Recently, a trend has developed
in high schools and communities
around the United States.
Many people want to or are
now learning the Chinese language.
This could be a good turn
of events, but it can also
be problematic. This is particularly
so for those who know nothing
about Chinese culture, history
and the state of affairs in
China today.
In mainland China they no
longer use the traditional
Chinese characters that go
hand in hand with Chinese
history. For some reason,
the Chinese Communist Party
decided to alter the Chinese
language and thereby change
the vehicle for written communication.
Traditional Chinese characters
evolved naturally over a period
of time from pictographs or
small drawings. By contrast
the simplified Chinese created
by the Chinese Communist Party
has watered many of the traditional
characters down to the point
that they no longer are rooted
in more ancient traditions.
Here is an example. The traditional
Chinese character for the
word 'love' contains a picture
of a heart in it. This makes
sense because love is closely
associated to the heart. Not
so in simplified Chinese.
There is no heart in the word
'love' in simplified Chinese.
One may ponder how you can
love without a heart.
Just as this example shows,
in many ways the Chinese Communist
Party has removed the heart
of the entire language, distorting
and altering it into a water
downed version of its former
self. In Taiwan, however,
they still use traditional
characters.
So if your community or children's
school is planning to teach
Chinese, you may wish to ensure
that you are getting the traditional
variety. It more fully encompasses
the rich history of China
and the Chinese people. By
contrast, those who teach
our children simplified Chinese
are from mainland China and
unfortunately, they will also
be passing on the values and
ideas of the Chinese Communist
Party. Whether they do so
on purpose or automatically
as a result of growing up
in that environment, the end
result is the same. Only you
can decide if you want the
influence of the Chinese Communist
Party imparted to your children.
Be sure to insist that our
children are taught traditional
Chinese and not the simplified
version. This way the richness
of traditional Chinese culture
can be more fully enjoyed
and appreciated. There will
be a more solid foundation
to understand the more ancient
Chinese traditions.
Dave writes for All Things
Pondered: http://AllThingsPondered.com
