Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets used to write the Chinese language, the other being traditional characters. Their wide adoption in the 20th century was part of People's Republic of China efforts to promote literacy. They are now the standard forms in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, while traditional characters remain official in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Simplification usually reduces stroke counts or streamlines components, and many forms were drawn from popular cursive writing.
Historical background
Character simplification has a long history in China, with variation in character shape present since ancient times. The Qin dynasty's efforts to standardize its small seal script in the third century BC are generally regarded as the first real script reform. In the early twentieth century, many intellectuals came to see the writing system as an obstacle to modernization, and simplification was proposed as a way to raise literacy. Early official lists were produced in the 1930s but were withdrawn after strong opposition.
Standardization and later revisions
A set of simplified characters was promulgated in 1956, and it has been used widely since then. A second round in 1977 introduced many artificial variants that proved unpopular and confusing, and it was retracted in 1986. In 2013, the State Council issued a list of 8,105 commonly used standard characters, which included a small number of revised forms. The government has never formally declared the simplification process complete.