17 jan. 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Youguang
Zhou Youguang (Chinese: 周有光; pinyin: Zhōu Yǒuguāng; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017) was a Chinese economist, banker, linguist, sinologist, publisher, and supercentenarian, known as the "father of Pinyin",[1][2] a system for the romanization of Mandarin Chinese which was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1958, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982, and the United Nations in 1986.[3]
Zhou Youguang (Chinese: 周有光; pinyin: Zhōu Yǒuguāng; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017) was a Chinese economist, banker, linguist, sinologist, publisher, and supercentenarian, known as the "father of Pinyin",[1][2] a system for the romanization of Mandarin Chinese which was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1958, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982, and the United Nations in 1986.[3]
Zhou was born as Zhou Yaoping in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, on 13 January 1906 to a Qing Dynasty official.[1][4] At the age of ten, he and his family moved to Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. In 1918, he entered Changzhou High School, during which time he first took interest in linguistics. He graduated in 1923 with honours.[5]
Zhou enrolled the same year in St. John's University, Shanghai where he majored in economics and took supplementary coursework in linguistics.[4] He was almost unable to attend due to his family's poverty, but friends and relatives fundraised 200 yuan for the admission fee, and also helped him pay for tuition.[5] He left during the May Thirtieth Movement of 1925 and transferred to Guanghua University, from which he graduated in 1927.[4]
On 30 April 1933, Zhou married Zhang Yunhe (張允和), and the couple went to Japan for Zhou's studies.[4] Zhou first was an exchange student at the University of Tokyo, later transferring to Kyoto University due to his admiration of the Japanese Marxist economist Hajime Kawakami, who was a professor there at the time. Kawakami's arrest for joining the outlawed Japanese Communist Party in January 1933, however, meant that Zhou could not be his student. Zhou's son, Zhou Xiaoping (周曉平), was born in 1934. Later, the couple also had a daughter, Zhou Xiaohe (Chinese: 周小禾).[5]
In 1937, due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Zhou and his family returned to Shanghai, where he worked for a time at Sin Hua Bank before entering public service as a deputy director at the National Government's Ministry of Economic Affairs, agricultural policy bureau, in Chongqing (國民政府經濟部農本局). After the 1945 Japanese defeat in World War II, Zhou went back to work for Sin Hua where he was stationed overseas: first in New York City, and then London. During his time in the United States, he met Albert Einstein[4] twice.
He participated for a time in the China Democratic National Construction Association, but in 1949 returned to Shanghai[4] when the People's Republic was established.[1][2]
In 1955, the government placed Zhou at the head of a committee to reform the Chinese language in order to increase literacy. While other committees oversaw the tasks of promulgating Mandarin Chinese as the national language and creating simplified Chinese characters, Zhou's committee was charged with developing a romanization to represent the pronunciation of Chinese characters.[1] Zhou said the task took about three years, and was a full-time job.[1]
Pinyin was made the official romanization in 1958, although then (as
now) it was only a pronunciation guide, not a substitute writing system.[6] Zhou based Pinyin on several preexisting systems: the phonemes were inspired by Gwoyeu Romatzyh of 1928 and Latinxua Sin Wenz of 1931, while the diacritic markings representing tones were inspired by zhuyin.[7]
In April 1979, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Warsaw held a technology conference. Speaking on behalf of the People's Republic of China, Zhou proposed the use of the "Hanyu Pinyin System" as the international standard for the spelling of Chinese. In 1982, the scheme became ISO 7098 after a vote.
Pinyin has, in the modern era, largely replaced older romanization systems such as Wade-Giles.[3] It is the principal vehicle for most Chinese language computer input.
After 1980, Zhou worked with Liu Zunqi and Chien Wei-zang on translating the Encyclopædia Britannica into Chinese, earning him the nickname "Encyclopedia Zhou".[4] Zhou continued writing and publishing after the creation of Pinyin; for example, his book Zhongguo Yuwen de Shidai Yanjin (中國語文的時代演進), translated into English by Zhang Liqing, was published in 2003 as The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts.[9] From 2000, he wrote ten books, of which some have been banned in China.
