The Continuing Debate on Chinese Characters

Abstract

The articles and papers collected and translated in this special issue of Chinese Education all relate to the issue of Chinese characters and the continuing debate on their ease or difficulty of learning. In part, these articles give another point of view to that expressed in an article in the winter 1983-84 issue of Chinese Education called "An Appeal for Justice for Chinese Characters," by Zeng Xingchu. This article, first published under the title "Proof that Chinese Characters Are Easy to Learn and Easy to Use," originally appeared in the Chinese journal Research in Education (January-February 1983), published by Huadong Teachers College in Shanghai.