China
China
Drawing on China’s experiences over the past century, this paper briefly explores the positive role of simplified writing in enhancing academic output and technological progress. In ancient China, the prevalence of traditional characters and Classical Chinese confined a vast amount of knowledge production to a small segment of the population, resulting in significant intellectual stagnation, technological inertia, and cultural decline in later times. Since the 20th century, efforts in Chinese character simplification and the promotion of standard Mandarin have greatly improved the educational level of the population, fostering technological development, economic growth, and cultural prosperity. China’s experience demonstrates the significance of expanding the population engaged in knowledge production and encouraging active knowledge generation for cultural development, sustainability, and the advancement of artificial intelligence.
本文基于中国过去一百年的经验,简要探讨了文字简化对于增进学术产出和技术进步的积极推动作用。在中国古代,繁体字和文言文将学术界生产的大量知识长期限制在很小比例的人口中,导致了后来严重的思想僵化、科技停滞和文化衰败。自20世纪以来,中国开展的汉字简化和普通话推广活动极大提升了人口教育水平,促进了科技发展、经济腾飞和文化兴盛。中国的经验显示,扩大知识生产人群、鼓励活跃知识生产对于文化发展存续,以及推进人工智能的发展具有高度重要性。