But in fact, the relationship between classical Chinese and spoken English is quite close, but the so-called spoken English standards are different. Because classical Chinese is the written language of ancient Chinese based on pre-Qin spoken language, and the spoken language we speak here is based on the northern dialect since Tang and Song Dynasties, the written language of modern Chinese used by everyone today is formed on this basis. ?
In the initial stage of the development of Chinese, language and writing were integrated. Now we feel that those profound ancient books and records are actually vernacular works at that time. For example, the "brushwork" in Shangshu that makes people feel "groggy" is mostly the spoken language recorded at that time, and "Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi" says: "The author of the book is an ancient order. Give orders to the people and listen to the executed if you don't stand up. " "Order" means "notice", while "keeping his word" means a notice written immediately without polishing. Take the Book of Songs as an example. We know that most of the "winds" in it are folk songs, and what is certain is that many of them are directly created orally. The other Analects of Confucius is a quotation from Confucius, and its relationship with spoken language is self-evident.
Due to historical changes, the written language remains the same, but people's oral English will inevitably change in daily communication, so from about the Six Dynasties, there were obvious signs of separation between classical Chinese and oral English. However, because Chinese characters are ideographic, the difference in pronunciation does not hinder people's understanding in reading, so the inconsistency of language and characters is not an urgent matter, and it has not attracted enough attention. At the same time, because the ancient books and records of the pre-Qin and Han dynasties were written in classical Chinese, and these works were the source of China culture, later generations of scholars consciously insisted on an archaized writing method, which was equivalent to artificially aggravating the inconsistency between words and characters, and finally formed the long-term inconsistency between China words and characters. It is this kind of creative behavior that seems to deviate from the law of language development, but it has created a miracle that Chinese civilization has lasted for thousands of years, which also expresses China people's absolute confidence in their cultural attitude on the other hand. ?
Of course, in real life, there are also some oral works that conform to people's oral communication habits, starting with Shi Shuo Xin Yu and Yan Family Instructions, and all the way to Dunhuang Bianwen, Tang and Song quotations, Song and Yuan plays and Ming and Qing novels. It should be said that every dynasty and generation has produced a large number of vernacular works, but they have failed to shake the dominant position of classical Chinese, and most of them can only be seen in the folk.
All this was not reversed until the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, the country was humiliated by foreign forces, and the fate of the country was ill-fated. At first, China people's cultural self-confidence was shaken, which is the premise and fundamental reason for the cultural changes in China in the future. It is this mentality that makes China people put tradition in the dock for the first time and count its crimes, and classical Chinese, as the main carrier of traditional culture, is bound to bear the brunt. So Huang Zunxian wanted to "write my mouth by hand", while Qiu advocated "respecting vernacular Chinese and abandoning classical Chinese", which can be said to be a precedent for the vernacular movement. We must have a clear understanding of this situation. Originally, the reflection on history in every era is a normal reaction and an inevitable step for the development and progress of traditional culture. However, it is an extremely irresponsible historical attitude to shirk the responsibility of national decline in tradition, and it is even more absurd to put this sin in classical Chinese. However, due to the possible danger of national subjugation, rational treatment of traditional culture has become the most unacceptable behavior of China people, and any calm thinking will be dismissed as reactionary thinking, while radicalism, which represents patriotism, has gradually become the mainstream trend of thought in China society. ?
So in the new culture movement of 19 17, the vernacular movement was pushed to the extreme. In June 5438+that year 10, Hu Shi published "My humble opinion on literary improvement" in New Youth. Although it is from the perspective of improving literature, its main purpose is to advocate vernacular literature. He believes that "vernacular literature is the authenticity of China literature". Later, he wrote a history of vernacular literature to demonstrate this view. Chen Duxiu also published "On Literary Revolution" in February, echoing Hu Shi's "Eight Propositions" with "Three Principles". This tandem really opened the curtain of the vigorous Cultural Revolution, and there was never a quiet moment in China. 19 18 all the articles in "new youth" were written in vernacular Chinese, and then various vernacular magazines such as trendy and weekly review were published like mushrooms after rain, and vernacular Chinese became a common practice. 1920 In September, the Ministry of Education ordered schools across the country to use Putonghua for one or two years from this fall. At this point, the vernacular Chinese has achieved an officially recognized legal status.