Han’s Son is Not a Slave

"A Report to Zheng Jingshu" is not only a declaration urging Zheng Jing to return to surrender as soon as possible, but also the first time that simplified characters appeared in this era. Its full text is written in simplified Chinese characters, creating a new history of Chinese characters. The bold use of simplified characters in such an important document was the result of Zhou Shixiang's careful deliberation, with the aim of promoting simplified characters.

In Guangdong, Zhou Shixiang carried out a literacy movement in the military, and the security forces at all levels not only played the role of "political commissar", but also played the role of teacher. However, the effect of the "literacy movement" was not very good. In the past few years, the entire army has only trained 40,000 to 50,000 sergeants who can master the number of thousand words. The reason for the inefficiency is that on the one hand, the Taiping Army is always on the go, and there is not enough time to teach the soldiers; In the words of Blind Li, it is better not to read after death than to suffer in life.

Traditional Chinese characters are indeed difficult to learn, and Zhou Shixiang has a deep understanding of this. Compared with the simplified characters he had learned in his previous life, the traditional characters had too many strokes and it was difficult to memorize them. If you started learning traditional Chinese characters since Mengsheng, it will be easier to master as you get older. However, the main target of the literacy movement in the military are adults who do not know rough characters. It is difficult for them to put down their swords and guns and learn traditional characters one stroke at a time.

Simplified Chinese characters with fewer strokes will undoubtedly be more acceptable to the soldiers. In the past, it took a dozen, 20, or 30 strokes to write a single character, but now it can be written with just a few strokes. In terms of teaching alone, it is definitely better than traditional characters. great advancement. And simplifying Chinese characters was not initiated by Zhou Shixiang on a whim, but has a long history. Since the appearance of Chinese characters, dynasties and dynasties have continuously tried to simplify fonts, changing from oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions to seal script, and then to clerical script and regular script. Regular script gradually increased in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and was quite common among the people, and was called "vulgar script". For thousands of years, Chinese characters have been in constant change. In many cases, simplified and traditional complement each other. In the current Ming Dynasty, there are actually many simplified characters that Zhou Shixiang was familiar with. What he has to do now is to further accelerate and formalize this simplification process, thereby increasing literacy rates and popularizing education.

Compared with simplified characters, traditional Chinese characters must have a stronger look and feel, but no matter how you look at them, traditional Chinese characters seem to be a tool, a tool that is mastered by a certain class. Zhou Shixiang considered this class to be the gentry class. The more cumbersome the font, the harder it is to learn. A scholar who starts learning at an early age will definitely be able to master it gradually, while an ordinary person learns it like a book from heaven, and most of it is difficult to master.

Song Xianggong, a left-behind Guangdong scholar and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, once held a character learning class according to the simplified character table given by Zhou Shixiang. He selected a hundred soldiers who did not know big characters and divided them into two groups. One group learned traditional characters, the other learned simplified characters. The result was that only 8 people in the group that learned traditional Chinese characters were qualified, while 43 people in the group that learned simplified Chinese characters were qualified.

Same time, same teacher, same teaching method, very different results.

Song Xianggong asserted at that time that the simplified Chinese character table given by Zhou Shixiang would enable tens of millions of people in Daming to get rid of the "illiterate" status that Zhou said. Rural schools are popularized, and it will not take long for all the people in the world to become "readers".

Knowing how to write and read, in Zhou Shixiang's previous life, every Chinese knew it, and it was nothing at all. In those days, illiteracy was a joke. In this era, "knowledgeable and sensible" is the privilege of very few people, and it is something that many people cannot do in their lifetime.

For the decrees of the imperial court and the texts of the official government to be known by the common people, the common people must be able to read and write. Otherwise, the common people who do not know big characters can only be played and applauded by the gentry who have mastered the "character".

The promotion of simplified Chinese characters is a major event that has merit in the contemporary era and benefits in the future. It is a major event that concerns the Ming Dynasty, whether the Han people can live in long-term peace and stability, and leads the world. It is also a major event that Zhou Shixiang can implement and realize.

Steam engines, ironclad ships, tanks, cannons, and machine guns are all good things, but Zhou Shixiang doesn't know how to make them. He can only provide ideas and ideas to the craftsmen of this era. But how to write simple and fluent words, he can and can do it right away.

