The matter to present and process all scripture systems of mankind by a computer, has got historical precursors, of which mainly the efforts concerning the Chinese scripture are worth to be mentioned. For, when creating a uniform Unicode, the programmers were to programme functionality of scripture characters, the choice and order of which was not yet fixed. Accordingly reserved, the concerning text windows turned out to be.
Without doubt, the Chinese scripture is the most complicated and substantial scripture of all. This is caused by a peculiarity of the Chinese language, which consists of good 400 syllables, which relying on the dialect are pronounced in up to 5 (Mandarin) or also up to 8 (Guangzhou) intonations. The number of scripture characters however is much more extensive and demonstrates, that all trials to write the Chinese language deviating from the Chinese scripture, will end up in a maze of misunderstandings. Therefore, each teacher of Chinese language urgently recommends his disciples to learn both language and scripture at the same time. Nevertheless, this so peculiar language and its scripture is understood and used by most of the humans on earth.
There are many trials to find a simply learnable systematics within the Chinese characters. Furthermore, there are many historical simplifications of the characters, thus a sinologue must always know the variants, too. The political separation of the Republic of China (Taiwan or Formosa) and the People's Republic of China at the end has lead to two divers scripture variants, where an expert of the Chinese scripture can get the impression, that Taiwan has turned deliberately to the most complicated scripture versions, while the rest of China, yet not knowing of computers or mobile telephones, has carried out further simplifications, so that possibly many Chinese people are able to learn this scripture, too.
Thus, there are not at all the old long characters and the new short characters only, which shall be demonstrated at the example of the word for country and can be proven already before the political separation of both Chinas by a source from 1924 ([1924Rued], keyword number 2192, page 227):
In 1991, W. Song and D. Li sold a collection named Xia4Li3Ba1Ren2 (BYX) with version number 2.1, where a DOS programme can processes both Chinese characters in Guobiao coding on the base of 16 bit and ASCII charaters. In the same year, a Chinese German Dictionary [1991GM] appeared, for the production of which such a programme had been used. A today's version of such programmes is called Nanji Star and emphasizes, that the setting of Chinese characters furtheron is a searching for characters of similar properties. Anyhow, for the agreeing, which characters are found in the Unicode at which position, meanwhile has been worked so carefully, that the lists of Chinese characters on closer inspection turn out to stand in an order, which is known from and consistent to sinologual dictionaries. By this at least a sinologue can find also without a bought programme. A spelling standard, like in the sense of Konrad Duden for German, so far is not known for the characters of China.
In this connection, the author thanks his study friend Frank Hoermann for getting in the midst of the 1990 years the programme BYX and a Bible edition [1992Shen] with long characters of the version, which is printed in Nanjing with short characters. By the comparison of both, same sounding versions, it should be possible the earliest to prove a pratical relating of long characters and short characters, thus for example a written text can be delivered for customers in both Chinas, without needing to be composed from the beginning.
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