'A. correspondent writes:—The promemorial on the language of China which appeared in your columns a few days since seems to be another step that China is about to take in the wilderness to reform in which she has entered. There is nothing more chaotic in China than the language, in words, names and their written form. The Language of China has developed enormously and now has no proper and practicable means of being written to meet the new conditions in the necessary changes going on in the country, in all directions. The colloquial, especially in its general mandarin form, is equal to all the Governmental, business, social and literary needs of the country, and written form, equal to all their educational needs, and capable of development so as fully to enter into the twentieth-century civilization and advance, If China would enter in earnest' on this language reform, it would put her, as to language, in condition to absorb words and forms of speech, and advance so as to meet all needs in her development now enforced upon her. This advance, without language capable development and a form easily written, she cannot make in any proper and satisfactory way. Her book form and high style in character are too difficalt and impracticable for the students, aot to say the common people, to enter into an education which the advanced civilization of the present day requires. But with the colloquial in easy, written form the language is capable to meet the needs of the Empire and its growing foreign relations, and ins literary is not behind the best forms of speech now known among the ase is good and powerful speech capable of hi bent and best literary thought Already the new students do not know the written character as their fathers did, and. this will be more 80 good colloquial speech and easy form of writing are encouraged, the language of doomed to become more and and the new Chins will have no high or low style to take its place, and no proper written form la which the rising generations -may receive an education and enter upon twentieth-century learning, literature and civilization.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.