NEW CHINESE ALPHABET.

Cromwell Argus, Volume LIII, Issue 2793, 6 November 1922, Page 7

NEW CHINESE ALPHABET.

On one occasion Lord Wolseley prophesied that eventually the Chinese would rule the world. It looks now as if this prediction may be nearer the truth.

In the past, ninety per cent, of the Chinese people were quite illiterate. There has, however, come an awakening, and a desire for education has developed.

One of the reasons for this sudden change is that the Chinese have adopted a new phonetic alphabet. By means of thirty-nine signs, or letters, it is possible for them to write and express anything which can be spoken in their own language.

For thousands of years there had been a way of writing Chinese, but it was such a difficult way that only scholars attempted it ! The old Chinese alphabet had 43,000 signs, and it is scarcely surprising that most Chinamen gave up all idea of learning to read and write. Eventually China's ruling men set themselves the task of inventing a simple phonetic alphabet, such as most languages possess.

The Chinese Board of Education, with the help of various foreign authorities on languages, succeeded in inventing an alphabet of thirty-nine letters, which are not unlike shorthand. Missionaries and teachers have undertaken the teaching of reading and writing by means of this simplified method. The modern Chinaman is hungry for knowledge and education, and even old people are found to be anxious to learn to read and write.