> butchering many of the complex characters without fully considering the historical, linguistic or aesthetic concerns.
There were committees of linguistic scholars that spent a ton of time on trying to reconcile the historical, linguistic and aesthetic concerns during the simplification effort.
Is it perfect? No. But it was also not an impulse move either.
Also one needs to consider the context of simplification --- the idea of simplification was quite a popular and progressive idea around that time in the entire area. It was widely believed that the complex Han characters were a big hurdle in improving literacy rates and bringing more opportunity to rural areas.
Both Japan and Korea engaged in similar simplification or de-ideogram efforts to varying degrees of success.
There were committees of linguistic scholars that spent a ton of time on trying to reconcile the historical, linguistic and aesthetic concerns during the simplification effort.
Is it perfect? No. But it was also not an impulse move either.
Also one needs to consider the context of simplification --- the idea of simplification was quite a popular and progressive idea around that time in the entire area. It was widely believed that the complex Han characters were a big hurdle in improving literacy rates and bringing more opportunity to rural areas.
Both Japan and Korea engaged in similar simplification or de-ideogram efforts to varying degrees of success.