Zhou Youguang
Zhou Youguang | |
|---|---|
| Born | Zhou Yaoping 13 January 1906 Changzhou, Jiangsu, Qing dynasty |
| Died | 14 January 2017 (aged 111) Beijing, China |
| Other names | Chou Yu-kuang, Chou Yao-ping |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, linguist, sinologist |
| Known for | Pioneer of pinyin romanization system |
Zhou Youguang (, originally named Zhou Yaoping; 13 January 1906–14 January 2017), also referred to as Chou Yu-kuang or Chou Yao-ping, was a distinguished Chinese economist, linguist, and sinologist. He is widely recognized as the pioneer behind pinyin, the predominant romanization framework for the Chinese language. Pinyin received official endorsement from the People's Republic of China in 1958, followed by recognition from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982, and later by the United Nations in 1986.
Early life and career
Born on 13 January 1906 in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, Zhou Yaoping was the son of an official serving under the Qing dynasty.[1] When he was ten, his family relocated to Suzhou. In 1918, he enrolled at Changzhou Senior High School, where he cultivated a passion for linguistics and graduated with distinction in 1923.[2]
That same year, Zhou began studies at St. John's University, Shanghai, focusing on economics while also taking courses in linguistics.[3] Despite financial hardships within his family, his admission and tuition were supported by contributions from friends.[2] He departed from St. John's in 1925 amid the May Thirtieth Movement and transferred to Guanghua University, completing his degree in 1927.[3]
On 30 April 1933, Zhou married Zhang Yunhe. The couple moved to Japan so Zhou could further his education,[3] enrolling initially as an exchange student at the University of Tokyo. Subsequently, he transferred to Kyoto University due to his admiration for Marxist economist Hajime Kawakami; however, Kawakami’s arrest curtailed direct guidance. Their son was born in 1934, alongside a daughter named Xiaohe ().[2]
Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Zhou relocated his family to Chongqing, which served as a wartime capital; tragically, their daughter passed away there.[4] He held a position at Sin Hua Bank before assuming the role of deputy director within the agricultural policy bureau at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. After Japan's defeat in 1945, Zhou returned to Sin Hua Bank and undertook overseas assignments in New York City and London. During his stay in New York, he had the opportunity to meet Albert Einstein twice during visits to Princeton University.[5]
Zhou was also active within the China Democratic National Construction Association. Following the establishment of the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949,[3][1][6] he returned to Shanghai where he taught economics at Fudan University for several years.[4]
Design of pinyin
In 1955, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai appointed Zhou Youguang—an economist with linguistic interests and familiarity with Esperanto—to head a committee tasked with creating an alphabetic system for China aimed at enhancing literacy. While other groups concentrated on promoting Standard Chinese and simplifying Chinese characters, Zhou’s team concentrated on devising an alphabet that could ultimately replace traditional characters. This initiative spanned approximately three years and incorporated elements from systems such as Gwoyeu Romatzyh, Latinxua Sin Wenz, and bopomofo to represent phonemes and tonal distinctions. By 1958, the government officially adopted pinyin (formally "Hanyu Pinyin") as the standard romanization scheme, designed to function alongside rather than substitute Chinese characters.
In 1979, Zhou represented China at an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) meeting held in Warsaw where he advocated for pinyin’s adoption as an international standard. The system was formally accepted as ISO 7098 in 1982, effectively replacing earlier romanization methods such as Gwoyeu Romatzyh and Wade–Giles.
Later years
During the Cultural Revolution, Zhou endured two years in a labor camp. Following 1980, he partnered with Liu Zunqi and Chien Wei-zang to produce a Chinese translation of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which earned him the moniker "Encyclopedia Zhou." He maintained an active role in publishing scholarly works on Chinese linguistics, including the 2003 volume The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts. Remarkably, even after reaching 100 years old, Zhou authored ten additional books, some of which were prohibited in China.
In a 2011 interview with NPR, Zhou voiced his aspirations for political reform and openly criticized the government's approach to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, stating that it tarnished Deng Xiaoping's reputation as a reformer. He championed democratic principles for China and condemned the Communist Party’s initial campaigns against traditional cultural elements.
In 2013, Zhou and his son participated in an interview conducted by Adeline Yen Mah, who gifted him a pinyin-based iPad game she had created. Zhou attained supercentenarian status upon turning 110 in January 2016.
Zhou passed away peacefully at his Beijing residence on 14 January 2017, just one day after celebrating his 111th birthday. His wife had died in 2002, and his son followed in 2015. In recognition of what would have been his 112th birthday, Google Doodle commemorated him in 2018.
Publications
Zhou's bibliography comprises over 40 titles, including works banned within China, with more than ten released after he surpassed the age of 100 in 2006.
... (additional titles follow in similar format)| Title | Pinyin | English title | Year of publication | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 新中国的金融问题 | Xīn zhōngguó de jīnróng wèntí | Financial Issues in New China | 1949 | |
| 汉语拼音词汇 | Hànyǔ pīnyīn cíhuì | Glossary of Chinese Phonetic Alphabet | 1950 | |
| 中国拼音文字研究 | Zhōngguó pīnyīn wénzì yánjiū | Research on Chinese Phonetic Writing Systems | 1953 | |
| 资本的原始积累 | Zīběn de yuánshǐ jīlěi | The Primitive Accumulation of Capital | 1954 | |
| 字母的故事 | Zìmǔ de gùshi | Story of the Alphabet | 1954 | |
| 汉字改革概论 | Hànzì gǎigé gài lùn | Introduction to Chinese Character Reform | 1961 | |
| 电报拼音化 | Diànbào pīnyīn huà | 'Romanization of Telegraphy' | 1965 | |
| 汉语手指字母论集 | Hànyǔ shǒuzhǐ zìmǔ lùn jí | 'Collected Essays on Chinese Finger Spelling' | 1965 | |
| 汉字声旁读音便查 | Hànzì Shēngpáng dúyīn Biànchá | 'Convenient Guide to Pronunciation of Chinese Character Phonetics' | 1980 | |
| 拼音化问题 | Pīnyīn huà wèntí | 'Issues Concerning Pinyin' | 1980 | |
| '语文风云' | 'Yǔwén fēngyún' | 'The Storm of Language' | '1981' |
See also
- Yuen Ren Chao
- List of centenarians (educators, school administrators, social scientists and linguists)
Further reading
External links
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- 1906 births
- 2017 deaths
- 20th-century Chinese translators
- Chinese bankers
- Chinese expatriates in Japan
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- Chinese supercentenarians
- Creators of writing systems
- Educators from Changzhou
- Academic staff of Fudan University
- Linguists from China
- Men supercentenarians
- Academic staff of Peking University
- Academic staff of Renmin University of China
- Romanization of Chinese
- Pinyin
- St. John's University, Shanghai alumni
- Scientists from Changzhou
- Academic staff of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
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