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56-621: The Manas Lake used to be known as the Yihehake Lake ( Chinese : 伊赫哈克湖 ; pinyin : Yīhèhākè hú ) in the past. Notionally, Lake Manas is considered the end point of the Manas River , flowing from the Tian Shan mountains. In practice, however, the river bed is usually dry where it reaches the lake ( 45°41′00″N 85°44′00″E  /  45.68333°N 85.73333°E  / 45.68333; 85.73333 ), and little river water reaches

112-443: 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

168-434: 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

224-407: 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

280-599: 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

336-568: 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 ),

392-440: 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,

448-454: 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

504-809: 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

560-609: 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

616-512: Is the headquarter of the 8th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and currently administered by the 8th Division. The city implemented the "division and city integration" ( 师市合一 , shī shì héyī ) management system, it shares the same leader group with the 8th Division. In 1951, General Wang Zhen decided to build a new base for the People's Liberation Army and selected the location of current Shihezi. Zhao Xiguang (赵锡光) took charge in

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672-540: 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,

728-608: 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

784-577: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Shihezi Shihezi is a sub-prefecture-level city in Northern Xinjiang , China. It has a population of 380,130 according to the 2010 census. The city is also home to Shihezi University , the second-largest comprehensive university under the Project 211 in Xinjiang. Shihezi

840-456: 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

896-476: 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

952-508: 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

1008-666: The 21st century, it went through the cycle of shrinking, drying up, recovering, or existing as an intermittent lake . According to the research by Chinese geologists, area occupied by today's Manas Lake was in the past part of a much large lake, the Old Manas Lake , which exited in the northwestern part of the Dzungarian Basin. It is believed that the Old Manas Lake was formed in the Early Pleistocene and existed throughout

1064-470: 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

1120-754: The Early Quaternary . Due to tectonic movements in the Middle Quaternary , many important rivers that used to flow to the Old Manas Lake started flowing elsewhere. The Irtysh now flows toward the Arctic Ocean , and the Ulungur River ends in the Ulungur Lake ; the Maqiao River, south of Lake Manas, does not reach it either. Study of the old alluvial fans and lacustrine terraces seems to indicate that

1176-521: The Jiahezi Reservoir ( 夹河子水库 ; Jiāhézi shuǐkù , with the dam at 44°27′00″N 86°7′15″E  /  44.45000°N 86.12083°E  / 44.45000; 86.12083 ) and irrigation canals has been constructed in the area, supporting irrigated agriculture. Shihezi University is located in Shihezi. It is the second-largest university in Xinjiang, with approximately 40,000 students. Shihezi

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1232-713: The Manas, also the waters of the Hutubi River ( 呼图壁河 ) and Santun River ( 三屯河 ). These two rivers flow from the Tian Shan into the Dzungarian Basin in Hutubi and Changji Counties; nowadays, they disappear in the desert a long distance away from the Manas Lake, but in the period under consideration they would merge and reach the Alan Nur. Even though the Manas River flowed into the Alan Nur,

1288-587: The Old Manas Lake's level was at about 280 meters above the sea level . As the Old Manas Lake lost most of its water sources, its water level dropped in the Late Quaternary, and it split into several lakes including the Manas Lake, the Ailik Lake (which presently is the end point of the Baiyang River ), and the Alan Nur. According to the early 20th century maps, a large lake in the region of today's Manas Lake

1344-417: The annual mean temperature is 7.39 °C (45.3 °F). Precipitation is very low year-round, with an annual total of only 206 millimeters (8.11 in), compared to the annual evaporation rate, which is usually more than 1,000 millimeters (39 in). The Manas River forms the administrative border between Shihezi City and its eastern neighbor, Manas County . An extensive system of reservoirs (such as

1400-428: 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

1456-407: 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

1512-465: 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

1568-498: The development of the city, and established the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in 1954. Quasimilitary-structured farms surrounding Shihezi fueled the development of the city by producing materials for the factories that have been the economic drivers of the city. In 1974, Shihezi became a city. Shihezi contains 5 subdistricts , 2 towns , and a township-equivalent region: Nowadays textile and food industries are

1624-432: The district, and even less reached the Manas Lake, let alone the Alan Nur. Consequently, the Alan Nur, whose water surface still occupied the area of 238 square kilometres (92 sq mi) in the 1950s, had completely dried up by the 1960s. Now it is a bare plain of saline soil, at the elevation of 261–263 m above the sea level. The Manas Lake is now reached by the waters of the eponymous river only intermittently, but

