Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 633 Chapter 632 The Cultural Reform Committee

Han Haizhou of the Cultural Reform Commission received Tang Zhitong's letter on February 2, but he did not actually read it until February 12.

Although Han Haizhou is a section-level cadre, he is really nothing in an organization like the Cultural Reform Commission.

The Cultural Reform Commission has many leaders, some of whom are experienced or are big names in the academic world.

Since we were assigned by our superiors to come up with a plan, we must report the results once we get them.

As the person in charge of the liaison with Tang Zhitong, Han Haizhou had to fully understand the plan given by Tang Zhitong before he could decide how to report it to his superiors depending on the situation.

Han Haizhou has been working here since the establishment of the Cultural Reform Commission and witnessed the drafting and birth of the "Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet".

The "Scheme for the Chinese Pinyin" was not decided by the people of the Cultural Reform Commission on a whim; it involved the participation of the people.

Since its establishment, the Cultural Reform Commission has solicited proposals from all walks of life. By the eve of the finalization and announcement of the plan, more than 1000 proposals had been received from home and abroad, including Chinese stroke form, Latin letter form, Cyrillic letter form, mixed forms of several letters, shorthand form, pattern form, and even digital form.

All kinds of strange and bizarre.

Before the plan was announced in 58, there were several phonetic systems in use, such as Qieyin, Romanization, and Wade-Giles.

The letters given by the phonetic notation are rather strange, for example, b, p, m, f correspond to ㄅ, ㄆ, ㄇ, ㄈ;

The spelling rules of the Romanization system are also somewhat strange. For example, the pronunciation of the same word “油” varies from character to character: iou (幽), you (由), yeou (有), yow (佑), which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of recognizing characters.
Wade-Giles romanization is the Chinese phonetic notation commonly used abroad, but it is also very popular in China. For example, the words "Tsinghua University" were on the emblem of Tsinghua University before liberation.

Similar names include Peking University, Soochow University, Moutai, Chunghwa, Kungfu, Taichi, Kungpao Chicken, etc. Even Mencius, who lived more than 2,000 years ago, never dreamed that he would have a foreign name, Mencius.

There is also the logistics captain who was driven to Taiwan and shouted "Three Years of Counterattack". I'm afraid he never thought that he would have such a nickname. In the final analysis, it is also related to the Wade-Giles romanization, because his name was translated into Chiang Kai shek.

This time, Tang Zhitong provided the Cultural Reform Commission with not only a comparison of traditional and simplified Chinese characters, but also marked out some pinyin that were different from his impressions.

Han Haizhou had seen a lot and could roughly understand what Tang Zhitong meant. This information was very detailed, but it was far from being called a "plan" because it did not explain why a certain Chinese character was written in a certain way, why pinyin was used in a certain way, and the rules for using pinyin.

Even so, it was far beyond Han Haizhou's expectations. He was sure that Tang Zhitong was capable.

After much deliberation, Han Haizhou decided to go there himself, communicate with Tang Zhitong in person about some of the individual issues, and then improve the plan and report to his superiors.

Before leaving, Han Haizhou called Tang Zhitong first.

After hanging up the phone, Tang Zhitong was a little scratching his head. Was he going to become famous?

Over the past six months, I have left my name on the "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook". If I also leave my name on the text revision side, can I just sit back and relax on my laurels?
Han Haizhou moved quickly and arrived at the escort point in about half an hour.

Tang Zhitong showed basic respect and went to pick up the person in person after receiving a phone call from the security guard.

When Ma Wei saw someone coming to look for Tang Zhitong, she wanted to hide away and leave the space for the two of them, but was stopped by Tang Zhitong. It was unknown how long Han Haizhou would stay this time, and Ma Wei could not be left outside all the time.

"Chief Tang, the plan you put together this time is very detailed, but there are still some things I don't understand, so I came over to ask for your advice." Han Haizhou has a scholarly personality and admires people who have real talent and hard work. This time he was much more polite than last time, but because of his scholarly personality, he took out the comparison table and notebook made by Tang Zhitong as soon as he came up, and was very straightforward.

"I don't deserve your advice. You ask, I'll try my best to answer, and we can discuss with each other." Whether it's simplified characters or pinyin, why they are written like this or why they are spelled like that are Tang Zhitong's weaknesses. When he was in elementary school, the teacher didn't even explain it!

Han Haizhou asked questions from morning to afternoon, and confirmed with Tang Zhitong one by one the doubts he encountered while reading.