The essence of words is the medium of communication. The simpler the medium, the better, and simplicity is conducive to promotion. Everything that is derived from the essence of writing is in the final analysis nothing more than a trick of the literati and doctors.

Of course, literati liked calligraphy, and this Zhou Shixiang had no intention of interfering, but he was determined not to allow any calligraphy to appear in the official documents of the imperial court, as long as the font was correct. Such as the so-called cursive calligraphy, which makes people look at it without knowing what it was written or written, it is better to sweep it into the garbage heap as soon as possible, lest future generations follow.

"Gao Zheng Jingshu" is the first time that simplified Chinese characters appear in official occasions. Along with the "A Report to Zheng Jingshu", a simplified and traditional comparison table written by Zhou Shixiang was also sent to Siming Prefecture.

"Gao Zheng Jingshu" is also different from the previous documents, it is full of vernacular.

The full text is as follows:

"Zheng Jing, the eldest son of the national surname Zhu Chenggong:

You have now reached the point where the mountains and rivers are exhausted. The main navy of Jinxia has surrendered to the court under the leadership of Duke Dinghai Zheng Mingjun, Duke of Jianping Zheng Zanxu, and Uncle Siming Feng Xifan, which means that you no longer have the ability to defend Jinxia and resist the army of the court. Zheng Xi, the Prince of Fujian, has been entrusted to the imperial court, and now he is a part of the imperial court recruiting a large army, which shows that most people in Jinxia have a strong heart and a heart towards the imperial court. No matter how stubborn you are, there is absolutely no hope. Do you still want to escape from Jinsha to go overseas? Do you think your subordinates are willing to do this? I, Zhou Shixiang, and you, Zheng Jing, are both ministers of Daming, and sons of the Han family who have been rooted in Daming for generations. Are you willing to wander overseas, not only will you not be able to return to the embrace of your home country, but also your children and grandchildren? ? Do you have the heart to let the soldiers who have followed your father for more than ten years become homeless?

Zheng Jing, submit to the imperial court. You don't have many troops in your hands anymore, neither the Lu division nor the navy division can compete with the imperial army. You can force the young men of Jinsha into your army, but how can these people fight? For more than a month, under our siege and heavy blows, your territory has greatly shrunk. You only have a place like Jinsha, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the size of a palm. With so many people crowded together, I just won't send troops to beat you. As long as the land and sea are cut off from your food routes, it won't take long for you to run out of ammunition and food. At that time, not only your soldiers will be hungry, but the people of Jinxia will also be hungry. Why do you want them to follow you and complain? Zheng Jing, don't forget that everyone in Jinsha, whether military or civilian, came to follow your father to fight against the Qing Dynasty from the day they came to this land, not to follow you and fight against the imperial court!

Zheng Jing, you must make a choice immediately, because I believe it will not take many days, I am afraid that without any action from my army, the military and civilians of Jinxia will turn against you on their own. When your father was there, he called you a traitor and refused to forgive you, which led you to a dead end. I can understand that, so I'll give you a chance, a makeover, a chance to start all over again. You should learn from your uncle Zheng Xi, learn from Zheng Mingjun and Zheng Zanxu, and immediately order the entire army to lay down their weapons and stop resisting. I, Zhou Shixiang, can guarantee the safety of your life, your family members, and the officers and soldiers under your command~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Only in this way , is your only life and sleep, you think about it, if you think this is good, do it like this. If you think this is not enough, then I don't mind competing with you to see if your small golden mansion can really withstand the hundreds of thousands of troops in the imperial court.

King Zhou Shixiang of the Ming Dynasty. "

The vernacular used by Zhou Shitong in the "Gao Zheng Jingshu" is obviously very crude compared to the "gentle" official documents of the past. But Zhou Shixiang believed that whether it was an official document or a letter, it should be in vernacular, so that people could understand it easily.

This is also Zhou Shixiang's self-confidence. He does not need to use elegance and sophistication to pack up the nobility of King Qi, nor does he need to prove his level through gorgeous words. "It's just that", he didn't use it, and no one will use it again in the future.

Zheng Jing received the "Complaint to Zheng Jingshu", looking at the unfamiliar but familiar fonts, he didn't understand it for a long time.

Chen Yonghua "translated" the contents of "The Book of Zheng Zheng" through the "translation" of the simplified and traditional font table.

Zheng Jing was silent there, and the feeling this declaration gave him could only be described in five words as a page full of absurd words.