170D 20th Century China

170D 20th Century China Alice Locke The use of written language as a tool of communication is the most vital aspect of modern society. Almost everything deals with either our numerical or linguistic system to function, from the binary code running electronic devices to words directing traffic in a busy thoroughfare. Language exists to consistently and conveniently convey thought in an accessible medium. China faced, in the twilight of the Qing Dynasty, a crisis of identity where its people were scattered and divided as to how they were going to adapt their language towards their evolving needs. Jing Tsu, in his article, Chinese Scripts, Codes, and Typewriting Machines, delves into this issue, and elaborates on the struggles faced by intellectuals of the time as they attempted to reconfigure and reconstruct the chinese ideographic system for use in the modern era. Tsu argues that, The script revolution, which was often pushed into the background while bigger political events seized the stage of twentieth-century China, turned out to be the lasting one. It irreversibly augmented the global influence of the Chinese language, thereby opening up a new space for competition and co-option between the alphabetic and ideographic writing systems.1 Though the author then goes on to mention the obsolete nature of the identification of chinese script as ideographic, she maintains the distinction between the Chinese and western systems of writing. The core argument of this article is that while the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were a time of extraordinary social and political upheaval, the most lasting impact of this revolution was the alterations made to the Chinese script. The importance of this piece lies in its interpretations of the adaptations that contemporary intellectuals had to create to facilitate the Chinas transition into the modern era. Since antiquity, the Chinese writing system has been considered sacred, a divine writing system devised by the heavens, and for this reason, there had been a long held belief that any attempt to alter it would be sacrilege. In the face of such history, the intellectuals of the late Qing period were determined to produce a method of advancing their nations competency on the global level. Giving a disclaimer, the author chooses to focus neither on the interactions of languages nor the potential appropriations that they made on one another, attributing these assertions to scholarly articles.2 [120]Though these issues are intrinsic to the grand scale, they can be put aside for a more indepth look at a particular movement in history. The logographic text was used as a cultural standard establishing Chinas cultural prestige, but now it was becoming an issue, the complexity of the script made it very difficult for average people to have significant access. This in turn largely contributed t o the low rate of literacy in the population at the time, and more importantly, made writings very difficult to mass produce. Seeing this increasing divide between the current utility of the language and the increasing need for unavailable modes of communication, Chinese script writers put their life on the line to modernize their language, and to adapt it for a modern world focused on the maths and sciences.3 [120] At the onset of this literary revolution, the government was largely still favoring the antiquated system that had been used for centuries, unlike the intellectuals, the government was more concerned with the traditional thoughts of the script being handed down from the heavens, than recognizing a need to ingrain itself into the new world forming around it. Tsu then goes on to note an argument published by the Cambridge University Press, that establishes language as the basic method of argumentation and explanation.4 [121] This argument, presented as another scholarly ar ticle, establishes the basis of language and shows that even though different language system can have the same basis, they might not lead the people to the same ideologies. This illustrates the divide between eastern and western philosophies, not as a vast intellectual difference, but rather as a systematic lack of infrastructure to support varying logics. As a result of China being surpassed in technological and scientific disciplines, Chinese contemporaries looked towards the west for ideas to incorporate into their script revolution. These revolutionaries would incorporate various methods of writing from the west and Japan in order to better prepare the Chinese writing system for use in the modern scientific era. Many of these intellectuals experimented with Isaac Pitmans phonography in order to attempt to create a shorthand method of expressing Chinese while maintaining the general style of the system. Reverend Alexander Gregory created and published a possible version of shorthand Chinese in the Phonetic Journal which influenced and inspired others interested in the area to use his example as a basis for a modern Chinese shorthand.5 [130] The Phonetic Journal was a scholarly collection of works submitted, through this medium, ideas both simple and complicated could be examined and distributed by people throughout the globe. By