In 2011, during an interview with NPR, Zhou said that he hoped to see the day China changed its position on the Tiananmen Square killings in 1989, an event he said had ruined Deng Xiaoping's reputation as a reformer.[8] He became an advocate for political reform, and was critical of the Communist Party of China's attacks on traditional Chinese culture when it came into power.[8]
In early 2013, both Zhou and his son were interviewed by Dr. Adeline Yen Mah at their residence in Beijing. Mah documented the visit in a video and presented Zhou with a Pinyin game she created for the iPad.[10] Zhou became a supercentenarian on 13 January 2016 when he reached the age of 110.[11] He was one of the few supercentenarians known for reasons other than their longevity.
Zhou died on 14 January 2017 at his home in Beijing, a day after his 111th birthday.[12][13][14]
"Father of pinyin". China Daily. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2009. Reprinted in part as Simon, Alan (21–27 Jan 2011). "Father of Pinyin". China Daily Asia Weekly. Hong Kong. Xinhua. p. 20.
Branigan, Tania (21 February 2008). "Sound Principles". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
Margalit Fox (14 January 2017). "Zhou Youguang, Who Made Writing Chinese as Simple as ABC, Dies at 111". The New York Times.
李懷宇 (8 December 2005). "周有光：与时俱进文章里 百年风云笑谈中·南方社区·南方网" [Zhou Youguang: A lifetime of unstable situations and being laughed at]. 南方网 (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 January 2017.
金玉良 (2003). "苏州杂志2003第2期-周有光忆学生时代" [Zhou Youguang's Time as a Student] (in Chinese). Journal of Suzhou University. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
Ramsey, S. Robert (1989). The Languages of China. Princeton University Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-691-01468-5.
Rohsenow,
John S. 1989. Fifty years of script and written language reform in the
PRC: the genesis of the language law of 2001. In Zhou Minglang and Sun
Hongkai, eds. Language Policy In The People's Republic Of China: Theory And Practice Since 1949, p. 23
Lim, Louisa (19 October 2011). "At 105, Chinese Linguist Now A Government Critic". National Public Radio. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
Youguang Zhou 周有光. The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts; 中國語文的時代演進, translated by Zhang Liqing 張立青. Ohio State University National East Asian Language Resource Center. 2003.
"Dr. Adeline Yen Mah meets the founder of Pin Yin Youguang Zhou". chinesecharacteraday.com. 14 March 2013.
Lai, Kitty (15 January 2016). "Zhu ni shengri kuaile! Father of Pinyin turns 110 years old, celebrates with a strawberry-topped cake". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
Margalit Fox (14 January 2017). "Zhou Youguang, Who Made Writing Chinese as Simple as ABC, Dies at 111". nytimes.com. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
Associated Press (14 January 2017). "Zhou Youguang, Father of Chinese Romanization System, Dies". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Youguang
Zhou Youguang (Chinese: 周有光; pinyin: Zhōu Yǒuguāng; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017) was a Chinese economist, banker, linguist, sinologist, publisher, and supercentenarian, known as the "father of Pinyin",[1][2] a system for the romanization of Mandarin Chinese which was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1958, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982, and the United Nations in 1986.[3]
Zhou Youguang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zhou Youguang | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Zhou in the 1920s
|
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| Native name | Chinese: 周有光 | ||
| Born | Zhou Yaoping 13 January 1906 Changzhou, Jiangsu, Qing Empire |
||
| Died | 14 January 2017 (aged 111 years, 1 day) Beijing, China |
||
| Alma mater | St. John's University Guanghua University |
||
| Known for | Development of Pinyin; supercentenarian | ||
| Notable work | The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts | ||
| Political party | China Democratic National Construction Association | ||
| Spouse(s) | Zhang Yunhe (m. 1933; her death 2002) | ||
| Children | 2 | ||
| Chinese name | |||
| Traditional Chinese | 周有光 | ||
|
|||
| Birth name | |||
|
|||
Contents
Early life
Zhou Youguang and his family, c. 1930.
