traditional or simplified???

[wanxing]

Well, well, well, simplified chinese (jian ti zi) seems to go international today because of China is also going global, but I like traditional chinese (fan ti zi) better because it's more beautiful compared with simplified one, I know that traditional chinese is also harder, but if traditional chinese will lose its favor, what should we do to preserve it? I don't want it 'gone with the wind'...

[Willy Wang]

Don't worry, Fantizi isn't going anywhere in the near future. Fantizi is still used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, both very important in the global economy. Also, Fantizi is used by almost all oversea Chinese. Further more, the knowledge of Fantizi is needed in order to read ancient text. I personally don't believe Fantizi will be gone for quite a while.

[Thomas Chin]

In fact, in the place where I come from in mainland China some schools have reintroduced fantizi. This is just for an economic reason, people were not able to understand contracts, etc. from neighbouring Hong Kong.

[ppk]

when u learn chinese history, literature, philosophy and calligraphy(es. learning in depth), u will have to pick up fantizi.

[wanxing]

I understand.
I wonder why PRC decided to use simplified? I read that jiantizi has been used because it would make chinese writing easier to be learnt, but then why do people from Taiwan & Hong Kong rarely complain that fantizi is difficult to be learnt???

[IronMonkey]

All I know is, in 1950's China there was a huge illiteracy problem, and the government saw it neccesary to simplify the characters to make them easier for people to learn. So I suppose it was to boost literacy. I don't think Taiwan and Hong Kong ever had such a problem because most people were literate.


IronMonkey