试述近代以来汉字在日本的社会境遇

On the Social Context of Chinese Characters Since Modern Times in Japan

历史上,汉字是日本社会唯一的正统文字,日本人崇拜汉字。近代以来在欧风美雨的冲击下,汉字在日本的社会境遇发生了很大变化——遭受限制,甚至陷入了几被废止的逆境。依据此线索,通过近代以后中国文化在日本社会的命运变迁,阐述了日本社会无法摆脱汉字的文化宿命。

Chinese characters have been serving as the only orthodox characters in the history of Japan with deep reverence for that by Japanese people.However,great changes have taken place in the context of Chinese characters in Japan due to the profound impact brought about by the Western civilization,which was manifested in the restrained use of Chinese characters that almost got ensnared in a state of being abolished.In this article,an overview will be made on this to clarify the changes of Chinese culture in Japanese society,while accounting for the reason that Chinese characters are indispensible to Japanese society in terms of cultural destiny.