Zhou enrolled the same year in St. John's University, Shanghai where he majored in economics and took supplementary coursework in linguistics.[4] He was almost unable to attend due to his family's poverty, but friends and relatives fundraised 200 yuan for the admission fee, and also helped him pay for tuition.[5] He left during the May Thirtieth Movement of 1925 and transferred to Guanghua University, from which he graduated in 1927.[4]
On 30 April 1933, Zhou married Zhang Yunhe (張允和), and the couple went to Japan for Zhou's studies.[4] Zhou first was an exchange student at the University of Tokyo, later transferring to Kyoto University due to his admiration of the Japanese Marxist economist Hajime Kawakami, who was a professor there at the time. Kawakami's arrest for joining the outlawed Japanese Communist Party in January 1933, however, meant that Zhou could not be his student. Zhou's son, Zhou Xiaoping (周曉平), was born in 1934. Later, the couple also had a daughter, Zhou Xiaohe (Chinese: 周小禾).[5]
In 1937, due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Zhou and his family returned to Shanghai, where he worked for a time at Sin Hua Bank before entering public service as a deputy director at the National Government's Ministry of Economic Affairs, agricultural policy bureau, in Chongqing (國民政府經濟部農本局). After the 1945 Japanese defeat in World War II, Zhou went back to work for Sin Hua where he was stationed overseas: first in New York City, and then London. During his time in the United States, he met Albert Einstein[4] twice.
He participated for a time in the China Democratic National Construction Association, but in 1949 returned to Shanghai[4] when the People's Republic was established.[1][2]
Designing Pinyin
Zhou in 1947
In April 1979, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Warsaw held a technology conference. Speaking on behalf of the People's Republic of China, Zhou proposed the use of the "Hanyu Pinyin System" as the international standard for the spelling of Chinese. In 1982, the scheme became ISO 7098 after a vote.
Pinyin has, in the modern era, largely replaced older romanization systems such as Wade-Giles.[3] It is the principal vehicle for most Chinese language computer input.
Later activities
During the Cultural Revolution, Zhou was sent to live in the countryside and to be "re-educated", as many other intellectuals were at that time.[1][2] He spent two years at a labour camp.[8]After 1980, Zhou worked with Liu Zunqi and Chien Wei-zang on translating the Encyclopædia Britannica into Chinese, earning him the nickname "Encyclopedia Zhou".[4] Zhou continued writing and publishing after the creation of Pinyin; for example, his book Zhongguo Yuwen de Shidai Yanjin (中國語文的時代演進), translated into English by Zhang Liqing, was published in 2003 as The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts.[9] From 2000, he wrote ten books, of which some have been banned in China.
In 2011, during an interview with NPR, Zhou said that he hoped to see the day China changed its position on the Tiananmen Square killings in 1989, an event he said had ruined Deng Xiaoping's reputation as a reformer.[8] He became an advocate for political reform, and was critical of the Communist Party of China's attacks on traditional Chinese culture when it came into power.[8]
Zhou Youguang at home in Beijing in 2012
Zhou died on 14 January 2017 at his home in Beijing, a day after his 111th birthday.[12][13][14]
See also
- Yuen Ren Chao
- List of centenarians (educators, school administrators, social scientists and linguists)
References
- Zhang Dong (14 January 2017). ""汉语拼音之父"周有光去世 享年112岁" (in Chinese). sina.com.cn. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
Further reading
- Bristow, Michael (22 March 2012). "The man who helped 'simplify' Chinese". BBC News Online.
- LaFraniere, Sharon (2 March 2012). "A Chinese Voice of Dissent That Took Its Time". New York Times.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zhou Youguang. |
Categories:
- 1906 births
- 2017 deaths
- 20th-century translators
- 21st-century translators
- Chinese bankers
- Chinese supercentenarians
- Chinese expatriates in Japan
- Chinese expatriates in the United States
- Educators from Jiangsu
- Fudan University faculty
- Linguists from China
- Male supercentenarians
- Peking University faculty
- People's Republic of China translators
- Renmin University of China faculty
- Romanization of Ch
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