see ing this example, intellectuals would not only have been given inspiration how to go about the revolution, but also a reminder of how their proposed script could be used to spread knowledge. Indeed, many of the proposed scripts came with an example, something recognizable that was translated into the shorthand that the author was attempting to establish. Tsu describes that each author had various motivations for their attempt at the creation of a simplified Chinese script, missionaries attempted to use it as a tool to better attract converts, intellectuals sought a better method of disseminating information, scientists wanted a better method of noting data, the Chinese people wanted an improvement to their writing system and many believed that shorthand was the best mode of revolution at the time.6 [131] The revolution continued to garner support, and quickly became a global endeavour, with contributions from as far away as Glasgow.7 [131] These publications taken from various scholarly journals were used to demonstrate the scope and nature of the early script revolution. Unfortunately though, the vast majority of the proposed scripts ran into similar problems, in essence they were too complicated and failed to meet the initial expectations of being easier to learn.8 [132] The creator of each script as well as those around him were able to grasp the concept without much effort, as intended, but the further away from himself that the creator got, it became a growingly difficult material to teach. Those that adopted the system early could adapt to the added rules and subtleties, but the systems became too complicated to be useful as shorthand.9 [134] Every language is complicated, with millennia of small changes that have led to vast differences between dialects, Chinese in the north i s a vastly different language than in the south, similar to comparing French and Italian, grammar and pronunciation rules are so different that trying to create a generic system for both languages would be extremely difficult. While both French and Italian use an alphabetical basis for their script, each has its own special characters, along with having pronunciation of similar strings of characters vastly differ, even within their own language. The greatest mistake of these script writers was to attempt to unify the script of the nation without unify the language of the nation. From the start, their approach was doomed to fail as they lacked the vision for scale, they created systems adapted for their personal needs at the time, but were unable to cater to the population as a whole. The failings of these early reformers would grow into a new era of reform in Chinese script. Tsu maintains that the window of opportunity was far too short for these radical shorthand methods to gain popularity and the gradual reform necessary to incorporate such system.10 [135] The debate for the path of the modern language reached the height of debate during these early years of the republic. It still wasnt entirely clear which direction the country was headed linguistically, with some called for a Han Script Revolution,11 [138] among other controversies that set the stage for a leap into typography. Lin Yutang, a chinese writer and pioneer in typography, set out to create a typewriter that would allow him along with millions of others to quickly and efficiently type in the Chinese script.12 [135] Lin is hailed as great writer of this time period, but his contributions towards typography are generally not mentioned, even though his machine served as a basis for many of the multilin gual and chinese-language typewriters.13 [137] The two main forms of script revolution revolved around either alphabetization or the simplifying of stroke order; Lin argued that these two concepts were not mutually exclusive, that both could be sued in conjunction to create a modern Chinese script.14 [138] This ideal published in the Princeton University Press, would serve as Lins basis for creating his system of typography. Lin experimented with and studied various models proposed by other linguists at the time, but he found that they were too complicated for the average person, that while work in theory, they failed in practice as the shorthand revolution had decades ago. Lins goal was to create a system that was accessible to the average user, one that was both aesthetically pleasing, as well as functional in purpose.15 [140] Finally, in 1924, he devised his own system which became the cornerstone of the indexical system for his typewriter.16 [140] These notions and discoveries w ere written in an autobiographical format by Lin later in his life, detailing his endeavors as he sought to create a typographical system accessible to everyday people. For this purpose, Lin created a system of alphabetically locating Chinese words based on stroke order rather than phonetic pronunciations. The first stroke of the character was used as the primary reference point, with each subsequent stroke being used to further narrow the search in a sort of alphabetical manner.This differed greatly from the traditional Reverse Cut which used the final, and usually most visible, stroke to classify characters.In this manner, Lin was able to organize