Stop the Presses! Publishing Chinese Character Simplification, 1935-1936

Simplified Chinese characters ( jiantizi ) were first implemented as official policy under the Nationalist government of the Republic of China in late 1935. Less than four months later, in early 1936, the policywas rescinded. Existing historiography emphasizes the role of conservative political opposition in simplification's demise. However, the practical difficulties of simplification must also be considered. While promulgating simplification, the government also mandated the use of newphonetic annotations ( zhuyin fuhao) inpeda- gogical publications. These two simultaneous demands on publishing companies imposed costs that neither the industry nor the government was willing to bear. Based on previously overlooked archival documents, along with examinations of the financial positions of the leading publishing firms and the national budget of China at the time, I argue that simplifications failure should be attributed not only to political opposition but also to the material and economic constraints on the companies responsible for its implementation.