ChineseGrammatology

Today, Chinese characters are considered a national treasure and the cornerstone of the nation's identity. However, from the mid-twentieth century, efforts were made to reform the Chinese script, with many people viewing it as an outdated obstacle to modernization. Critics argued that the writing system impeded literacy and therefore hindered both science and democracy. The push for abandonment of characters and adoption of alphabetic writing was supported across the political spectrum, but ultimately, the Communist Party decided on character simplification.

Chinese Grammatology traces the origins, evolution, and containment of this script revolution. It provides a comprehensive analysis of its profound impact on Chinese literature and culture, as well as the enduring implications it has had for the interaction between the alphabetic and non-alphabetic worlds. Yurou Zhong delves into the emergence of competing Romanization and Latinization movements that were aligned with both the Nationalists and Communists. She uncovers many surprising affinities between alphabetic reform and modern Chinese literary movements, and also investigates the politics that drove mass education and literacy programs in the midst of war and revolution.

Zhong places the Chinese script revolution within the broader global context of phonocentric dominance that privileges phonetic writing. She contends that the eventual retention of characters constituted a powerful anti-ethnocentric and anti-imperial critique that predated the emergence of Deconstructionism and coincided with postwar decolonization movements. By offering unique insights into the consequences of one of the largest linguistic experiments in history, Chinese Grammatology provides a fascinating perspective on the origins of Chinese literary modernity and the political dimensions of writing science.

作者简介

YurouZhongisassistantprofessorofEastAsianstudiesattheUniversityofToronto.