the characters in a manner akin to aa, ab, ac, etc. which allowed him to organize his typewriter in the same fashion.17 [141-2] Lins system dismantled the arguments of alphabetic superiority by creating a system that functioned in a similar way using traditional Chinese characters. By figuring out a new mode of accommodating and assimilating alphabetic languages, Lin fused what he though was the best feature of both languages.18 [142] The keyboard of the machine displayed Chinese radicals and not latin characters which had previously antagonized critics of this format.19 [142] Lin detailed how his typewriter would accept input and then produce a selection of characters that would then be chosen by the author of the piece. He had finally created a method to distribute the Chinese language en masse. Indeed, he succeeded at his original goal in theory, but in practice, Lin faced entirely different problems than his predecessors. The simple fact of the matter was that it cost too much to produce. In order to facilitate the complexity of the machine, Lin was forced to order many specialized parts that increased the overhead cost above what was acceptable, to about $1000 per machine. This led to Lin selling the patent to the Mergenthaler corporation in 1951.20 [143] From this point onward, Lin was uninvolved in the legacy of his typewriter. At this point, Tsu switches from referencing Lins personal memoirs and delves into news reports and articles in magazines such as Scientific American to find information about the legacy of the Lins typewriter in modern computing. The patents made their way to IBM and were processed into what became the sinowriter. This machine was the ideal that Lin was unable to meet, it was an inexpensive typewriter that could easily be accessed, even by peopl e that werent able to understand Chinese themselves.21 [145] The ideal of the script revolution that began over half a century ago had been realized. From this point, the sinowriter would undergo several more upgrades which increased its functionalities, but the basic ideal stayed the same. The Chinese script had finally gained an effective recording technique it could use in the modern era. China gained linguistic independence with the creation of effective writing tools in the twentieth century. The script revolution began in the last days of the Qing Dynasty and continued worldwide throughout the length of the twentieth century. The first reforms were blinded by the notions that the script was inferior to western alphabets and only sought to create a shorthand method to supersede the traditional language. This conflicted with the very nature of Chinese society and faded into unpopularity quickly with the rise of typographic machines. A new struggle emerged with the primary focus being the effective translation of Chinese from a written to a printed text. Lin Yutang successfully overcame this enormous obstacle, before allowing others to refine his his invention into a more practical form. The work and effort of thousands of people worldwide is what allowed the sinowriter to become the first easily mass producible method of scripting the Chinese language. Jing Tsu detai ls the events and circumstances that led to the creation of the sinowriter primarily using scholarly articles from both modernity and contemporary sources. With the exception of Lins personal testimonials, Tsu sticks to using verifiable articles to establish an academic atmosphere for the article. The specifics of the accounts of newer sources might differ from what they were originally, but being scholarly articles, they maintain a high standard for their information. The core of the article dictates Chinas struggle towards finding a writing system befitting its entrance into the global stage.

The Great Gatsby “Fitzgerald Tying Is Life to the Book”

Fitzgerald writes The Great Gatsby as a mirror of his own life describing his life through such characters as Nick Carraway, the narrator and the Jay Gatsby the, protagonist which are representations of Fitzgerald’s life. Fitzgerald uses his own events to play key parts in this novel. Throughout The Great Gatsby characters and events are a written reflection of Fitzgerald life making The Great Gatsby an autobiography. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul Minnesota (A Brief Life of Fitzgerald).Francis’ parents enrolled him at the Newman School in 1911 when he was 15 years old, Newman School was a prestigious Catholic prep school located in New Jersey (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio). After graduating from Newman in 1913 Fitzgerald went to Princeton University. At Princeton he devoted himself to working hard on becoming a writer. With all of his focus on writing, he began to struggle in other classes. Around 1917 Fitzgerald was on academic prob ation and it was very unlikely for him that he would graduate so he thought it was best for him to join the Army.Fitzgerald became a second lieutenant in the infantry (A Brief Life of Fitzgerald). Fitzgerald was so convinced that he would die in the war and scared that he had not accomplished his literary dreams in time, that he quickly wrote a novel called The Romantic Egotist. The novel was very well