Chapter 18 Chapter 16 Outlook

16.1.1 The Retirement of Classical Chinese The above are all about the past situation of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese.As the saying goes, learn from the past to know the future, and after talking about it, it seems that we should also think about the future. Let's talk about classical Chinese first.Now Classical Chinese is hovering at the crossroads. Some people say that it seems to be going east, while others say that it seems that it is going west.Different opinions come from what signs you see. For example, if you think that there will be a revival, you can cite the students who are studying and the best-selling classics as evidence.However, those who hold different views can also cite few people as evidence that ZTE is impossible.I personally think that in such matters, "can" is much more important than "is it good", because no matter how good the dream of yellow rice is, there is always a payment for eating yellow rice.This means that no matter how sweet the idea of ​​something that cannot be done, it will inevitably come to nothing in the end.Now, classical Chinese seems to be standing at a crossroads. In fact, this is a falsehood. The truth is that it has already gone downhill. The evidence is that the number of people who actively want to learn is decreasing day by day. less.Some people say that this is the wrong way of regulation and teaching. If it is right, the situation will get better.I think this is idealism without practical considerations.The reality now is that instead of studying literature and history, it is better to study science and technology. Not only will it come quickly, but it is also easy to gain a lot;It is difficult to learn classical Chinese in the short term; if it takes a long time, even if you know it, what can you do?If you don't teach, you can only be happy and hum a few words "spring grass grows in the pond" and "the wind and the moon on the banks of the willows" after dinner.Because of this situation, quite a few people, most of whom are proficient in classical Chinese and pay attention to language issues, are firmly opposed to learning classical Chinese.In short, the current status of classical Chinese is that it is good to know it, but it doesn't matter if you don't know it.Dispensable, and people's time is so tight, it is very difficult to hope that most people are willing to study hard and learn.Moving forward with such a reality, it will inevitably become a trend, that is, the number of people who learn it will gradually decrease, and the number of people who know it will gradually decrease.In this way, one day, maybe not too long, when Chinese characters are still commonly used, ordinary people will feel very unfamiliar when they see classical Chinese, even if it is not as strong as the English and Americans when they see Latin.

16.1.2 Cultural heritage issues In the previous introduction to classical Chinese, it was said that the vast majority of our country’s cultural heritage is recorded in classical Chinese. Classical Chinese has merit and has many advantages that are worth preserving and enjoying.But to continue, to enjoy, to learn it first.No matter how valuable "Quan Tang Poetry" is, if you don't know classical Chinese, you can only read the book and sigh.However, as mentioned in the previous section, fewer and fewer people are learning and meeting, and there will be irreconcilable conflicts. Grapes are delicious, but they are too high to reach.Many people have already imagined that a small number of professionals (such as classical professionals) should be trained, and they should be responsible for passing on what should be inherited and enjoyed to the public who do not know classical Chinese by means of translation and introduction.This can be more comforting than nothing, but there are many difficulties.The first is who to train.This seems to be an easy decision to train those who are suitable for learning classical.But, how can we know which teenagers are suitable for learning classical?For this, we have to consider the principle of voluntariness first, but in this way, more people have to try classical Chinese first, that is, learn classical Chinese.This is being practiced now (classical Chinese is included in students' Chinese classes), will it work in the future?Secondly, if the responsibility is handed over to a small number of classical mathematics, it will naturally encounter the problem of what to pass and how to pass it on.For example, if it is worth passing on, and it is still barely able to pass it on (it will inevitably scratch the surface), "Full Tang Poetry" is too difficult.Inheritance, enjoyment, the appreciation of literary works will probably occupy the main position in the future, and this is just like watching a movie. It is not enough to just look at the plot, you have to watch the screen with your own eyes.The third is that there are a large number of heritage types, and passing them on is not something that a few people can do.Considering these circumstances, in the not-too-distant future, the proper way may still be to step on two boats. One boat is to give those who are able to learn and like to learn the opportunity to learn, and the other boat is to train people who are not too few. Professionals, organize presentations.From an ideal point of view, it is best to use self-study as the main force and professional as the auxiliary; if it is not possible in fact, then you have to do the opposite, with professional as the main force and self-study as the auxiliary.This is all about the not-too-distant future; as for the long-term future, it will involve the issue of the preservation and abolition of Chinese characters, and the issue of changes in the importance of classical literature, which can only be considered and dealt with by people at that time.

