The Background That the Chinese Characters Were Simplified

Abstract

On the surface, the simplification of Chinese characters was to eliminate illiteracy, improve the efficiency of writing and realize the alphabetization of Chinese characters. But in fact, it was the personal will of the leader that determined. One of the theoretical bases of simplification was the simplified law in the evolution of Chinese characters which was deliberately exaggerated, and the second was the three-stage theory of writing development which was accepted by many people. Over the past 60 years, many defects of simplified Chinese characters have been revealed. It seems that the alphabetization of Chinese characters has failed completely, and our higher education is about to enter the stage of popularization. For these two aspects alone, the rationale for simplifying Chinese characters has been lost. Moreover, the simplified Chinese character was only to be used as a transitional stage of the conversion to alphabetic writing, and there was no intention to use it for a long time. Therefore, the historical mission of simplified characters has been completed, and it is time for simplified characters to withdraw from the stage of history.