Tang Zhitong often could not give Han Haizhou a reasonable explanation. He could only say that he felt it was easier to write this way, that spelling was simpler and less repetitive, etc. He did not keep the spelling rules to himself and told Han Haizhou everything.

Although he did a good thing, Tang Zhitong was also sweating profusely after being asked this question. It was like he got full marks in an exam, but was unable to answer the teacher's questions again.

Without theoretical basis, Han Haizhou was scratching his head. The simplification of Chinese characters is still relatively rigorous at present, and cannot be simply extrapolated like Tang Zhitong.

"Just use it as a reference. If it can be used, use it. If it can't be used, put it aside." Tang Zhitong originally thought that he had done a good thing and the credit would be at his fingertips, but the reality seemed a little off.

"No, no, this comparison table is still very valuable. It is very systematic and comprehensive. It just lacks theoretical basis. I will study it further." Han Haizhou was unwilling to give up.

Among the more than 1000 proposals received before, most of them had no theoretical basis and were full of contradictions. It would not be a pity to throw them away, but Han Haizhou was reluctant to throw away the one in his hand.

"Okay. I'm just a junior high school graduate, I don't have much knowledge, I've said everything I can say, there's really nothing more to say." Tang Zhitong spread his hands on the table, it's useless to ask me.

"I'll summarize the rest. I've discussed this with you for most of the day and now I have some ideas." Han Haizhou felt that if it really didn't work, he would not look for any theoretical basis for now. He could just use the existing comparison table. As long as it made sense and had no loopholes, it would be fine.

"Okay, then I'll trouble Chief Han." Tang Zhitong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.

"It's not a trouble. It's my job. I'll tell you when I have news. Thank you, Chief Tang, for lunch." Han Haizhou said and started packing his schoolbag.

"You're welcome. I can't let you come here hungry, right?" Tang Zhitong responded with a smile.

Since Han Haizhou did not bring any lunch this time, he had lunch in the canteen of the escort department.

Han Haizhou not only didn't have a meal ticket here, but also looked unfamiliar. Gao Lide thought he was here to get free food from the canteen and almost refused to give him a meal. It was Tang Zhitong who stepped in and bought lunch with a general food coupon. The food in the canteen of the escort department was not good. The rice was double-steamed and the steamed bread was extra-large, but it was cheap!

If you buy the same meal at a small shop outside, in addition to food coupons, the price is also quite high. So in order to save the difference, some people would buy food coupons from the black market and eat at government agencies.

Different units have different water mixing ratios. If you come across one that mixes less water, you'll make a profit.

After sending Han Haizhou out of the escort office, when Tang Zhitong came back, he was greeted with Ma Wei's admiration: "Section Chief, you are also coming up with a plan for the Cultural Reform Committee? That's amazing!"

"Don't embarrass me. You saw it just now. I don't know the answer to any of the questions. I'm so embarrassed. If I had known he was so serious, I would have gone to the Cultural Reform Commission! No one knows me there anyway, so I'm not afraid of being embarrassed." Tang Zhitong waved his hands quickly. He couldn't accept such admiration.

"He knows the result but not the reason. It must be that the section chief was born with that knowledge." Ma Wei listened to the entire conversation between Tang Zhitong and Han Haizhou. Apart from the fact that he was born with that knowledge, Ma Wei really couldn't find any other reason.

"Come on, if I had this ability, why would I wait until now to write it? If I submit this comparison table to the Cultural Reform Commission before the release of the 'Scheme for the Chinese Pinyin' and 'Scheme for the Simplification of Chinese Characters', I might be able to get a job there." Tang Zhitong was joking, and this time Ma Wei was right. He was "born with knowledge" and "reborn with knowledge", but he couldn't admit it.

"It's not a maybe, it's a sure thing." Ma Wei said seriously.

"No way? It's just a few words. Isn't it okay once the standard is released?" Tang Zhitong was content to be able to leave his name behind, but it was a little hard for him to believe that he could enter the system with this.

"Really. Everyone from top to bottom takes this matter very seriously."

"The old man added that 'the writing system must be reformed and must follow the common phonetic direction of the world's writing systems', and later he went against all odds and used the Latin alphabet."

"After the standard is released, a lot of things are involved. One move affects the whole body."

"Let me give you an example. Pinyin and simplified Chinese characters have been finalized and need to be promoted in the education system. This requires someone to run around and go to various places to train teachers."

"And publishing houses, newspapers, printers, radio stations, and so on, all those who deal with words and pronunciations need to communicate and coordinate."

