Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 128 Simplified Chinese characters must be implemented! What the sages could do, we can do too.
"Do the two Mr. Songs think that Chinese characters should be simplified?"

Inside the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Song Lian and Song Ne and asked them this question.

He looked very serious when he asked this question.

This is also an important reason why he summoned Song Lian and Song Ne this time.

For the popularization of culture, the simplification of Chinese characters is essential.

To promote cultural development and knowledge dissemination, and to enable more people to receive education and acquire relevant knowledge, it is essential to simplify the complex Chinese characters.

In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang did not have these feelings.

But after arriving in the future, seeing and systematically learning simplified characters, I now return to the Ming Dynasty to see the traditional characters used there.

I really felt that everything was awkward.

One of the biggest reasons is that it's really hard to write.

Some traditional Chinese characters have a lot of strokes.

Therefore, he also promoted simplified characters in the Ming Dynasty, officially establishing and promulgating them throughout the country.

He planned to have Song Lian and others revise a dictionary in the future, which would largely be a preparation for simplified Chinese characters.

In the future, in addition to adding pinyin to dictionaries, we should also focus on simplified characters.

Both Song Lian and Song Ne were taken aback when they heard the emperor suddenly ask this question.

Clearly, no one expected the emperor to ask such a question at this moment.

"Your Majesty, I believe it should not be simplified."

Without giving it much thought, after only a slight pause, Song Lian immediately spoke up to object.

They clearly and explicitly stated their views.

In his view, this was something that needed no further thought and had to be opposed.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not get angry, but simply nodded to Song Lian, signaling him to continue.

Song Lian said, "Your Majesty, the development of Chinese characters needs to follow the Six Scripts."

These include pictographs, ideographs, compound ideographs, phonetic compounds, derivative characters, and phonetic loan characters.

Pictographs, ideographs, compound ideographs, and phonetic compounds belong to the methods of character creation, which are the rules governing the structure of Chinese characters.

Borrowing and semantic extension belong to the methods of using characters.

These are summaries made by Xu Shen, a renowned scholar of classical studies, in his work "Shuowen Jiezi" (Explaining Characters and Analyzing Words), based on historical materials and the structure of Chinese characters.

I think it is very vivid and well summarized, capturing the essence of the development of Chinese characters.

Characters should not be created or altered arbitrarily.

Whether creating or modifying characters, the principles of the Six Scripts must be followed.

Many of the simplified characters that have appeared today contain errors.

Completely disregarding the principles of the Six Scripts, it has lost the essence of Chinese characters and disrupted the transmission of writing.

Most of these erroneous characters date back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the late Song Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty, a time of great chaos, when education was neglected and Confucianism did not flourish.

This is due to too many people who are greedy for convenience, or those who are engraving and printing, who want to save money and effort, and some people who lack knowledge, who write and modify things carelessly.

Throughout history, when the world was restored to stability and the dynasty prospered, there was always a focus on correcting these errors and bringing them back to the right path.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has been unified, with Your Majesty in power, it is flourishing and will surely rival the Han and Tang dynasties.

A great nation has its own grandeur. What Your Majesty should do now is to use dictionaries and other means to trace the origins of the truth.

The correct way to write characters was re-standardized, and all the incorrect characters were corrected.

Instead of replacing correct words with these erroneous ones.

This is putting the cart before the horse.

It would make my Chinese characters look like a mess, causing great distress and making me a laughing stock.

The erroneous simplified characters have actually made it into a refined language.

That's blasphemous.

It's heartbreaking to think about.

Song Lian spoke sincerely, expressing his views on the matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and did not refute.

They didn't express their own opinion either.

Instead, he turned to Song Ne and asked, "What does Chancellor Song think?"

Song Ne said, "Your Majesty, I share the same view."

Simplified Chinese characters are an erroneous way of writing, a sign of a decline in education and culture.

Faced with this situation, the most important thing to do is to get to the root of the problem and standardize the correct way to write the characters.

Issue the correct standards.

It was implemented throughout the entire country, based on the imperial court, the Imperial Academy, and government offices at all levels.

Let the correct Chinese characters replace those incorrect writing styles.

This is the most proper thing to do, and the right path.

On this matter, due to geographical and historical ties, Song Lian and Song Ne, who had never gotten along well, surprisingly stood together in agreement.

They all oppose the implementation of simplified characters.

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly taken aback.

To be honest, he originally thought that Song Ne would stand with him on this matter, agree with his view, and support him.

As a result, Old Man Song strongly opposed it.

However, as unexpected as it may seem, upon further reflection, it's not entirely incomprehensible.

Although Song Ne was much more open-minded than Song Lian, he was not as rigid as Song Lian.

But no matter what, they were people who had spent their entire lives immersed in Confucianism.

