History of Hanyu Pinyin
Zhou Enlai
In 1958, the PRC government embarked on a program of Language Reform that included replacing China's original 1918 Zhuyin alphabet with the Roman alphabet. The PRC leaders acknowledged the effectiveness of the Zhuyin alphabet and justified the conversion Pinyin simply in order to use alphabet symbols that other countries also used.
The chief advocate of Language Reform was Zhou Enlai (周恩來)(Chou En-lai)(1898-1976). Zhou was Premier of the People’s Republic of China from its founding in 1949 until Zhou’s death in 1976. Zhou was a major figure in the PRC and is best remembered for his role in First and Second KMT – CCP United Fronts, where the KMT and CCP joined forces to fight the Chinese warlords and the Japanese respectively, and in Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 and later relationship with the United States.
The chief advocate of Language Reform was Zhou Enlai (周恩來)(Chou En-lai)(1898-1976). Zhou was Premier of the People’s Republic of China from its founding in 1949 until Zhou’s death in 1976. Zhou was a major figure in the PRC and is best remembered for his role in First and Second KMT – CCP United Fronts, where the KMT and CCP joined forces to fight the Chinese warlords and the Japanese respectively, and in Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 and later relationship with the United States.
Zhou Enlai’s Belief in the Necessity of a Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
It is by no means a universally held belief that the Chinese language even needs a phonetic alphabet since China uses a character writing system. Indeed, prior to the mid 1930s, everyone started learning Chinese with Chinese characters alone and many people today still hold the view that learning any Chinese alphabet, whether Zhuyin or Pinyin, is a waste of time.
Zhou Enlai, however, strongly believed in the necessity of a phonetic system for the purpose of learning the pronunciation of Chinese characters and pointed the success of the Zhuyin alphabet as proof of the necessity for a Chinese alphabet. As Zhou stated in 1958:
“That the efficiency of teaching and learning characters can be raised by using a phonetic alphabet has been proved by the experience of the quick method of learning characters in the past, and the method of teaching the Zhuyin alphabet practiced in the primary schools at present. Pending the final decision on the Scheme for a Chinese Phonetic Alphabet [Pinyin], the system of the Zhuyin alphabet will continue to be in use.
It should be made clear at the outset that the scheme is to annotate the characters phonetically and to popularize the common speech. It is not to replace the Chinese characters. Its first function is to give the pronunciation of these characters.”
Zhou Enlai, address to National People’s Congress February 1958, from Reform of the Chinese Written Language, second edition 1965.
It is by no means a universally held belief that the Chinese language even needs a phonetic alphabet since China uses a character writing system. Indeed, prior to the mid 1930s, everyone started learning Chinese with Chinese characters alone and many people today still hold the view that learning any Chinese alphabet, whether Zhuyin or Pinyin, is a waste of time.
Zhou Enlai, however, strongly believed in the necessity of a phonetic system for the purpose of learning the pronunciation of Chinese characters and pointed the success of the Zhuyin alphabet as proof of the necessity for a Chinese alphabet. As Zhou stated in 1958:
“That the efficiency of teaching and learning characters can be raised by using a phonetic alphabet has been proved by the experience of the quick method of learning characters in the past, and the method of teaching the Zhuyin alphabet practiced in the primary schools at present. Pending the final decision on the Scheme for a Chinese Phonetic Alphabet [Pinyin], the system of the Zhuyin alphabet will continue to be in use.
It should be made clear at the outset that the scheme is to annotate the characters phonetically and to popularize the common speech. It is not to replace the Chinese characters. Its first function is to give the pronunciation of these characters.”
Zhou Enlai, address to National People’s Congress February 1958, from Reform of the Chinese Written Language, second edition 1965.
Zhou Youguang
Creation of Hanyu Pinyin
In 1955, Zhou Enlai asked linguist Zhou Youguang (1906-2017) to review Zhuyin and other phonetic schemes for Chinese. Zhou Youguang argued for replacing the Zhuyin alphabet with the Roman alphabet in order to better connect China with other countries since the Roman alphabet was used by so many other countries. Zhou Enlai agreed and Zhou Youguang began work on Hanyu Pinyin in 1955.
In 1955, Zhou Enlai asked linguist Zhou Youguang (1906-2017) to review Zhuyin and other phonetic schemes for Chinese. Zhou Youguang argued for replacing the Zhuyin alphabet with the Roman alphabet in order to better connect China with other countries since the Roman alphabet was used by so many other countries. Zhou Enlai agreed and Zhou Youguang began work on Hanyu Pinyin in 1955.
Hanyu Pinyin is Adopted in 1958
On the motion of Zhou Enlai, at the Fifth Session of the First National People's Congress on February 11, 1958, the People’s Republic of China officially replaced the Zhuyin alphabet letters with Roman alphabet letters while retaining the pronunciation of the Zhuyin letters. They called the new Roman letter alphabet "Hanyu Pinyin." While Hanyu Pinyin was adopted in 1958, it took well into the 1960s for the changeover from Zhuyin to Pinyin in mainland China to be completed.
Pinyin's Phonetic System is Based on Zhuyin
Zhou Enlai acknowledged the significant contribution of the Zhuyin alphabet with being a pioneer and proving the efficacy of a phonetic system for learning Chinese language. Pinyin was developed on the foundation of Zhuyin. As stated by Zhou:
“After the Revolution of 1911, the Zhuyin alphabet, a system of phonetic transcript, was introduced. This was the first phonetic alphabet formally promulgated by the government and popularized in the primary and secondary schools. This phonetic transcript made a contribution to the teaching and learning of characters and the standardization of pronunciation. In spite of its shortcomings compared with the Latin alphabet to serve as a common basis for the languages of the minority nationalities or as a means of promoting international cultural exchange, we should acknowledge its historical achievement. Also, the Zhuyin alphabet played the role of a pioneer in the forty-year-old movement for a phonetic alphabet. One of the main functions of the present Scheme for a Chinese Phonetic Alphabet [Pinyin] is to annotate pronunciation of characters. In this respect, the scheme [Pinyin] is the successor to the traditions of the Zhuyin alphabet and has been built on their foundations.”