16.2.1 Dichotomy in the vernacular As mentioned in Section 15.4.3 above, from the perspective of the distance from the spoken language, the current vernacular obviously has two currents, one is very close to the spoken language, and the other is far away from the spoken language.Naturally, there are still a lot of intermediate ones, because they are far away from issues such as style and direction, so we don't need to talk about them.The distance from the spoken language is related to the author's experience, such as Lao She, Bing Xin, etc., who still hold the tradition of the 1930s, naturally they will not abandon the spoken language.This condition is not absolute, because the more important condition may be the viewpoint and the skill of writing.Opinions are very important. For example, Lin Qinnan and Yan Fu always think that if the writing is elegant and tame, writing will not appear; colloquial vernacular.Kungfu, or writing ability, is also important, because I always think that writing articles like "话" is much more difficult than writing articles that don't.In addition, the atmosphere of the times is also a condition that cannot be ignored, because as a fledgling, it is inevitable to learn what to sing and what to sell.The combination of various conditions, coupled with the new content of the new era (many of which are foreign), will gradually and unconsciously form a stream away from the spoken language, as mentioned in Section 15.4.3 above, Although it may not necessarily have an overwhelming advantage, it should not be underestimated, because it seems that it is flourishing.

16.2.2 Old for new Vernacular is the tool we are using to express our ideas.There are positive ways to improve tools, and there are positive ones, and there are negative ones, which are the right medicine.No matter the armpit or the medicine, you have to go outside to find it.From a theoretical point of view, language at any time and any place can act as an external force to choose what is good.But far away water can’t quench our near thirst. We should be pragmatic and absorb what is close at hand first.There are three main types, all of which were discussed earlier.One is classical Chinese.It is a very complicated issue for modern language to absorb nutrition from classical Chinese.This has been done in the past, and the amount is quite large. For example, idioms are obvious, but "author" and "style" are not obvious, but they are.There are many precedents.As far as the style is concerned, the most prominent is the lyrics of operas, which use almost all the tricks of classical Chinese.As far as people are concerned, if someone close to us, such as Lu Xun, had not been familiar with the classics, his essays would not have been written with such charm.This is not to say that he can't write well, but that it doesn't have this kind of charm, and part of this charm comes from classics.However, Lu Xun's writing style also gives us a kind of enlightenment, that we can absorb it only after we have mastered it. In the smeared articles that sometimes appear on the Internet, search for some familiar formulas from classical Chinese and forcefully stuff them into modern language, turning them into non-donkeys and non-horses.Pass, learn first.But the current trend is that fewer and fewer people are learning it. In the future, ordinary people will become passers-by with classical Chinese, and it is still impossible to know each other, let alone take advantage of it.Therefore, at least from my point of view, it is almost impossible for modern Chinese to absorb any nutrients from classical Chinese in the future.

Much younger than the classical Chinese is the vernacular since the Tang and Song Dynasties, and there are quite a few of them, such as wait, we are still watching, can we learn something from it?It's hard to say, because it's not like technology. The introduction of new ones can be seen, touched, and have immediate results.As far as I know, some novel writers in recent years have found some cleverness from there, and a few even imitated it.But after all, there are only a small number of people who write novels, such as writing essays, writing memoirs, and writing lyric essays. Can I learn something from them?Theoretically, of course it is possible, or it should be, because at least one point of the vernacular in that period is worth learning or pondering, which is to follow the spoken language and seek popular fluency.Many of our current articles are not like this. It may be beneficial to compare and think about it.

