Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation
Encyclopedia
The Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation (讀音統一會 Pinyin
: Dúyīn Tǒngyī Huì) was established in the Republic of China
from 1912 to 1913 to select ancillary phonetic symbols for Mandarin, (Zhuyin was the product) and set the standard Guoyu
pronunciation of basic Chinese character
s.
on July 10, that a set of phonetic symbols were to be used for education purposes. The Commission was set up in December, led by Woo Tsin-hang
. The Commission ended on May 22, 1913. A later similar organization that still exists, also headed by Woo Tsin-hang
for a while, is the Mandarin Promotion Council
.
, with 44 delegates. The chairman was Woo; vice-chairman Wang Zhao
(王照). There were two representatives per each of the 26 provinces. The Tibet
ans, the Mongolia
ns and the overseas Chinese
each had one representative. Prominent members included:
The three groups discussed for two months and adopted 15 symbols from Zhang Binglin
's all-Zhuanshu Jiyin Zimu (記音字母), which was the proposal by the Zhejiang
Committee. Jiyin Zimu was renamed to Zhuyin Fuhao.
After its proclamation, several aspects of Zhuyin were further modified, including:
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Dúyīn Tǒngyī Huì) was established in the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
from 1912 to 1913 to select ancillary phonetic symbols for Mandarin, (Zhuyin was the product) and set the standard Guoyu
Guoyu
Guoyu may mean or refer to:Language* the common term in Taiwan and Hong Kong for Standard Chinese, based on Mandarin Chinese* the Xianbei language during the Northern Wei Dynasty before its sinicization...
pronunciation of basic Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s.
History
It was decided in a draft on August 7, 1912, a month after a conference led by the Cai YuanpeiCai Yuanpei
Cai Yuanpei was a Chinese educator and the president of Peking University. He was known for his critical evaluation of the Chinese culture that led to the influential May Fourth Movement...
on July 10, that a set of phonetic symbols were to be used for education purposes. The Commission was set up in December, led by Woo Tsin-hang
Woo Tsin-hang
Woo Tsin-hang , born Wu Tiao , with the courtesy name Chih-hui , was a Chinese linguist and philosopher who was the chairman of the 1912–13 Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation that created Zhuyin and standardized Guoyu pronunciation.Woo Tsin-hang was born in Wujin ,...
. The Commission ended on May 22, 1913. A later similar organization that still exists, also headed by Woo Tsin-hang
Woo Tsin-hang
Woo Tsin-hang , born Wu Tiao , with the courtesy name Chih-hui , was a Chinese linguist and philosopher who was the chairman of the 1912–13 Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation that created Zhuyin and standardized Guoyu pronunciation.Woo Tsin-hang was born in Wujin ,...
for a while, is the Mandarin Promotion Council
Mandarin Promotion Council
The National Languages Committee, formerly Mandarin Promotion Council was established by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, commonly known as "Taiwan", with the purpose of standardizing and popularizing the usage of Mandarin in the Republic of China.It was created as the...
.
Members
The first meeting took place on February 15, 1913 in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, with 44 delegates. The chairman was Woo; vice-chairman Wang Zhao
Wang Zhao
Wang Zhao was a politician of the People's Republic of China. Wang was born in Tianjing Village, Pingshan County, Hebei Province. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1932. He became the secretary of the CPC Shijiazhuang municipal committee and mayor of that city in August 1945...
(王照). There were two representatives per each of the 26 provinces. The Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
ans, the Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
ns and the overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
each had one representative. Prominent members included:
- Cai Zhang (蔡璋)
- Chen Suiyi (陳遂意)
- Gao Kunnan (高鯤南)
- Hu Yuren (胡雨人)
- Li Liangcai (李良材)
- Liu Zishan (劉繼善)
- Lu Zhuangzhang (盧戇章)
- Ma Tiqian (馬體乾)
- Wang Rongbao (汪榮寶)
- Wang Sui (王崔)
- Wang Yi'an (汪怡安)
- Xing Dao (邢島)
- Yang Qu (楊麴)
- Yang Zenghao (楊曾浩)
Phonetic symbols
There were three main ideas of how the phonetic symbols should be:- Using certain complete Chinese characterChinese characterChinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s to symbolize other characters of the same sound- Supporters included Wang Zhao, Wang Rongbao, Wang Yi'an, and Cai.
- Using Latin alphabetLatin alphabetThe Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
letters- Supporters included Yang Zenghao and Liu
- Using non-existent symbols
- Supporters included Woo, Lu, Ma, Li, Xing, Wang Sui, Hu, Yang Qu, Gao, Chen, and Zheng.
The three groups discussed for two months and adopted 15 symbols from Zhang Binglin
Zhang Binglin
Zhang Binglin was a Chinese philologist, textual critic and anti-Manchu revolutionary.His philological works include Wen Shi , the first systematic work of Chinese etymology...
's all-Zhuanshu Jiyin Zimu (記音字母), which was the proposal by the Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
Committee. Jiyin Zimu was renamed to Zhuyin Fuhao.
After its proclamation, several aspects of Zhuyin were further modified, including:
- Rearranging the order of the symbols
- Adding ㄜ (Pinyin e)
- ㄦ, originally just r, was now also er (a retroflex vowel)
- The three dialectal symbols—万 (v), 广 (gn), and 兀 (ng) -- were deleted, but are still to be found in Unicode Bopomofo (U+3105..U+312c).
- The tone system was modified
Programs
The Commission established the Seven Mandarin Sound Promotion Programs (《國音推行方法七條》 Guoyu Tuixing Fangfa Qi Tiao):- Proclaimed Zhuyin Zimu. [On November 23, 1918]
- All provinces were to establish places to promote and study the 6500 standardized Mandarin sounds (國音傳習所), where the county representatives would gather and return to their counties to spread the words. [Established in 1920, along with Summer Mandarin Seminars (暑期國語講習所)]
- Using the gramophonePhonographThe phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
to record the exact pronunciation. [Recorded in 1920] - Having Mandarin be a compulsory subject in all elementary schoolElementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
. [Implemented in 19??] - All teachers were to speak solely in Mandarin in elementary and middle schoolMiddle schoolMiddle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s. [Implemented in 19??] - All textbooks and some official documents were to be annotated by Zhuyin. [Implemented in 19??]
Further reading
- DeFrancis, John, 1950, Nationalism and Language Reform in China, Princeton University Press, Chapter 4: One State, One People, One Language