Research On The Chinese Punctuation Since The 20th Century

Since the 20th century the use of the Chinese punctuation has experienced complex stages of evolution. Based on the issue date of the scheme for the punctuation in 1920 and 1951 by national government, its stages of evolution can be divided in three phases before and after the boundary point. The basic status of the use of punctuation in each phase is as follows:The first, grafting period of Chinese punctuation and foreign punctuation (1900-1920). The use of punctuation is free but generally speaking, the use is primary. To the range of use, in the main, it is used more in the magazines and less in newspapers and books. The number of punctuations actually used is roughly 13 or 2 semi-statutory punctuations, 4 peripheral punctuations and 2 kinds of semi-punctuations.The second, preparatory initiating period of the integrated new type punctuation (1920-1951). The using scale of the punctuation in written language had greatly increased to about 5/6. The number of punctuations actually used is haply 13 or 2 statutory punctuations, 6 peripheral punctuations and 2 kinds of semi-punctuations.The third, primary finalizing period of new type punctuation (from 1951 up to the present). The punctuation is universally used all round of the country, and few conditions without punctuation to be used are mainly for given expression purpose. The number of punctuations actually used is haply 16 statutory punctuations, 16 peripheral punctuations and 3 kinds of semi-punctuations.The basic theory problems involved and recapitulated with synchronic approach are:1. function, subjectively are approximately supplement, mark, beautification and predigestion and objectively are mainly classification,2. symbolism way divided in mark and representation,3. character, approximately is mainly marking the sound while marking some forms in the texts as well as some subsidiary characters with special content, and4. Subject ascription is approximately pegged as subsidiary philology.And the basic theory problems involved and recapitulated with diachronic approach are : Rise, to a certain extent, the rise of partial punctuations mainly indicates the following regularities:1. phases, symbols in kind → graphic symbols→ symbols;2. manner, copy→ abstract and develop;3. trend, gradually abstracted- concretization -representation-*icon. Development, the number of punctuations is gradually increased;1. the interior changes of punctuation system are mainly rise, elimination, disparity and combination;2. the shapes of punctuation is mainly summarized as the following dialectic laws of development-predigestion and complication, internationalization and nationalization, dissimilation and standardization.3. The cause of the rise and development comes down to the result of both interior and exterior causes, of which the interior cause is summarized as the change of written contents and methods.The programming of punctuations is summarized by the criterion with different dimensionalities as several principle problems that they have a cross in each other but cannot be entirely comprehensive to each other. These problems as well as their corresponding principles of management are: the relationship between subjective will and objective reality-sensoemotion and sciencohumanism, subjective will>objective reality;the relationship between logicality and human factors - logicality>human factors;the relationship between rigidity and suppleness - the problems of nonstandard level to be standardized should stick to the rigid attitude but to the problems of super standard level to be standardized it's best to adopt the supple attitude;the relationship between thicken and thin- it depends on the circumstance such as the problems with different characters, different forms, or the same form but different levels;the relationship between integration and part- take the integration as the objective and persist in comprehensive standardization. To the programming with narrow sense, we stand for programming the punctuation according to the strict subject specification, and constructing a new punctuation system with usage in it.