data for U+6C92"
www.unicode.org
. Retrieved
2023-09-30
"Unihan data for U+6CA1"
www.unicode.org
. Retrieved
2023-09-30
关于《通用规范汉字表》公开征求意见的公告
china-language.gov.cn
(in Chinese). Archived from
the original
on 2009-08-15
. Retrieved
2009-08-18
汉字，该繁还是简？
Xinhua
新华网
(in Chinese). 2009-04-09. Archived from
the original
on 2009-04-28
. Retrieved
2009-04-10
专家称恢复繁体字代价太大 新规范汉字表将公布
Xinhua
新华网
(in Chinese). 2009-04-09. Archived from
the original
on 2009-04-12
. Retrieved
2009-04-10
Syndicated from
新京报
, 2009-04-09. Accessed 2009.04.10.
Wu, Jing; Guo, Likun (12 August 2009).
"China to Regulate Use of Simplified Characters"
China View
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-08-16
. Retrieved
2009-08-17
国务院关于公布《通用规范汉字表》的通知
[Notice of the State Council on Promulgating the "Common Standard Chinese Characters Table"] (in Chinese). Government of the People's Republic of China. 2013-08-19.
简体字
现代汉语规范词典
Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian
] (in Chinese) (3rd ed.). Beijing: Foreign Language and Teaching Press. 2014.
ISBN
978-7-5135-4562-4
书同文 :《汉字简化方案》制订始末
(in Chinese). Xinhua. 2008-06-03. Archived from
the original
on 2013-11-11
. Retrieved
2024-03-16
Qiu 2000
, pp. 44–45.
Bökset 2006
, p. 19.
Bökset 2006
, p. 17.
Chao, Yuen Ren
Hu, Shih
(1916). "The problem of the Chinese language".
The Chinese Students' Monthly
11–
15.
Chen 1999
, pp. 150–153;
Zhong 2019
, pp. 27–28.
Yen, Yuehping (2005).
Calligraphy and Power in Contemporary Chinese Society
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-415-31753-3
Chen 1999
, pp. 150–153.
Bökset 2006
, pp. 27–29;
Zhong 2019
, pp. 157–158.
"List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2 April
2026
Bökset 2006
, p. 32.
Chen 1999
, pp. 155–156.
Chen 1999
, pp. 159–160.
Chen 1999
, pp. 196–197.
Zhou 2003
, p. 79;
Chen 1999
, p. 136.
《通用规范汉字表》44个汉字"整形"引发争论
CERNET
中国教育和科研计算机网
(in Chinese). 2009-08-24. Archived from
the original
on 2017-01-09
. Retrieved
2017-01-09
Li 2020
, pp. 145–146.
国务院关于公布《通用规范汉字表》的通知
[State Council Announcement of the
List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters
] (in Chinese). Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. 5 June 2013
. Retrieved
8 November
2023
Chia Shih Yar (谢世涯).
新加坡与中国调整简体字的评骘
A Comparative Study of the Revision of Simplified Chinese Characters Proposed by Singapore and China
]. Paper presented at The International Conference on Culture of Chinese Character. Convened by Beijing Normal University and Liaoning People Publishing House. Dandong, Liaoning, China. 9-11 Nov 1998 (in Chinese) – via huayuqiao.org.
Taylor & Taylor 2014
, p. 118.
Chia Shih Yar (谢世涯).
新加坡汉字规范的回顾与前瞻
Review and Prospect of Standardization of Chinese Characters in Singapore
]. Paper presented at The Fourth International Conference on Chinese Characters. Convened by The Society of Chinese Philology, Jiangsu Educational Publishing House and State Language Commission of PRC. Suzhou, China. 26–27 Nov 1997 (in Chinese) – via huayuqiao.org.
Xing, Janet Zhiqun (2006).
Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language: A Pedagogical Grammar
Hong Kong University Press
. p. 105.
ISBN
978-962-209-763-6
For programs in teaching and learning Chinese as FL outside China, the simplified version has gradually gained ground and become the first choice because of student demand…
Norden, Bryan W. Van (2011).
Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy
. Hackett. p. 242.
ISBN
978-1-60384-615-8
Most contemporary Chinese language programs at U.S. colleges and universities emphasize the simplified form.
市教委驳回政协委员普及繁体字教学建议
[City Education Committee Rejects Commissar of The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to Popularize the Traditional Character Teaching Suggestion].
Qiānlóng wǎng
(in Chinese). 2004-12-08. Archived from
the original
on 2005-01-23.
争鸣：繁体字教育进校园有必要吗？
[Debate: A Need to Introduce Traditional Characters to Schools?].
Xīnhuá wǎng
新华网
(in Chinese). 2008-03-14. Archived from
the original
on 2008-03-17
. Retrieved
2008-03-15
Co, Emily (23 December 2008).
"School Bridges China-Japan Gap"
The Japan Times
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-12-26
. Retrieved
2008-12-23
"Noto CJK"
Google Noto Fonts
Richard Ishida (editor):
Best Practice 13: Using Hans and Hant codes
in
Internationalization Best Practices: Specifying Language in XHTML & HTML Content – W3C Working Group Note 12 April 2007
Liu, Shahe.
简化字不讲理
[Simplified Characters Are Unreasonable].
Financial Times
(in Chinese)
. Retrieved
2021-06-01
覆薰華君：「殘體字」爭論欠缺理性
Hong Kong Inmedia
(in Chinese). 2014-04-19
. Retrieved
2025-05-30
Works cited
edit
Bökset, Roar (2006).
Long Story of Short Forms: The Evolution of Simplified Chinese Characters
(PDF)
. Stockholm East Asian Monographs. Vol. 11. Stockholm University.
ISBN
978-91-628-6832-1
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2021-12-02
. Retrieved
2024-03-12
Chen Ping (陳平) (1999).
Modern Chinese: History and Sociolinguistics
(4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-64572-0
DeFrancis, John
(1972) [1950].
Nationalism and language reform in China
. New York: Octagon.
ISBN
978-0-374-92095-1
Li, Yu (2020).
The Chinese Writing System in Asia: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
. Routledge.
ISBN
978-1-138-90731-7
Qiu Xigui
(2000) [1988].
Chinese Writing
. Translated by Gilbert L. Mattos; Norman, Jerry. Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China and The Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California.
ISBN
978-1-55729-071-7
Taylor, Insup; Taylor, M. Martin (2014) [1995].
Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
. Studies in Written Language and Literacy. Vol. 14 (Rev. ed.). John Benjamins.
ISBN
978-90-272-1794-3
Zhong, Yurou (2019).
Chinese Grammatology: Script Revolution and Literary Modernity, 1916–1958
. Columbia University Press.
doi
10.7312/zhon19262
ISBN
978-0-231-54989-9
Zhou Youguang
(2003).
The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts
中国语文的时代演进
(in English and Chinese). Translated by Zhang Liqing (张立青). Columbus: National East Asian Languages Resource Center, Ohio State University.
ISBN
978-0-87415-349-1
Further reading
edit
Bergman, Peter M. (1980).
The Basic English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary: Using Simplified Characters (with an Appendix Containing the Original Complex Characters) Transliterated in Accordance with the New, Official Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
. New York: New American Library.
ISBN
0-451-09262-7
Chen, Huoping (1987).
Simplified Chinese Characters
. Torrance, CA: Heian.
ISBN
0-89346-293-4
External links
edit
Andrew West
Proposal to Encode Obsolete Simplified Chinese Characters
Stroke Order Animation and Dictionary of Simplified Chinese Characters
Simplified to Traditional Chinese Conversion Table
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