ON THE NATURE, GUIDELINES, AND CURRENT STATUS OF CHINESE CHARACTER STANDARDIZATION

Abstract

Building on prior scholarship, this article examines the nature, guiding principles, and current status of Chinese character standardization. Four main findings are presented. First, the standardization of Chinese characters demonstrates segmentation, flexibility, and adaptability across dimensions of time, space, and degree. Second, the principle of “two simplifications and four determinations” has played an important role in shaping standardization practices, though areas for improvement remain. Third, the core task of standardization lies in managing the interrelations among the form, meaning, and pronunciation of characters. This is reflected in the treatment of formal versus informal variants, complex versus simplified characters, and dialectal forms. Fourth, emerging forms, such as alphabetic borrowings and internet-created characters, represent new derivatives that fall outside the core mandate of standardization.