liked by the publishing company known as Charles Scribner’s Sons, but they asked him to revise it before sending it back to them(A Brief Life of Fitzgerald). Around June 1918 Fitzgerald was stationed at Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery Alabama (A Brief Life of Fitzgerald).While he was stationed in Camp Sheridan, he met a girl named Zelda Sayre (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio). Zelda was 18 years old and Fitzgerald eventually fell in love with her. And he would continue to pursue after her. Fitzgerald was never actually deployed into the war, because World War I ended in 1919. After bein g discharged from the army, Fitzgerald decided to move to New York City where he hoped to start a career in advertising hoping that Zelda would marry him for having a job (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio). Although Fitzgerald wanted Zelda, he quit his job and decided to return to St.Paul to rewrite his novel. Fitzgerald really hit a breakthrough when his novel, This Side of Paradise was published in 1920 (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio). After finally having success from his novel, Zelda finally agreed to marry Fitzgerald only after a week of the book being published. Zelda and Fitzgerald married in New York. The couple had one child, a daughter named Francis Scott Fitzgerald, who was born in 1921 (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio). Fitzgerald quickly became famous and wealthy from his writings as he began to write more novels and short stories as the year passed.Fitzgerald became a so called, â€Å"playboy† (F. Scott Fitzgerald Bio). Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby and it was published in 1924. T he novel was closely based off most of Fitzgerald’s own life. Using his own experiences Fitzgerald was able to write his greatest novel ever. Fitzgerald shows himself throughout the book through mostly two characters; Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby. Both characters had some aspect to Fitzgerald’s life. For instance Jay Gatsby and Fitzgerald both had a lover whom they wanted to marry so badly. Nick is the vision of what Gatsby saw of the â€Å"roaring twenties†.Jay Gatsby represented Fitzgerald’s personality as a lavish partier when Fitzgerald first became wealthy. Gatsby threw great parties that everyone wanted to go to. Fitzgerald became rich just like everyone wants to be. It was not just the partying that is seen as Fitzgerald, but Fitzgerald seems to describe his own young life through Gatsby as if he was writing an autobiography. Fitzgerald went to Princeton only for a while just as Gatsby went to St. Olaf’s College only to leave the school just as Fitzgerald left Princeton.Gatsby was blinded by Daisy’s beauty just as Fitzgerald was to Zelda. Both were determined to have their women. It seemed though Fitzgerald could not accept rejection or a loss, an example in Fitzgerald’s life was that Zelda broke their engagement, because Fitzgerald was not making enough money (A Brief Life of Fitzgerald). Fitzgerald drove himself to win Zelda. Fitzgerald put his emotions into Gatsby by trying to say he would do whatever it would take to have Zelda. Gatsby got all his money from illegal activities, because he was willing to do whatever it took to have Daisy.Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald was blinded by the beauty of one women that having Zelda, as Gatsby having Daisy, was all he wanted. Gatsby represented the partying celebrity. Nick Carraway represents the other side of Fitzgeral,d as he represents the quietness the better minded version of Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald and Nick Carraway were able to see that all this materialism and partying in the â€Å"Roaring Twenties† were morally decaying, yet they were both fascinated by the lifestyle. Nick represented Fitzgerald’s true feelings of the era where life was fun and flashy, but morally wrong to him.Nick Carraway at the end of the novel decided to move back to the Midwest to escape the craziness and hyped life happening on the east coast even though he was curious about it. (Fitzgerald 176). Fitzgerald puts his true feelings into Nick. Even though the fast rich life seemed fun and exciting it was morally decaying and he misses living normally. Fitzgerald showed many signs of an autobiography, in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald showed himself as idealized version of himself in Gatsby, doing whatever he could to have Daisy and never once thinking his plans would not work.Nick Carraway was Fitzgerald’s old self stuck in a place full of drama and morally decaying events that everyone in the party life thought as ok, because they thought they were better than everyone else. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, shows readers that his life was put into two characters; Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, to show the views of that era. . Works Cited â€Å"A Brief Life of Fitzgerald†. University of South Carolina. Web. 24 April 2012. â€Å"F. Scott Fitzgerald biography†. A+E Televison Network. Web. 24 April 2012 Fitzgerald, Francis S. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 2004. Print.

