55-619: Shijian ( simplified Chinese : 实践 ; traditional Chinese : 實踐 ; pinyin : Shíjiàn ; lit. 'Practice', abbr . "SJ") is a series of satellites built and operated by the People's Republic of China . Some Shijian-series satellites have drawn significant concerns from the United States government and space observers who cite unannounced launches, undisclosed sub-satellites deployed in orbit, unusual orbital maneuvers, and demonstrated rendezvous proximity operations (RPO) including
110-523: A Long March 5 rocket on 3 November 2016 from Wenchang Space Launch Site , Shijian -17 is the first Chinese satellite to bear a robotic arm. Observers question the robotic arm's dual-purposes for space debris cleanup and kinetic attacks against adversary satellites. In an April 2021 written statement to the US Senate Armed Services Committee , General James H. Dickinson , Commander of United States Space Command ( USSPACECOM )
165-668: A Long March 3B rocket into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). Atypically, China issued no notifications prior to the launch confirming only after the satellite's successful launch. China's official state news media organization, Xinhua News Agency, described SJ-21 as an On-Orbit Service, Assembly, and Manufacturing ( OSAM ) satellite that would be "mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies." A month after its launch, SJ-21 drew some suspicion from space observers as an object, described to be an undeclared sub-satellite, began orbiting closely alongside SJ-21 shortly after its entry into geosynchronous orbit ( GEO ). The object
220-434: 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
275-532: A gentler trajectory. However, 45 minutes into the flight, it was declared a failure, with the loss of the payload. The cause of the failure was later determined to be a faulty oxidizer turbopump, which has now been redesigned twice. The rocket and payload crashed in the Pacific Ocean somewhere at the Philippine Sea . In October 2021, China launched Shijian 21 (SJ-21) from Xichang Space Launch Center (XSLC) aboard
330-512: A high graveyard orbit above GEO." The 2023 report restated the same. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write 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
385-575: A launch mass of 7,600 kg (16,800 lb). The satellite incorporated a high-thrust ion propulsion system, a large trussed structure and a higher payload capacity. More specifically, it used the LIPS-300 xenon thruster for orbit keeping , developed by the Lanzhou Institute of Physics. It was planned for the LIPS-300 system to be fully certified in this mission so that it could be used for geostationary and deep-space operations. The satellite would operate at
440-488: A lot of the US-based China watchers use and say that this could indicate that China is developing an on-orbit offensive capability." Samson also praised commercial space situational awareness (SSA) providers for presenting the public and academia with satellite tracking capabilities previously exclusive to government. China received criticism for its lack of transparency on Shijian-21's operations. First mentioned by name in
495-599: 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
550-464: A practice which has always been present as 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 ,
605-404: 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 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
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#1732855111469660-529: A week or more while other geostationary satellites maintain an average 207-kilometer separation distance. Shijian-17's robotic arm also earned mentions in the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense's congressionally-mandated Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments involving the People's Republic of China . The 2022 report, the first to mention Shijian satellites by name, announced "The Shijian-17
715-458: A wide span of orbital positions within its geostationary orbit to dynamically adjust its position relative to neighboring satellites. These varied positions have ranged from 37.7°E over Africa to 180°E over the Marshall Islands , uncharacteristic of other satellites designed for communications. Shijian-17 has also positioned itself as close as 55 kilometers to other satellites for periods of
770-474: Is a Chinese satellite with a robotic arm. Space-based robotic arm technology could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites." The 2023 report specified "The Shijian-17 was the PRC's first satellite with a robotic arm, technology that could be used in a future system for grappling adversary satellites." Shijian-18 was a Chinese communications and technology demonstration satellite developed and launched by
825-440: 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,
880-454: 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
935-809: 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
990-540: 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,
1045-473: 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 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
1100-567: The China Academy of Space Technology on 2 July 2017. It was the maiden flight of the DHF-5 satellite bus, which is designed with 16-year lifespan. Shijian-18 carried 18 experiments on board involving communications and space telescopes. It was lost after a malfunction on the Long March 5 rocket carrying the satellite. It would have been the heaviest geostationary satellite at the time of its launch, with
1155-490: 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 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
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#17328551114691210-522: The Ka band with 70 Gb/s capacity, capable of providing broadband internet to whole mainland China. Shijian-18 launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on 2 July 2017 at 11:23 UTC on board a Long March 5 rocket to a geostationary orbit. It was the rocket's second flight, the first being to launch Shijian-17. The rocket encountered an anomaly shortly after launch, causing it to switch into
1265-542: 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 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
