Zhou Youguang
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Zhou Youguang (; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017), also known as Chou Yu-kuang or Chou Yao-ping, was a Chinese
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
, banker,
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, sinologist,
Esperantist An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperant ...
,
publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
, and supercentenarian, known as the "father of
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
", a system for the writing of Mandarin Chinese in Roman script, or romanization, which was officially adopted by the
government of the People's Republic of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
in 1958, the
International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...
(ISO) in 1982, and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
in 1986.


Early life and career

Zhou was born Zhou Yaoping in
Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
(Changchow),
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
Province, on 13 January 1906 to a Qing Dynasty official. Reprinted in part as At the age of ten, he and his family moved to
Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
, Jiangsu Province. In 1918, he entered Changzhou High School, during which time he first took an interest in
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
. He graduated in 1923 with
honors Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name * Brian Honour (born 1964), English footballer and manager * Gareth Honor (born 1979 ...
. Zhou enrolled that same year in St. John's University, Shanghai where he majored in economics and took supplementary coursework in
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
. He was almost unable to attend due to his family's poverty, but friends and relatives raised 200 yuan for the admission fee, and also helped him pay for
tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...
. He left during the
May Thirtieth Movement The May Thirtieth Movement () was a major labor and anti-imperialist movement during the middle-period of the Republic of China era. It began when the Shanghai Municipal Police opened fire on Chinese protesters in Shanghai's International Settl ...
of 1925 and transferred to
Guanghua University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...
, from which he graduated in 1927. On 30 April 1933, Zhou married
Zhang Yunhe Zhang Yunhe (张允和, July 25, 1909 – August 14, 2002) was a Chinese writer and scholar of ''kunqu'' opera. She was the wife of linguist Zhou Youguang. Life Early life and marriage Zhang Yunhe was born on July 25, 1909, in Hefei, Anhui, ...
( 张允和). The couple went to Japan for Zhou's studies. Zhou started as an exchange student at the
University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...
, later transferring to
Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...
due to his admiration of the Japanese
Marxist economist Marxian economics, or the Marxian school of economics, is a heterodox school of political economic thought. Its foundations can be traced back to Karl Marx's critique of political economy. However, unlike critics of political economy, Marxian e ...
Hajime Kawakami, who was a professor there at the time. Kawakami's arrest for joining the outlawed
Japanese Communist Party The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...
in January 1933 meant that Zhou could not be his student. Zhou's son, Zhou Xiaoping ( 周晓平), was born in 1934. The couple also had a daughter, Zhou Xiaohe (). In 1937, due to the outbreak of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, Zhou and his family moved to the wartime capital Chongqing, and his daughter died. He worked for
Sin Hua Bank Sin Hua Bank (), or Sin Hua Trust and Savings Bank Limited, was a Chinese bank established in Beijing in 1914. It later moved its headquarters to Shanghai. Sin Hua established its Hong Kong branch in 1947 and was renamed to Sin Hua Trust, Savin ...
before entering public service as a deputy director at the National Government's Ministry of Economic Affairs, agricultural policy bureau (). 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 in London. Zhou participated for a time in the China Democratic National Construction Association. After the founding of the People's Republic was established in 1949 he returned to Shanghai, where he taught economics at
Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...
for several years.


Designing Pinyin

Because of his friendship with
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...
who recalled the economist's fascination with
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
, he summoned Zhou to Beijing in 1955 and tasked his team with developing a new alphabet for China. The Chinese government placed Zhou at the head of a committee to reform the
Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...
to increase
literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
. While other committees oversaw the tasks of promulgating
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
as the
national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...
and creating
simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters used in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, as prescribed by the ''Table of General Standard Chinese Characters''. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one o ...
, Zhou's committee was charged with developing a romanization to represent the pronunciation of
Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
. Zhou said the task took about three years, and was a full-time job. Pinyin was made the official romanization in 1958, although (as now) it was only a pronunciation guide, not a substitute writing system. Zhou's team based Pinyin on several preexisting systems: the phonemes were inspired by Gwoyeu Romatzyh of 1928 and
Latinxua Sin Wenz Latinxua Sin Wenz (; also known as Sin Wenz "New Script", Zhungguo Latinxua Sin Wenz "China Latinized New Script", Latinxua "Latinization") is a historical set of romanizations for Chinese languages, although references to Sin Wenz usually refe ...
of 1931, while the diacritic markings representing tones were inspired by
zhuyin Bopomofo (), or Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, also named Zhuyin (), is a Chinese transliteration system for Mandarin Chinese and other related languages and dialects. More commonly used in Taiwanese Mandarin, it may also be used to transcribe ...
. In April 1979, the
International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...
(ISO) in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
held a technology conference. Speaking on behalf of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Zhou proposed the use of the " Hanyu Pinyin System" as the international standard for the romanization of Chinese. Following a vote in 1982 the scheme became
ISO 7098 ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...
. In the modern era Pinyin has largely replaced older romanization systems such as Wade-Giles.