1680-472: 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

1736-650: The east, west and north by the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture (which also includes the city's eastern neighbor, the much older historically Hui town of Manas ), it is not a part of it. Located in an area further from the nearest seacoast than any other region on earth, Shihezi has a continental semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk ), with a large temperature differences between summer and winter. Monthly average temperatures range from −15.3 °C (4.5 °F) in January to 25.3 °C (77.5 °F), and

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1792-419: The farms was accelerated in the 1990s and now dominates the economy. Shihezi is also home to a polysilicon factory of Daqo New Energy Corp., one of the largest polysilicon producers in the world. Shihezi is located at the northern foothills of the middle part of the Tian Shan range approximately 136 kilometres (85 mi) from the regional capital of Ürümqi . Although Shihezi is almost surrounded on

1848-616: 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

1904-463: 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

1960-465: 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

2016-503: 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

2072-466: 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

2128-459: The lake also receives water from seasonal streams flowing from the Saur Mountains at the northern edge of the Dzungarian Basin; besides, it is fed by ground water. The Manas Lake's bed is at about 247 m above the level, and its water surface, at 253–255 m above the level. According to Chinese researchers, the recent history of the Manas Lake and its neighbors can be divided into two stages. From

2184-478: The lake now known as the Manas Lake existed as well; it was fed primarily by streams coming from the northern rim of the Zhungarian Basin (i.e., from the Saur Mountains ); this is indicated by old alluvial fans still existing at the pertinent locations. It is believed that due to tectonic movements in the early 20th century, the earth surface around Alan Nur was rising and around Manas Lake, lowering; besides,

2240-413: The lake. The Manas Lake area is characterized by arid climate with hot summers; the average annual precipitation of merely 63.7 millimetres (2.51 in), as compared to the average annual evaporation of 3,110.5 millimetres (122.46 in); which means that without an inflow of water from outside, the lake's water level can drop very quickly. Over the second half of the 20th century and the early years of

2296-881: The late 1950s and until 1999 (for the Manas Lake and the Alan Nur) or 2001 (for the Ailik and the Lesser Ailik), the lakes were shrinking or drying up. Since 1999 (for the Manas and the Alan Nur) or 2001 (the two Ailiks), the lakes have entered the stage of at least partial recovery, which (especially for the Ailiks) is related to the arrival of the Irtysh water into the Baiyang River over the Irtysh–Karamay Canal . Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write

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2352-459: 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,

2408-442: The lower course of the Manas River was silting up with the sediment brought by the river. As a result, in 1915 the main stream of the Manas River changed its course, now flowing to the Manas Lake; however, a small branch feeding into the Alan Nur remained. (One can see the bifurcation point of the now-dry river beds at 45°38′45″N 85°27′01″E  /  45.64583°N 85.45028°E  / 45.64583; 85.45028 , with

2464-447: The main channel going to the north-east and entering the Manas Lake around 45°43′20″N 85°39′20″E  /  45.72222°N 85.65556°E  / 45.72222; 85.65556 , while the old channel enters the former Alan Nur at 45°40′00″N 85°24′10″E  /  45.66667°N 85.40278°E  / 45.66667; 85.40278 .) In the 1950s and early 1960s, large scale development of irrigated agriculture started in

2520-484: The most important in Shihezi. The railway to Wusu and Ürümqi skirts the city, while a United Nations economic development project provided a high-quality highway system for the city. The textile industry is the primary employer, although the international trade environment on textiles has brought in fluctuations in employment. As a hub to surrounding farms, the city's destiny is currently tied with theirs. Sugar beets are cultivated near Shihezi. Cultivation of cotton in

2576-402: 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,

2632-430: 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

2688-465: 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

2744-476: 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

2800-461: 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

2856-488: 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

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2912-817: 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

2968-515: The upper and middle reaches of the Manas River (the Shihezi / Manas County region, the area where the river leaves the Tian Shan and enters the Zhungarian Basin). The Manas River Irrigation District had been fully in that area by 1962; the system was designed to use up to 1.36 cubic kilometres (0.33 cu mi) of water per year. As a result, little water flowed in the Manas River downstream of

3024-516: 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

3080-461: 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

3136-471: Was the Alan Nur ( Chinese : 阿雅尔诺尔 ; pinyin : Āyǎ'ěr Nuò'ěr , or ( Chinese : 艾兰诺尔 ; pinyin : Àilán Nuò'ěr , located to the west of today's Manas Lake ( 45°42′00″N 85°23′00″E  /  45.70000°N 85.38333°E  / 45.70000; 85.38333 ); that was the lake into which the Manas River flowed. Earlier (in 18th-19th centuries) the Alan Nur would receive, besides

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