"Even our postal and telecommunications system is no exception. In the past, telegrams all used the 'four codes'. After the new Chinese character pinyin scheme was announced, we had to change it accordingly."

Due to family reasons, Ma Wei has a wider range of knowledge than Tang Zhitong. She counted the numbers one by one on her fingers to Tang Zhitong.

"Wow, I really wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me. According to what you said, the Cultural Reform Commission is really a good unit." Tang Zhitong stroked his stubble, thoughtfully. It might be a tough job for others to go to other places to promote products, but if he went to different places, he could collect ingredients from all over the place.

"Chief, you don't want to be transferred there, do you?" Ma Wei asked after a moment of hesitation.

"How could that be possible? I think our escort department is better. I was thinking that Han Haizhou had to come here despite his busy schedule. I felt a little sorry for him. I thought that if he calls me next time, I will have to go there." Tang Zhitong was speechless. Although the Cultural Reform Commission could go on business trips, he would definitely not go there.

The job of business trip promotion is definitely not to go to one place in a month. Maybe you have to run around frequently. Where is the escort office? If you want to escort the car, just say hello to Fang Yuan. The rest of the time, go to school, sit in the office and communicate with Xiao Wang. It's so free and easy.

"I was scared to death. I thought my words caused the escort department to lose a general." Ma Wei said, patting her chest.

"I am still very determined. Unless the escort department doesn't want me, I won't go anywhere." Tang Zhitong said happily. Tang Zhitong is already very satisfied with the current treatment. If he goes to other units, he will have to establish new relationships, which is both troublesome and tiring.

After getting up and moving around, Tang Zhitong continued to draw the circuit diagram at his desk.

Last night, when Xiao Wang was taking his two younger sisters to play in the yard, Tang Zhitong went into the house to turn off the lights in order to create a lantern effect. This reminded him of the double-control switch.

Although most people use pull-and-close switches, there are indeed switches nowadays. In some formal occasions, we can't rely on switches or pull-and-close switches to turn on and off the lights, right? Not only is it unsightly, it is also unsafe.

After coming up with so many ideas, Tang Zhitong also figured it out. He just needed to come up with an idea and draw a picture, and leave the rest to others. This saved him both trouble and money.

After dinner, Xiao Wang happily took out a diary from his bag and handed it to Tang Zhitong: "Here! This is for you!"

"Wow~Oh~Thank you, rich lady Wang! I don't want to work hard anymore. Can't I just lie down and do nothing?" Tang Zhitong did not blame classmate Wang for spending money indiscriminately. Receiving gifts showed that she cared about him. Compared with this, what was a few dollars?
"Go away, you're so dishonest all day long and you're still not clean." Classmate Wang didn't understand the joke and thought her husband asked her to go up and do it herself, so she pouted and lightly punched Tang Zhitong.

"Ouch! Your punch has caused internal injuries to me. Next time, you'd better hit me in front of Jingmin, so that he knows how heavy your punch is." Tang Zhitong covered his chest and pretended to be serious.

"Stop pretending. You're so grown up, but you're still so unruly." Classmate Xiao Wang didn't believe it. He pulled Tang Zhitong and forced him to sit on the chair. He didn't express his willingness to accept his suggestion. How could it look like to beat your husband in front of your brother?
However, if my stinky little brother saw it, would he still dare to provoke me? I was looking forward to it, but as a sister, I had the dignity of a sister, and I would never let such a thing happen.

"What's the matter? Does it need to be so serious?" Tang Zhitong sat down cooperatively, looking at Xiao Wang's happy expression, and asked speculatively.

"The royalties from One Cent have been sent to me. It's eight dollars!" Xiao Wang happily took out the remittance slip and showed it to Tang Zhitong as if to seek credit.

"Good, good, your little treasury is finally going to be full again. When I get some inspiration, we'll create together again." Although the royalties were not much, every little bit counted, especially since it was to increase Xiao Wang's income. Tang Zhitong was happy to come more often.

"What do you mean by 'my little treasury'? It's obviously ours." Xiao Wang corrected.

"What's mine is yours, and what's yours is still yours. In the final analysis, it's all yours." Tang Zhitong put the notebook on the desk, then stretched out his arm and took it, and classmate Xiao Wang sat on his lap.

"Hmph, you're good at talking." Classmate Xiao Wang has long legs, and after sitting down, his head is not much taller than Tang Zhitong. He hooked Tang Zhitong's chin with his hand and asked him to tilt his head back slightly. He then lowered his head slightly, and their lips touched.

(End of this chapter)