After World War II, China, Japan, and South Korea faced severe devastation, with their economies, politics, and cultures in disarray. China, after the Second Sino-Japanese War, entered into a civil war, only stabilizing with the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Japan, under U.S. occupation, struggled with the war’s lingering effects, while Korea, liberated from Japan, was divided between Soviet-controlled North and U.S.-occupied South. The Korean War (1950-1953) further complicated the situation. To rebuild, these nations adopted significant reforms, including language policy changes. Influenced by Western civilization, China, Japan, and South Korea simplified their writing systems, replacing traditional Han characters and Latinizing scripts. In China, the PRC aimed to standardize language and reduce illiteracy by simplifying Chinese characters and implementing Hanyu Pinyin. Japan, under U.S. guidance, introduced a "National Language Reform" to simplify kanji and promote phonetic scripts. In South Korea, linguistic purism emerged as part of efforts to eliminate Japanese colonial influences, emphasizing the use of Hangul and reducing reliance on hanja. This paper explores the Chinese character policies of these countries, analyzing the motivations and effects of these reforms during the post-war era.
第二次世界大战后,韩中日三国面临战后重建的巨大挑战,经济、政治、文化都处于 低谷。中国在抗日战争后进入国共内战,直到新中国成立才脱离战乱;日本被美军占领, 政治环境剧变;韩国摆脱日本殖民统治后,面临南北分裂和朝鲜战争。这三国急需通过政 策恢复秩序和重建。在西方文明影响下,三国纷纷启动文字改革。中国因文盲率高,推行 语言文字的简化和标准化;日本在美军的推动下进行“国语改革”,废除汉字;韩国通过 国语醇化运动,旨在摆脱日本影响,废除汉字。本文以第二次世界大战结束初期为时间节 点,对韩中日三国颁布及实施的汉字政策进行梳理,并分析这些政策出台的主要原因及其 影响。