It's normal to have this attitude towards Chinese characters.

"Mr. Song, we have different opinions on this matter, and our views differ from yours."

We believe that simplified Chinese characters should be promoted, and this is an inescapable duty that cannot be delayed.

Simplified Chinese characters should be vigorously promoted to completely replace traditional Chinese characters.

Zhu Yuanzhang, without beating around the bush, looked at the two men and clearly stated his opinion on the matter.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, both Song Lian and Song Ne appeared somewhat anxious.

For Song Lian in particular, upholding the orthodoxy of Confucianism and cultural traditions was something he felt obligated to do.

He was about to speak when Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand to stop him.

“Mr. Song, please listen to what we have to say first. We feel that you have not understood some things and have put the cart before the horse.”

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Song Lian had no choice but to temporarily suppress his many thoughts.

Filled with doubt and resentment, they waited to hear what the emperor would say about this matter.

What does it mean to say that we have put the cart before the horse?
"Let's ask Mr. Song a question first."

Is the emperor about to ask another question?
Song Lian was slightly taken aback.

But she quickly regained her confidence.

In this matter, no matter what questions the emperor asked, it would be of no use.

Don't try to ask yourself the same questions you did before.

No matter what he asks, I still hold the same opinion on this matter: Chinese characters should not be simplified.

I will absolutely not do as the emperor said, putting the cart before the horse in the matter of simplifying Chinese characters.

Not to boast, but when it comes to scholarship, Song Lian was indeed quite accomplished.

Anyone with a modicum of knowledge would absolutely insist on using traditional characters and upholding the orthodoxy of Chinese characters.

We oppose those erroneous simplified Chinese characters.

If we're talking about putting the cart before the horse, then the emperor's current actions are the real example of putting the cart before the horse!

"Could the two Mr. Songs tell us why the written characters appeared?"

"Our ancestors used knotted grass to record events, and the knots varied in size."

Even though the knots vary in size, number, and shape.

However, as the amount of things that need to be remembered increases, and as the time goes on...

Even with knots in the rope, many things will still become chaotic.

Therefore, during the time of the Yellow Emperor, the historian Cangjie observed the changes in the sun, moon, and stars, and examined the tracks of birds and beasts.

Observe all things in the world and gain inspiration from them.

Thus, a written script was created to record events.

As the characters were created, wind and rain raged, ghosts wailed and gods howled, and heaven and earth shook...

For a great Confucian scholar like Song Lian, these things were readily available to him.

Effortless.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Mr. Song is absolutely right."

According to Mr. Song, could we say that the reason why writing came into existence is because people had the need to use writing to record things and various other things?

So, is that why written language came into being?

After carefully considering the emperor's words and confirming that there was no hidden agenda, Song Lian nodded.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right, that is exactly what I meant."

"In other words, the purpose of writing is to make recording things simpler, more accurate, and more convenient and faster."

Song Lian had already vaguely sensed that the emperor wanted to say something.

But what the emperor said at this moment was indeed the truth.

There's no way to refute that either.

So he nodded again.

"It was because knotted ropes for recording events were no longer suitable for the situation at the time that Cangjie created characters, which completely replaced knotted ropes for recording events."

Similarly, how similar are the complex traditional Chinese characters we see today to the simple simplified characters, and the ancient Chinese methods of record-keeping by tying knots and the invention of writing by Cangjie?

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Song Lian immediately became anxious.

"Your Majesty, how can knotted ropes for recording events be compared to modern writing?"

The written language we use today is already very standardized and comprehensive.

It can record all sorts of things very clearly and completely.

It is fully capable of meeting all kinds of needs.

But this is completely different from the old record of tying grass to keep track of events.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "We see a big difference. The writing system we use now is still not good enough; it's too complicated."

Some say that traditional Chinese characters have three "mores" and five "difficulties": the three "mores" refer to the large number of characters, the many strokes, and the many pronunciations.

The five difficulties are: difficult to recognize, difficult to read, difficult to remember, difficult to write, and difficult to use.

We generally agree with this view.

Traditional Chinese characters do indeed have many problems and shortcomings.

If that's the case, why can't we simplify it to some extent?
What's wrong with simplified Chinese characters?
This is sufficient to largely solve the problems that exist with Chinese characters.

Furthermore, it will increase speed and reduce workload in both writing and woodblock printing.

Both Mr. Song were disciples of the sage and studied Confucian classics.

Most Confucian scholars are dedicated to spreading Confucianism and promoting its development.

However, the shortcomings of traditional Chinese characters are indeed significant, raising the learning threshold.

If simplified characters can be implemented, then the threshold for the dissemination of knowledge will be greatly lowered in the future.

To enable more people to access, learn, and master knowledge.

To better admire, understand, and follow the way of the sages.

Promote the great development and prosperity of culture.