Later activities

During the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, Zhou was sent to live in the countryside and to be " reeducated", as were many other intellectuals at that time. He spent two years at a labor camp. After 1980, Zhou worked with Liu Zunqi and
Chien Wei-zang Qian Weichang or Chien Wei-zang (; 9 October 1912 – 30 July 2010) was a Chinese physicist and applied mathematician, as well as academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He served as President of Shanghai University. Career Qian was b ...
on translating the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' into Chinese, earning him the nickname "Encyclopedia Zhou". Zhou continued writing and publishing after the creation of Pinyin; for example, his book 中国语文的时代演进 (Zhōngguó yǔwén de shídài yǎnjìn), translated into English by Zhang Liqing, was published in 2003 as ''The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts''. Beyond the age of 100, he published ten books, some of which 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 Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
's reputation as a reformer. He became an advocate of political reform and
democracy in China The debate over democracy in China has been a major ideological battleground in Chinese politics since the 19th century. China is not a Western-style liberal democracy. The Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state that Ch ...
, and was critical of the
Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
's attacks on traditional
Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
when it came into power. In early 2013, both Zhou and his son were interviewed by Dr.
Adeline Yen Mah Adeline Yen Mah () is a Chinese-American author and physician. She grew up in Tianjin, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and is known for her autobiography ''Falling Leaves''. She is married to Professor Robert A. Mah with whom she has a daughter, and a s ...
at their residence in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Mah documented the visit in a video and presented Zhou with a Pinyin game she created for the iPad. Zhou became a supercentenarian on 13 January 2016 when he reached the age of 110. Zhou died on 14 January 2017 at his home in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, one day after his 111th birthday; no cause was given. His wife had died in 2002, and his son had died in 2015. Google honored what would have been his 112th birthday with an animated version of its logo in Mandarin.


Books

Zhou was the author of more than 40 books, some of them banned in China and over 10 of them published after he turned 100 in 2005.


Gallery

Former_Residence_of_Zhou_Youguang_03_2015-04.JPG, Zhou Youguang's former Changzhou residence, now a historical site Zhou Youguang 1930s.jpg, An early photo of Zhou and his family Gu Chuan and Zhou Youguang and Shen Congwen 1946.jpg, Zhou (right) posing with writer
Shen Congwen Shen Congwen (28 December 1902 – 10 May 1988), formerly romanized as Shen Ts'ung-wen, was a Chinese writer who is considered one of the greatest modern Chinese writers, on par with Lu Xun. Regional culture and identity plays a much bigger rol ...
(center) and Gu Chuanjie ( 顧傳玠) (left) in 1946 Zhou Youguang 1947.jpg, Zhou in 1947 Zhou Youguang and Zhang Yunhe 1953.jpg, Zhou and wife in 1953 Zhouyouguang2012.JPG, Zhou Youguang at his home in Beijing in 2012, aged 106


See also

*
Yuen Ren Chao Yuen Ren Chao (; 3 November 1892 – 25 February 1982), also known as Zhao Yuanren, was a Chinese-American linguist, educator, scholar, poet, and composer, who contributed to the modern study of Chinese phonology and grammar. Chao was born a ...
*
List of centenarians (educators, school administrators, social scientists and linguists) The following is a list of centenarians – specifically, people who became famous as educators, school administrators, social scientists and linguists – known for reasons other than their longevity. For more lists, see lists of centenarians ...


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Centenarian scholar Zhou Youguang's blog (百岁学人周有光的博客)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Youguang 1906 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Chinese translators 21st-century Chinese translators Chinese bankers Chinese expatriates in Japan Chinese expatriates in the United States Chinese supercentenarians Creators of writing systems Educators from Changzhou Fudan University faculty Linguists from China Men supercentenarians Peking University faculty People's Republic of China translators Renmin University of China faculty Romanization of Chinese Pinyin St. John's University, Shanghai alumni Scientists from Changzhou Shanghai University of Finance and Economics faculty Chinese sinologists Victims of the Cultural Revolution Writers from Changzhou 20th-century Chinese inventors Businesspeople from Changzhou