The Battle Over Best Argumentative Essay Topics .0 and How to Win It

The Battle Over Best Argumentative Essay Topics .0 and How to Win It Best Argumentative Essay Topics.0 for Dummies Because you have to establish your position on the subject at the end, you might not have adequate information or evidence to strengthen your stand if you don't choose or generate your argumentative essay topic wisely. The student has to inquire into the topic thoroughly so he or she is able to collect evidence. Though the topic can enable you to debate from a side that you don't believe in, it should allow you to depict confidence in your arguments. Basically, your topic should raise divided opinions so that it is easy to argue 1 viewpoint. Becoming in a position to compose a strong argument can help you succeed in society. The second thing admission ought to take care of essay you choose the title is to maintain in mind five forms of argument claims. When you're interested in the topic that you pick or generate, even the audience will discover that it is interesting since you will present your arguments in a passionate method. Topic for men to start. Things You Should Know About Best Argumentative Essay Topics.0 Choosing our service, you will understand that studying can be simple if you gain from the help of capable experts. Over time, the business has been producing a wide selection of merchandise on the grounds of the dynamic needs of consumers. Since you are able to see, students are certain to face a number of challenges should they need to turn into a member of the buy essay club. As a consequence, such students start looking for the best essay help to be certain that their project is going to be produced a t the maximal level in agreement with all academic standards. Best Argumentative Essay Topics.0 - What Is It? With a wide selection of sports events, there are a good deal of relevant topics to discuss. Each topic is likely to have lots of matters that will want to go split into classes. A wide topic will require that you compose a good deal. In general, there are several similar topics which are extremely interesting to make people. Facts, Fiction and Best Argumentative Essay Topics.0 Strong curiosity concerning the topic is critical. If you cannot find credible sources for the subject, you may have to change it or re-adjust its focus. Choosing argumentative essay topics has lots of tact. At times you might require some expert help with argumentative essay topics. Instead, you can prevent the topic. If you still hesitate and don't understand what topic to select, make a list. Deciding students your topic isn't that easy. It should be divisive. The Tried and True Method for Best Argumentative Essay Topics.0 in Step by Step Detail Argument Essay WriterPlease select the most suitable sort of paper needed. Hamlet, examples to select. In your paper, you need to do the subsequent. PaperCoach can assist you with all your papers, so take a look at the moment! You receive a preview of someone's own essay and get to create corrections if needed. An incredible academic essay starts with an idea together with an outline. Since you might already be aware, composing an academic paper is a difficult job. In addition, studying such debates will supply you with open sources that you are able to use as the references of your essay. Some students might find it tough to compose an essay since they have not done it before or since they aren't aware with a specific structure. The writers ought to be professionally qualified to be in a position to not just compose a fantastic definition essay paper but in addition structure and format it appropriately. Writing an essay is an intriguing job for students that have a passion for writing. Be a very simple task by means of your essay which airs. Browsing our essay writing samples can provide you a very best argumentative essay topics idea whether the standard of our essays is the quality you are searching for. Necessary in monroe isn't demonstrate an original topic or speech topics. It's not essential that you own awareness on all topics. To begin with, you must participate in critical reading and critical writing. Make sure that you recognize the assignment. Writing is a really grueling undertaking for most students. Thus, for your convenience, you have a superb chance to monitor the advancement of the assigned writer and make sure an essay will be ready in a timely method. There's, obviously, a limit on the variety of pages even our finest writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but generally, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. You may continue to keep your argumentative essays for your upcoming job samples in case they're highly graded. There are various sources that address topics which other scholars have argued about before. You'll discover a variety of kinds of essays, therefore it's rather easy to shed your eye on your entire writing assignments.