Are these not the glorious and righteous path? Do they not conform to the words of the sages?

Compared to the minor details like simplifying the character "和", this is the most fundamental meaning.

How can we throw the baby out with the bathwater? How can we negate the whole because of these trivial details?

They cling to so-called minor principles while abandoning fundamental ones.

Isn't this putting the cart before the horse and losing the horse for the sake of the small?

"Mr. Song, you two can think about this carefully. Am I right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then raised the banner of spreading Confucianism to the two of them.

However, he said this only to reduce some of the resistance to promoting simplified characters.

In today's environment, it's not easy to promote simplified characters without cloaking it in some Confucian garb.

After all, most of these scholars were Confucianists.

Such matters are difficult to handle without being disguised in this way.

Just like the many scholars throughout history, they did the same thing.

Whether it was Dong Zhongshu, the Cheng brothers, or Zhu Xi and many others, they all interpreted the Six Classics through their own lens, and vice versa.

On the surface, they are all interpreting the classics of the sages, but aren't they all cramming their own opinions into them?
They take their own ideas, under the guise of interpreting Confucian classics, and cloak them in the guise of Confucian sages. This allows them to use this framework to generate new ideas, innovate, and gain wider understanding and acceptance.

Zhu Yuanzhang is merely borrowing a few of the methods that Confucian scholars are accustomed to using.

Just because they can use such methods doesn't mean we can't.

No matter what method is used, as long as simplified characters can be promoted, that's good.

Promote the use of simplified characters to increase literacy rates.

So, where simplified characters will be used next, and what academic disciplines they will promote, is beyond the control and imagination of these Confucian scholars.

There are different methods and approaches to doing things; you can't just blindly rush in.

Blindly forging ahead will almost never lead to success.

It will only make things worse...

"Writing was created to record all sorts of things."

This is the original meaning of the words.

Since it's for recording things, convenience should be the primary consideration.

Now, Mr. Song is trying to stick to old ways and prevent the simplification of characters by citing reasons such as "disordering the written language" and "the way of the sages".

This is forgetting the meaning of the words themselves; isn't that yet another, even greater, reversal of priorities?

"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. It's just that writing is really quite useful now."

These were all created by sages and wise men.

Words are sacred; it is truly unacceptable to arbitrarily alter them.

"I'm afraid this will cause a huge uproar..."

Song Lian continued to refute this matter.

How could he possibly be easily persuaded by the emperor?
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "What sage created it?"

Even if it was created by a sage, can't it be changed?

We're not well-educated, Mr. Song, please don't try to fool us.

Is language truly unchanging?
From knotted ropes for record-keeping, to Cangjie's invention of characters, to oracle bone script, and various inscriptions, to seal script, to small seal script, and later clerical script.

Words are never static.

It's always changing.

Its trajectory is from complexity to simplicity, becoming increasingly standardized.

They even claim it was created by a sage, but we don't believe that.

After the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, he standardized the written language, and Li Si created the Small Seal script based on the Qin seal script.

How far removed are these later Confuciuses, and the sages of the Hundred Schools of Thought era?

From its inception to the present day, written language has been in a continuous process of evolution.

Change is inevitable.

During the Qin Dynasty, people disliked the Small Seal script for being too cumbersome and inconvenient to write, so they used the Clerical script for writing.

The clerical script eventually replaced the small seal script and remains in use to this day.

Putting everything else aside, the very name "Clerical Script" reveals its origin—it certainly has nothing to do with sages or virtuous men.

Song Lian blushed slightly, but quickly regained his composure.

This emperor who is good at reading books is not easy to fool!
"Now, the clerical script has become too complicated and no longer suits modern development."

Simplified Chinese characters would naturally emerge and be able to replace clerical script.

Just like how clerical script replaced seal script in the past, it was for the same reason.

Moreover, many of the simplified characters were not created here; they already existed long ago.

Simplified Chinese characters can be found in Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion.

Simplified Chinese characters are still widely used today.

It is used and accepted by many people.

Doesn't that already explain the problem?

Faced with this positive trend, what we should do is guide rather than suppress it.

We should follow this trend and proactively simplify things.

Then it was standardized and promoted throughout the country.

This is the most important.

Instead of sticking to the old ways and clinging to these outdated ideas.

Are simplified Chinese characters really completely useless and have no redeeming qualities?

In our view, that is not the case.

Many simplified characters also follow the principles of the Six Scripts.

It exists in many aspects, including font structure and imagery.

Both are of the same lineage and possess both form and spirit.

It's nowhere near as terrible as Mr. Song and you describe."

Zhu Yuanzhang's words were earnest and sincere.

"Mr. Song, there is something I want to say to you."

Song Lian saw Song Ne and the other man off, bowing respectfully as if he were listening attentively.