1320-606: The United States Air Force asserts that Shiyan-series satellites play an earlier role in the systems development process testing various new technologies on a single bus while Shijian-series satellites are used to develop operational best practices and optimize the technologies previously tested on Shiyan-series satellites. In this regard, "Shijian" should be translated as "best practice", or "put into practice" while "Shiyan" ought to be translated as "experiment", "pilot", or "trial". Launched into geostationary orbit aboard
1375-564: The United States Department of Defense published the names of companies linked to the People's Liberation Army operating directly or indirectly in the United States. China Spacesat Co. was included on the list. In November 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to
1430-520: The states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what 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,
1485-421: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : China Academy of Space Technology The China Academy of Space Technology ( CAST ) ( Chinese : 中国空间技术研究院 ; pinyin : Zhōngguó Kōngjiān Jìshù Yánjiūyuàn ) is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The agency
1540-461: The 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see 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
1595-476: 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
1650-508: 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
1705-510: The 2022 China Military Power Report , the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense writes "China has launched multiple satellites to conduct scientific experiments on space maintenance technologies and is conducting research on space debris cleanup; the most recent launch was the Shijian-21 launched into GEO in October 2021. In January 2022, Shijian-21 moved a derelict BeiDou navigation satellite into
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1760-470: 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
1815-537: The People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during 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
1870-444: The body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to 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
1925-447: The broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ), 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
1980-407: 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
2035-482: The close inspection and towing of other satellites. Little is known about the series and what differentiates it from other experimental satellite series launched by China such as the Chuangxin ( Chinese : 创新 ; pinyin : Chuàngxīn ; lit. 'Innovation') series or Shiyan ( Chinese : 实验 ; pinyin : Shíyàn ; lit. 'Experiment') series. The China Aerospace Studies Institute of
2090-595: 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 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,
2145-638: The country. In 1935, 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
2200-447: The economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of 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
2255-512: 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, 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
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2310-465: 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
2365-430: The founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across 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
2420-550: The history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from 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
2475-561: The inability of optical satellites to track space-objects during the day. Shijian-21 then moved to an orbit 3,000 kilometers higher where it released the Beidou G2 satellite into graveyard orbit and returned to GEO. Many observers suspect the spacecraft, like many of China's Yaogan and Gaofen satellites, serve primarily military purposes under the cover of more mundane missions. With SJ-21's demonstrate capability to tug satellites from their orbit and China's increasing interest in space power,
2530-528: 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 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,
2585-430: 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
2640-476: 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
2695-461: 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
2750-528: The spacecraft likely also offers the Chinese government a tool for counterspace operations. Victoria Samson, the Washington Office director for the Secure World Foundation said "You could look at China working to develop the capability to remove inactive satellites on orbit as a way in which it is being a responsible space actor and cleaning up debris that it caused. Or you could use the lens that
2805-817: 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
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#17328551114692860-415: 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
2915-469: Was founded on 20 February 1968, and is the main spacecraft development and production facility in China. On 24 April 1970, CAST successfully launched China's first artificial satellite Dong Fang Hong I . CAST designs and manufactures the Dong Fang Hong satellites. CAST is the majority shareholder of listed company China Spacesat. On 30 June 2020, CAST owns 51.46% of China Spacesat Co. In August 2020,
2970-609: Was initially cataloged as an apogee kick motor (AKM) by the US Space Force 's 18th Space Defense Squadron (SDS), however many doubt that a discarded motor would maintain the constant and proximate orbit with SJ-21 instead of gradually drifting away. SJ-21 drew further suspicion in January 2022 when, according to commercial space monitoring firm ExoAnalytic Solutions, SJ-21 went "missing" from its orbital slot to dock with defunct Beidou G2 (Compass G2) navigation satellite capitalizing on
3025-594: Was the first US official to speak publicly on Shijian-17 warning of its counterspace capabilities. General Dickinson wrote " Beijing actively seeks space superiority through space and space attack systems. One notable object is the Shijian-17, a Chinese satellite with a robotic arm. Space-based robotic arm technology could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites." Shijian-17 has also prompted concern among observers who have tracked Shijian-17's unique orbital maneuvers . Since its launch, Shijian-17 has occupied
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