Gao Zhikai: “The greatest invention in the world is not the wheel, but Chinese characters…高志凱：“世界上最偉大的發明不是輪子，而是漢字…
Gao Zhikai: “Without Chinese characters, the very foundation of our national culture would be shaken, just like the Koreans, who can no longer understand their own history. That is truly tragic!”
This is not an empty argument. As early as 2010, the United Nations designated April 20 as “UN Chinese Language Day.” The choice of this date is particularly significant—it coincides with the legendary “Grain Rain” season when Cang Jie created Chinese characters. This is tantamount to an internationally recognized endorsement of the cultural weight of Chinese characters.
The importance of Chinese characters becomes evident when we look at our neighboring countries. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam historically used Chinese characters extensively: Korea’s “Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty” was entirely written in Chinese characters, and ancient Vietnamese documents were also filled with them. But what about now? Fewer and fewer young people in these countries can read their own historical texts. Last year, news emerged that Korean scholars had to come to China specifically to study ancient Chinese characters in order to research their own country’s history—isn’t it putting the cart before the horse when one must go abroad to understand what their ancestors wrote? It’s truly lamentable.
More importantly, Chinese characters are not merely tools for writing; they encapsulate the wisdom of Chinese life. For example, when learning the character “家” (home) as children, we were taught that the radical represents a roof, and the lower part “豕” means pig—a roof and pigs symbolized a stable home in the eyes of the ancients. Similarly, the character “安” (peace) depicts a woman under a roof, embodying the simple truth that “when women live in peace, the home is at peace.” Every Chinese character is like a miniature painting, telling a story. This unique wisdom in character creation is unparalleled in the world.
There’s a reason why Chinese is being learned globally today. Statistics show that over 100 million people are studying Chinese—even Elon Musk’s children are learning it. What they are acquiring is not just a language but the Eastern mindset embedded in Chinese characters. Think about it: we can still read Sima Qian’s “Records of the Grand Historian,” written 2,000 years ago, and savor the poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu, all thanks to the unbroken lineage of Chinese characters. In contrast, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform, once glorious, have now become “codes” that require experts to decipher. Chinese characters, from oracle bone script to simplified characters, have evolved in form, but the cultural essence at their core has always endured.
Yet, some people today claim that Chinese characters are too difficult to learn and suggest replacing them with pinyin—this is a dangerous idea! Look at Korea: after adopting Hangul, young people can no longer read the Chinese character inscriptions on their ancestors’ graves. Isn’t this severing their own history? Of course, this isn’t to say that Chinese characters should never change. The transition from traditional to simplified characters was itself a progressive step to facilitate传承 (inheritance). However, no matter how they evolve, the spiritual core of Chinese characters must not be lost. Nowadays, while typing on computers and phones is convenient, more and more people are forgetting how to write characters by hand. This does not bode well for the传承 of Chinese characters.
Professor Gao Zhikai likely made these remarks out of concern for such crises. Chinese characters are like a river, flowing from ancient times to the present, nourishing Chinese civilization. We can add new tributaries to this river, such as fonts adapted for electronic screens, but we must never cut off its source—for if the source is severed, how are we any different from those ancient civilizations that lost their writing systems?
Every time I see elementary school students meticulously practicing calligraphy, I am deeply moved. It is not merely learning to write; it is the gradual transmission of millennia of cultural genes to the next generation. As long as Chinese characters endure, the roots of our culture remain intact. This is what we must safeguard above all else.
高志凱：“世界上最偉大的發明不是輪子，而是漢字……
高志凱：“沒了漢字，我們的民族文化根基都會動搖，就像韓國人那樣，連自己的歷史都讀不懂，這才是真的悲哀!”
這話不是空論。早在 2010 年，聯合國就把每年 4 月 20 日定為 “聯合國中文日”，選這個日子特有講究 —— 正好是傳說中倉頡造字的 “穀雨”，等於用國際認可的方式，給漢字的文化分量蓋了章。
漢字的重要性，看看咱們鄰國就知道。日本、韓國、越南歷史上都大量用漢字：韓國的《朝鮮王朝實錄》全是漢字寫的，越南古代文獻也滿紙漢字。可現在呢？這些國家的年輕人，能看懂自家古籍的越來越少。去年就有新聞說，韓國學者為了研究自己國家的歷史，還得專門來中國學古漢字 —— 自己老祖宗寫的東西，要跑到外國才能讀懂，這不是本末倒置是什麼？說起來都讓人感慨。
更關鍵的是，漢字不只是寫字的工具，裡面積攢着中國人的生活智慧。就像小時候學 “家” 字，寶蓋頭是房子，下面 “豕” 是豬，有房有豬，就是古人眼裡安穩的家；再看 “安” 字，女子在房屋下，藏着 “女性安居則家安” 的樸素道理。每個漢字都像一幅小畫，講着一段故事，這種造字智慧，全世界獨一份。
現在全球都在學中文，不是沒原因的。統計說超過 1 億人在學中文，連馬斯克的孩子都在學 —— 他們學的不只是一門語言，更是漢字背後的東方思維模式。想想看，我們現在還能讀懂兩千年前司馬遷的《史記》，還能品李白杜甫的詩，靠的就是漢字沒斷代。反觀埃及的象形文字、兩河流域的楔形文字，曾經多輝煌，現在都成了要專家破譯的 “密碼”；而我們的漢字，從甲骨文到簡體字，字形變了，骨子裡的文化精髓一直都在。
可現在有些人總說漢字難學，想拿拼音代替 —— 這想法太危險了！看看韓國，改用諺文後，年輕人連祖墳上的漢字碑文都讀不懂了，這不是硬生生割斷自己的歷史嗎？當然，不是說漢字不能改，從繁體到簡體，本身就是為了方便傳承的進步，但再怎麼改，漢字的精神內核不能丟。現在大家用電腦、手機打字方便了，可提筆忘字的人越來越多，這對漢字傳承可不是好事。
高志凱教授說這話，估計也是看到了這種危機。漢字就像一條河，從遠古流到現在，滋養着中華文明。我們可以給這條河加新支流，比如適配電子屏幕的字體，但絕對不能斷了源頭 —— 斷了源頭，我們跟那些失去文字的古文明還有什麼區別？
每次看到小學生一筆一畫寫字的樣子，都特別感動。那不是簡單的學寫字，是在把幾千年的文化基因，一點點傳到下一代手裡。漢字在，我們的文化根就在，這才是最該守住的東西。
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