Things are constantly evolving, not static.

We should also look at things from a developmental perspective.

We must also consider issues from a realistic perspective.

Go and see if various things fit the current situation.

Does its existence promote development or hinder it?

Will it make the Ming Dynasty better or worse?

This is the standard by which we judge many things.

Today, I will tell this to the two Mr. Songs.”

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Song Ne fell into deep thought.

His expression changed.

Song Lian was also pondering, unlike before when he immediately spoke up to respond to the emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything more, picked up the cup, and took a sip of water.

I waited quietly for the two of them to reflect.

And give your own answer.

After a while, Song Ne raised her head.

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang, he said, "Your Majesty, I think what Your Majesty said is very true."

The written language has indeed been evolving, and its structure has indeed been simplifying from complex to simple.

Although writing was created by sages, it was indeed improved by people later on.

Indeed, as Your Majesty said, simplified characters have been around for a long time.

By this time, many simplified characters had already been developed.

It is very popular in many places.

Even if the government issues relevant standards, simplified characters still cannot be completely eliminated in informal settings.

This also shows that simplified characters are very popular.

I hadn't understood before, but after hearing Your Majesty's words, I suddenly realized the truth.

Words can be considered a tool, and when doing things, the better the tool, the better.

To do something well, you must first have the right tools.

We cannot say that just because a tool was created by our predecessors, we must stick to the tools created by our predecessors without making any improvements.

Why leave the good ones unused?

This is indeed putting the cart before the horse.

Written words are written words, and the words of a sage are the words of a sage.

Written texts and the words of sages should be viewed separately and not confused.

The simplified text, as Your Majesty has said, is indeed more conducive to the spread of the Way of the Sage.

Many simplified characters do indeed conform to the Six Scripts.

It's not a matter of haphazardly simplifying things.

Song Ne bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, his expression very solemn.

Song Lian seemed somewhat anxious, repeatedly signaling to Song Ne with his eyes.

Song Ne ignored this and continued to express his opinions on the matter.

"However, many existing simplified characters do not conform to the six principles of Chinese character formation."

Therefore, I am thinking that when simplifying things in the future, we should make more careful selections.

For words that meet the criteria, use them.

Those that do not conform to the Six Scripts should be avoided as much as possible.

Or perhaps we could create something new, producing a character that better conforms to the Six Scripts (六书) to replace it.

Some characters are inherently quite simple.

"Can such characters be left unsimplified?"

Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands after hearing Song Ne's words and said, "What you said makes sense, Chief Minister Song. That's exactly what we were thinking."

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Song Ne would not disappoint him.

Although Song Ne was older than Song Lian, she was quite progressive in many ways.

They are not as rigid as they appear.

In many things, they are relatively able to stay in line with their own beliefs.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have entrusted the management of the Imperial Academy to him.

Under Song Ne's management, the Imperial Academy was able to operate well and cultivate the talents it desired.

In the previous life, after Song Ne passed away, the Imperial Academy quickly declined and was once again dominated by those corrupt scholars.

This institution, which it wanted to use to train officials, free from those pedantic scholars, was ultimately conquered and assimilated by them...

Song Ne's reaction at this moment was exactly what he had expected of him.

There are some things that Song Ne might have insisted on at first.

However, after I explain the reasons to him, he will listen to me and make changes.

"Mr. Song, and you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his gaze to Song Lian.

"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance, and I cannot make a decision lightly."

Furthermore, just because Your Majesty proposed it doesn't mean I should simply flatter you without caring about or pursuing anything else.

His words were somewhat like Song Ne's.

But Song Ne ignored him and didn't bother with him.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

“What Master Song said is true, so let’s also say the truth.”

We will not simplify Chinese characters because of anyone's opposition.

Promoting simplified Chinese characters is imperative!
Furthermore, simplified Chinese characters will be the primary form used when compiling dictionaries in the future.

Traditional Chinese characters should be noted after simplified Chinese characters.

We understand Mr. Song's feelings, but we do not support your actions.

We are certain that we are right about this matter, and we believe Mr. Song also thinks you are right.

In that case, let posterity judge whether they have done good or bad deeds.

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Song Lian opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately uttered nothing more.

This is the helplessness one feels when faced with a powerful emperor.

If you encounter an emperor who is willing to listen to reason, you can reason with him.

Even those weak-willed emperors could be reasoned with.

But with an emperor like this now, reasoning with him is useless in many situations.

He will still go his own way.

Therefore, the best approach at present is to properly nurture the Crown Prince and his grandsons.

We must not allow him to become like the current emperor.

This is not the appearance of a wise ruler...

"There is one more thing here, which I will tell you both today."

We're also planning to compile a grand ceremony; we've already come up with a name: the Hongwu Grand Ceremony!

(End of this chapter)