Zhou Enlai, address to National People’s Congress February 1958, from Reform of the Chinese Written Language, second edition 1965.
Zhuyin and Pinyin are not “different” phonetic systems. Pinyin's use of the Roman alphabet was influenced by the earlier Romanization systems for Chinese including Gwoyeu Romatzyh and Sin Wenz. Pinyin uses Roman alphabet letters to represent the sounds of the Zhuyin alphabet letters. Pinyin also uses the Zhuyin tone mark system. Pinyin is essentially the Zhuyin alphabet written with Roman alphabet letters. See Zhuyin Pinyin conversion chart. Looking at it this way, the choice between Zhuyin or Pinyin a choice between alphabet symbols, not different phonetic systems.
Pinyin was Not Adopted Because of Functional Concerns with Zhuyin
It is important to keep in mind that the PRC did not replace Zhuyin because it was ineffective. On the contrary, the PRC has acknowledged the immense success Zhuyin enjoyed in the 40 years prior to the adoption of Pinyin. The PRC changed from Zhuyin to Pinyin because they wanted to use alphabet symbols already familiar to people in foreign countries and familiar to China's own minority groups. They hoped that this would make China better connected to the outside world. As stated by Zhou Enlai:
“Because the Latin alphabet is the most widely used alphabet in the world, we have adopted it instead of continuing with the Zhuyin alphabet or devising new alphabet symbols. As the Latin alphabet is used by more than 600 million people in the world.”
Zhou Enlai, address to National People’s Congress February 1958, from Reform of the Chinese Written Language, second edition 1965.
© Copyright 2020 A Little Dynasty LLC, All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized Use Prohibited. The foregoing statements are presented for their historical value and do not necessarily represent the opinions of A Little Dynasty Chinese School or its staff.
On the motion of Zhou Enlai, at the Fifth Session of the First National People's Congress on February 11, 1958, the People’s Republic of China officially replaced the Zhuyin alphabet letters with Roman alphabet letters while retaining the pronunciation of the Zhuyin letters. They called the new Roman letter alphabet "Hanyu Pinyin." While Hanyu Pinyin was adopted in 1958, it took well into the 1960s for the changeover from Zhuyin to Pinyin in mainland China to be completed.
Pinyin's Phonetic System is Based on Zhuyin
Zhou Enlai acknowledged the significant contribution of the Zhuyin alphabet with being a pioneer and proving the efficacy of a phonetic system for learning Chinese language. Pinyin was developed on the foundation of Zhuyin. As stated by Zhou:
“After the Revolution of 1911, the Zhuyin alphabet, a system of phonetic transcript, was introduced. This was the first phonetic alphabet formally promulgated by the government and popularized in the primary and secondary schools. This phonetic transcript made a contribution to the teaching and learning of characters and the standardization of pronunciation. In spite of its shortcomings compared with the Latin alphabet to serve as a common basis for the languages of the minority nationalities or as a means of promoting international cultural exchange, we should acknowledge its historical achievement. Also, the Zhuyin alphabet played the role of a pioneer in the forty-year-old movement for a phonetic alphabet. One of the main functions of the present Scheme for a Chinese Phonetic Alphabet [Pinyin] is to annotate pronunciation of characters. In this respect, the scheme [Pinyin] is the successor to the traditions of the Zhuyin alphabet and has been built on their foundations.”
Zhou Enlai, address to National People’s Congress February 1958, from Reform of the Chinese Written Language, second edition 1965.
Zhuyin and Pinyin are not “different” phonetic systems. Pinyin's use of the Roman alphabet was influenced by the earlier Romanization systems for Chinese including Gwoyeu Romatzyh and Sin Wenz. Pinyin uses Roman alphabet letters to represent the sounds of the Zhuyin alphabet letters. Pinyin also uses the Zhuyin tone mark system. Pinyin is essentially the Zhuyin alphabet written with Roman alphabet letters. See Zhuyin Pinyin conversion chart. Looking at it this way, the choice between Zhuyin or Pinyin a choice between alphabet symbols, not different phonetic systems.
Pinyin was Not Adopted Because of Functional Concerns with Zhuyin
It is important to keep in mind that the PRC did not replace Zhuyin because it was ineffective. On the contrary, the PRC has acknowledged the immense success Zhuyin enjoyed in the 40 years prior to the adoption of Pinyin. The PRC changed from Zhuyin to Pinyin because they wanted to use alphabet symbols already familiar to people in foreign countries and familiar to China's own minority groups. They hoped that this would make China better connected to the outside world. As stated by Zhou Enlai:
“Because the Latin alphabet is the most widely used alphabet in the world, we have adopted it instead of continuing with the Zhuyin alphabet or devising new alphabet symbols. As the Latin alphabet is used by more than 600 million people in the world.”
Zhou Enlai, address to National People’s Congress February 1958, from Reform of the Chinese Written Language, second edition 1965.
© Copyright 2020 A Little Dynasty LLC, All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized Use Prohibited. The foregoing statements are presented for their historical value and do not necessarily represent the opinions of A Little Dynasty Chinese School or its staff.
