Preface
As a treasure of Chinese culture, Chinese characters carry thousands of years of civilization and wisdom, but in recent years, some people have claimed that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish." Who said this? Some experts frankly admit that this is indeed what Lu Xun said.
This topic has sparked widespread controversy because of the importance of Chinese characters in Chinese culture. What is the profound meaning of Lu Xun's warning? What was the reason for his remarks?
The call for simplification of Chinese characters
In 1936, the famous writer Lu Xun made a shocking remark in an interview: "If Chinese characters do not perish, China will perish." This cultural giant, once known as the "soul of the nation", openly questioned the existence of Chinese characters, which was a bombshell at the time.
To understand Lu Xun's view, we must go back to that turbulent era. In the thirties of the last century, China was in the dark. Due to the decay and incompetence of the Qing rulers, coupled with the invasion and plunder of foreign powers, the country withered and the people were in dire straits. In this context, Lu Xun and other people of insight began to reflect on the root causes of the country's backwardness.
Educational backwardness is one of the banes. At that time, the illiteracy rate in the country was as high as 90 percent, and the vast majority of people did not even have the most basic reading and writing skills, so they naturally could not accept the new ideology and culture. The main culprit for this situation is the complexity of Chinese characters.
The strokes of Chinese characters are cumbersome, and the radical structure is intricate, and even cultural elites like Lu Xun laugh at themselves, "It takes many years to learn all the characters." One can imagine what a daunting challenge it is for the people at the bottom to learn Chinese characters.
This backward state of education has become an important factor hindering the progress of the country. Lu Xun was deeply aware that only by reforming the written language could he truly promote the emancipation of the mind and cultural progress, so as to save this country on the verge of collapse. As a result, he resolutely put forward the view that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish", which caused an uproar.
The rise of the New Culture Movement
In the face of the crisis of the country, a group of people of insight began the New Culture Movement, who called for the replacement of classical Chinese with vernacular Chinese and the replacement of Chinese characters with Latin alphabets in order to promote ideological emancipation and cultural progress.
Lu Xun was an important participant and promoter of this movement. As a doctor who studied in Japan, he originally wanted to use his medical skills to save lives. However, after experiencing first-hand the decay of the country and the suffering of the people, he realized that it was not enough to heal the body, but to awaken the minds and souls of the people.
As a result, Lu Xun resolutely gave up his profession as a doctor and devoted himself to literary creation. His works, such as "Diary of a Madman" and "The True Story of Ah Q", expose the darkness of the old society with sharp brushstrokes and arouse people's yearning for a new life.
It was driven by this sense of mission to save the world and survive that Lu Xun put forward the proposition that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish". He hoped to save the country from collapse by abolishing the deep-rooted obstacle of Chinese characters and promoting intellectual emancipation and cultural progress.
Lu Xun's appeal soon aroused strong repercussions in the cultural circles. A group of like-minded scholars, such as Chen Duxiu and Hu Shih, also expressed their support for the vernacular literary movement. As the editor-in-chief of New Youth magazine, Chen Duxiu invited Lu Xun to contribute to the magazine many times.
His copywriter Qian Xuantong pestered Lu Xun all day long, hoping to push him to create vernacular works. Influenced by this atmosphere, Lu Xun soon created the groundbreaking vernacular novel Diary of a Madman. As soon as this work came out, it caused an uproar and became an important symbol of the vernacular literary movement.
Hu Shih is another ardent supporter of vernacular writing. He communicated with Lu Xun many times, hoping to use Lu Xun's power to make vernacular literature occupy a place in the literary world. The creative process of "Diary of a Madman" can be called a good story. When Lu Xun agreed to Chen Duxiu's invitation to write, he devoted himself to creation alone, isolated from the world for more than ten days.
During this period, countless literati and scholars came to visit, hoping to get a glimpse of Lu Xun's new works. There are many people like Hu Shi, which shows how great the expectations for this work are. Finally, under the watchful eye, "Diary of a Madman" was completed as scheduled. The opening sentence "I'm so crazy" sparked heated discussions and applause from the participants. The advent of this work is an important milestone in the development of Chinese vernacular novels.
The dispute over the abolition of Chinese characters
The publication of "Diary of a Madman" undoubtedly promoted the development of the vernacular literary movement. However, the debate over the existence and abolition of Chinese characters has intensified. On the one hand, Lu Xun, Hu Shi and others insisted on the abolition of Chinese characters, believing that this was the only way to achieve cultural progress. They believe that the cumbersomeness and complexity of Chinese characters seriously hinder the spread of knowledge and is one of the important reasons for the backwardness of the country.
On the other hand, there are also many scholars who take a conservative attitude and insist on maintaining the status of Chinese characters. They believe that Chinese characters are the treasure of the Chinese nation and the carrier of thousands of years of cultural inheritance, and if they are easily discarded, it will be a major loss of culture. The two points of view collided fiercely in the cultural circles of the time, and the two sides insisted on their own words, and you came and went, arguing endlessly. This controversy is also known as the "Word Revolution".
In this controversy, although Lu Xun and others failed to fulfill their wish and completely abolished Chinese characters, their voices were not without effect. In order to find a balance between tradition and modernity, the authorities finally decided to carry out a simplification reform of Chinese characters.
In 1935, the first batch of simplified characters was officially announced, marking the birth of simplified characters. This reform is a compromise advocated by Lu Xun and others. Although Chinese characters were not completely abolished, the difficulty of learning Chinese characters was greatly reduced through simplification, and the obstacles to cultural dissemination were cleared.
epilogue
Throughout this period of history, it is not difficult for us to find that Lu Xun and others put forward the proposition that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish", their starting point is good, and they hope to promote the progress of the country through the innovation of writing. It's just that their approach is too radical and fails to truly appreciate the importance of Chinese characters to Chinese culture.
Fortunately, in the end, through the appearance of simplified characters, a balance between tradition and modernity was achieved. The essence of Chinese characters has been preserved, and at the same time, it has cleared the way for cultural diffusion. This result may be the ultimate expectation of Lu Xun and others.
However, today's China has achieved modernization, and the cultural quality of the people has also been greatly improved. Although Chinese characters were once questioned, as an important symbol of Chinese civilization, they will surely shine with the development of the country. We should remember the history, cherish the present, and contribute to the inheritance and development of Chinese culture.