Moving closer are the thirties.Section 15.4.2 mentioned earlier that the outstanding achievement of the vernacular in that period was that it was "inseparable" from the spoken language.This "buli" is a good medicine for "liness", and it deserves our attention the most. "Not that" does not come entirely from the method of expression, and even mainly comes from knowledge and life attitude. It is naturally more difficult to learn, but it is also worth using mechanics.To learn, the only way I have to use is to read the works of that period.But it's not easy.One is that the times have passed, and many young people feel alienated, and some say they are not interested.The second is that there is a bigger obstacle, which is that it is not easy to get close to. For example, although some people have painstakingly added annotations to Mr. Lu Xun's works, quite a few young people still say they can't understand them.The third is that there has been a strange trend recently, that Lu Xun's articles are not good; if Lu Xun is like this, other people in the 1930s will be even inferior.Everyone has their own opinions, so there is no need to argue.Here I just want to say that it is not easy to absorb nutrition from the 1930s, but it is very necessary. If we don’t keep our eyes open, we will turn a blind eye to the "never leave" that is right in front of us, and even drift to the fork in the flow. Miscalculated.

There are also works that are more recent than the 1930s, and there are also works that are simple and natural, close to spoken language.It's not easy to name names, because one is too much, and the other is favoritism, which will make people unhappy.I would like to make a generalization that to write modern vernacular, one must not only have writing skills, but also have eyesight. "Writing" is like this, and "reading" before writing is even more so. You must be able to distinguish between superior and inferior, read more like "words", and read less like "words", so as not to be close to vermilion.

16.2.3 Spoken language The relationship between vernacular and spoken language, what the facts are, and what should be, have already been discussed a lot in Chapter 12.What I want to emphasize here is that articles unlike "words" tend to be dull and dull, and are difficult to understand. If it can be said to be a kind of literary disease, the good medicine for the symptom is to get closer to spoken language.To say that it is a literary disease, some people may think that this is a big deal.In fact, this is not a trivial matter.Because one is no longer individual, but expanded to have a universality.The second is that the reasonable requirement of expression is that the effort is small and the effect is large. The style of writing that is far away from spoken language is just the opposite. It is a small business with a lot of money, which is very uneconomical, or very bad.The third is that if this stream of water moves forward smoothly, the area expands, and the time prolongs, it will gradually take shape and become a long and difficult "new classical Chinese" that is far from spoken language, that is, vernacular is no longer vernacular.So you should quickly get back to the right path before you get too serious and hard to return, really write in vernacular.That said, I am also advocating writing.Yes and no.What I mean is that if it is admitted, two conditions must be attached: one is that the so-called words are well-chosen words, not gossip in the streets and alleys, and the other is that they are just as Mr. Ye Shengtao requested, they can be catchy, and the listeners feel that they are speeches (profound speech is allowed) begrudging), not to read the article.It sounds like "words" when read and heard, and it has the advantages of being popular, concise, and clear. This is the correct way of vernacular writing.Is it difficult to walk on the right path?It is neither difficult nor difficult.It is difficult to say, because firstly, we need to get rid of the influence of the atmosphere, and secondly, we need to slowly explore the concise and fluent way.It is not difficult to say, because we always have to believe that ideology is the decisive force, and where there is a will, there is a way.

16.2.4 Responsibilities relating to various "homes" Such a title assumes that what is said above will be recognized by the majority.This is too optimistic.The truth is, the trend away from the spoken language perhaps has more approval.The evidence is that not only many people wrote it like this, but also many people who have the right to publish choose to print it like this.Here, one cannot wait for the river to clear up, and the other cannot go back and argue again, so we have to accept this assumption for the time being.What about after that?The solution, of course, is to work together.This group includes all people related to vernacular Chinese, especially various "family members", such as writers (including all those who can write and often publish, it is an unreasonable prejudice to call only those who write literary works writers), various works Critics, language experts, educators (including teachers), publishers (including editors), translators, etc.From the perspective of the entire history of vernacular, this is a big undertaking, because if it is done well, it will be a further improvement of the vernacular system for more than a thousand years; unfortunately, if it goes astray and becomes no longer vernacular, what will happen? Although it is not good Indeed, it should be something to worry about, right?