Technology Is The Hard Bringer Of Destruction - 1226 Words

When I think of technology, I often categorize technology into beneficial, harmful or as both Technology sometimes carries the negative stigma that technology is the hard bringer of destruction, an ideal perpetuated by dystopian sci-fi movies (look at Terminator and the development of Weapon of Mass Destruction). Perhaps, that will one day become a reality, when AI (Aritificial Intelligence) becomes way too sophisticated to be controlled by our feeble human mind. However, today I am not talking about technology in the science fiction realm; I want to discuss how technology improves and at the same time has the potential to harm someone’s livelihood. This way of analysis will evaluate how individual use technology every day. Technology†¦show more content†¦Transportation What do I see every day on the road? Cars, of course. Not long ago America did not have the sophisticated interstate and transportation infrastructure I see today. These things only started to become a reality during the Great Depression era, when the government was struggling to rejuvenate the economy. What better way to make the American economy healthy again? Well, the solution proposed by the government was to put people to work on massive projects that can employ a lot of people and at the same time serves a purpose. Without an admirable transportation infrastructure, I do not think that we will see the modernization of automobiles. Because what is the purpose of better vehicle, when there is no enough of paved roads for them? So, with all these things available to us, I utilize this technology every day. I use my car (Nissan Altima 2016) to travel to work, subway and school. Automobiles and different vehicles are currently promptly accessible and are technologically advanced enough for safe use and to act as a solid apparatus for getting individuals and products starting with one place then onto the next in a moderately short space of time. Without a great transportation sy stem or a reliable tool of transportation, things won’t arrive from one place to another on time. As such, when I look back in time whenShow MoreRelatedClimate Change and Poverty1734 Words   |  7 Pagespoor sanitation, pollution, malnutrition, and a constant shortage of clean drinking water (Dhiman). Climate change is already taking a toll on the economical standings of poverty stricken countries; proceeding with the vicious cycle of social destruction, climate change seems to have no weakness. For instance, the summer of 2010 was the hottest summer on record in India, with temperatures reaching a record average of 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The effects were limitless: crops perish, livestock wereRead MoreRay Bradbury s Fahrenheit 4512323 Words   |  10 Pagesaccepted, or even worse, a detached society where emotions no longer exist. By reading the first few pages of Fahrenheit 451, readers immediately get the feeling of a dystopian society. Firemen creating fires, inste ad of extinguishing them, and technology that has taken their society to a whole new level of entertainment. These are exaggerated ideas right off the bat, yet Ray Bradbury carries the readers through the story in order to show them his own outlook on the future- in fact, all dystopianRead MoreEssay Prosecution Mongol Trial Pd 33591 Words   |  15 Pages  Conquest  after  conquest,  it  was  only  a  matter  of  time   before  they  had  conquered  essentially  all  of  Asia.  However,  the  overall  treatment  of  their   people,  conquered  and  native,  displays  their  barbaric  nature.  We  have  nine  witnesses  of  the   Mongols’  brutal  destruction  and  savagery  that  we  will  call  up  to  the  stand  today.  None  of  our   witnesses  deserved  the  merciless  treatment  they  received  under  the  Mongols.  The  treatment   that  these  people  received  could  only  have  been  described  as  barbaric,  which  we  have   collectively  defined  as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"​Read MoreImpact of Science on Society38421 Words   |  154 Pagesand Space Administration. IV.College of William and Mary. V. Title. VI. Series. Q175.55.B88 1985 303.4’83 84-1 4 1 59 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword Science and technology have had a major impact on society, and their impact is growing. By drastically changing our means of communication, the way we work, our housing, clothes, and food, our methods of transportation, and, indeed, even the length and quality of lifeRead MoreImpact of Science on Society38427 Words   |  154 PagesAeronautics and Space Administration. IV.College of William and Mary. V. Title. VI. Series. Q175.55.B88 1985 303.4’83 84-1 4 1 59 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword Science and technology have had a major impact on society, and their impact is growing. By drastically changing our means of communication, the way we work, our housing, clothes, and food, our methods of transportation, and, indeed, even the length and quality of life