50-441: The Beijing–Guangzhou railway or Jingguang railway ( simplified Chinese : 京广铁路 ; traditional Chinese : 京廣鐵路 ; pinyin : Jīngguǎng tiělù ) is a major trunk railway that connects Beijing in the north with Guangzhou in the south. This double-track electrified line has a total length of 2,324 kilometres (1,444 miles) and spans five provinces through north , central and south China. The line passes through
100-443: 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 ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
150-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : 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
200-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. 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, a practice which has always been present as
250-509: A length of 2,397 kilometres (1,489 mi). It has 790 bridges and 160 tunnels. The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge , at a length of 7,679 metres (25,194 ft), is the longest across the Yangtze River . Located between Jinghu railway (Beijing–Shanghai) and Jingguang railway (Beijing–Guangzhou) with a designed annual traffic volume of 70 million tonne, it was built to alleviate the congested Jingguang railway, and to foster development in
300-630: A massive strike demanding better workers' rights and protesting oppression by warlords. The strike, organized by Shi Yang and Lin Xiangqian, was an early example of worker mobilization by the Chinese Communist Party . In March 1937, the two lines were indirectly interconnected through the railway ferry on the Yangtze River, thus enabling the service of railway services between Guangzhou and Beijing. On October 15, 1957, Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
350-599: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : 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
400-568: 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. 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 ),
450-605: A powerful political force in the early Republic. Construction of the Guangdong–Hankou railway (Yuehan railway) began in 1900 and progressed more slowly. The concession was originally awarded to the American China Development Company , but a diplomatic crisis erupted when the Belgians purchased a controlling interest in it. The concession was cancelled in 1904 to prevent Franco-Belgian interests from controlling
500-571: A somewhat shorter overall length. In most cities along the line, the high-speed trains stop at different, purpose-built stations, rather than the older stations served by the original line. The Wuhan–Guangzhou section of the high-speed railway opened in 2009, and the Beijing–Wuhan section in 2012. As consecutive sections of the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway became operational, the railway authorities shifted much of passenger traffic from
550-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
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#1733086328339600-538: Is another conventional railway connecting Beijing with the Pearl River Delta . It runs mostly within a corridor 100–300 kilometres (60–190 miles) to the east of the Beijing–Guangzhou railway. The Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway runs through the same major cities as the original railway, on a slightly different route that avoids built-up areas and has a greater curve radius allowing for higher speeds and
650-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): 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 : Replacing entirely with
700-809: 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. 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. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
750-609: 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
800-540: Is used instead of 叠 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. In 2009,
850-656: 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 official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
900-682: The Guangshen railway (Guangzhou–Shenzhen railway, formerly the Chinese section of the Kowloon–Canton railway ) at Dongguan , and follows the same route. Within Hong Kong, it shares the same pair of tracks with the East Rail line (formerly British section of the Kowloon–Canton railway). Beijing–Kowloon through train services was previously provided on the Jingguang railway and Guangshen railway, instead of
950-628: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Beijing%E2%80%93Kowloon railway The Beijing–Kowloon railway , also known as the Jingjiu railway ( simplified Chinese : 京九铁路 or 京九线 ; traditional Chinese : 京九鐵路 or 京九線 ) is a dual track railway connecting Beijing West railway station in Beijing to Shenzhen railway station in Shenzhen , Guangdong Province . It
1000-456: 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". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
1050-476: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . 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
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#17330863283391100-508: 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. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
1150-470: 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. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
1200-551: The areas to the east of Jingguang railway. The idea had been proposed for a long time, and some of the sections, such as the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge, were built before construction of the whole line officially began. Some were converted from existing sections, such as between Jiujiang and Nanchang , and Fuyang and Shangqiu . The railway uses the same line as Guangmeishan railway (Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou railway) between Longchuan and Dongguan . It joins
1250-583: The capitals of each of them: Shijiazhuang ( Hebei ), Zhengzhou ( Henan ), Wuhan ( Hubei ), Changsha ( Hunan ) and Guangzhou ( Guangdong ). The line's two terminals are the Beijing West railway station and the Guangzhou railway station . Due to abundance of large and medium-sized cities on its route, this railway is widely recognized as the most important conventional railway line in China. The Jingguang railway
1300-428: The character set 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
1350-407: 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 : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
1400-465: 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
1450-472: 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
1500-636: The entire Beijing–Guangdong route. The Guangzhou–Sanshui branch line was completed in 1904. The Changsha – Zhuzhou section was then completed in 1911, followed by the Guangzhou– Shaoguan section in 1916, and the Wuchang–Changsha section in 1918. Work on the final section between Zhuzhou and Shaoguan began in 1929 but was not completed until 1936. On 7 February 1923, workers of the Beijing-Wuhan Railway Workers' association launched
1550-616: The first official list of simplified forms was published, 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. 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
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1600-463: 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
1650-465: 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
1700-455: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
1750-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. 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
1800-459: The left, with the 月 '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 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
1850-402: 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,
1900-739: The original railway to the new high-speed line. This allowed an increase in the amount of freight volume transported over the original route. For example, according to preliminary estimates, after the entire Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway opens, the annual freight capacity of the northern half of the Beijing–Guangzhou railway (between its two main freight stations, Beijing's Fengtai West railway station and Wuhan North railway station ) would increase by 20 million tons. On 29 June 2009, two passenger trains collided at Chenzhou station , leaving three people dead and 63 injured. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
1950-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. 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. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
2000-465: 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 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
2050-476: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. 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
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2100-461: 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: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
2150-488: 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
2200-817: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. 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 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
2250-516: The use of characters entirely. 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. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
2300-461: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
2350-521: Was built between 1897 and 1906. The concession was originally awarded to a Belgian company that was backed by French investors. A strong desire to bring the route under Chinese control led to the formation of the Bank of Communications to secure the financing needed to repatriate the railway. The successful redemption of the railway in 1909 enhanced the prestige of the Communications Clique , which became
2400-605: Was completed, and the two lines could be directly connected to form a merged line system until now. From north to south: Currently, the Beijing–Kowloon "Jingjiu" through train operates on this line. Prior to 2003, this train called at stops along the route, before border controls were set up at Beijing, which made the compartments to Kowloon sterile, making the intermediate stops available for use only for domestic passengers in separate carriages attached at Guangzhou East Station . The Beijing–Kowloon railway , completed in 1996,
2450-459: Was originally two independent companies: the Beijing–Hankou railway in the north from Beijing to Hankou , and the Guangdong–Hankou railway in the south from Wuchang to Guangzhou . Hankou and Wuchang were cities on opposite sides of the Yangtze River that became part of the present city of Wuhan in 1927. The 1,215-kilometre (755 mi) long Beijing–Hankou railway (Jinghan railway)
2500-607: Was previously connected with Hong Kong 's East Rail line across the border. All services south of Shenzhen were discontinued in July 2020, citing high-speed rail as a result. Construction of the railway began in February 1993. It was opened on 1 September 1996, connecting Beijing and Shenzhen (and thereupon with Kowloon through the KCR East Rail) through Tianjin , Hebei , Shandong , Henan , Anhui , Hubei , Jiangxi and Guangdong , with
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