1. What is Esperanto? Esperanto's origin, founders, aims and objectives, characteristics
Esperantoesperanto) is made ofDr. Zamenhof, a Polish Jewlazarz ludwik zamenhofonIt is an international auxiliary language founded on the basis of the Indo-European language family, aiming to eliminate the language barrier in international communication, so that people of all ethnic groups in the world can live together in harmony like brothers and sisters in the same human family, and is known as "international Mandarin". Later generations used the pseudonym used by Zamenhoff when he published this linguistic scheme“doktoro esperanto”(meaning "Dr. Hope"), this language is called“esperanto”, i.e. "Hope Language".
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Esperanto began to be introduced to our country. When Esperanto was first introduced to China, some people once transliterated it as "Aisi is not difficult to read", and some people called it "Wanguo Xinyu" and "Aishiyu". Later, the Japanese paraphrase "Esperanto" was borrowed and is still used today.
Esperanto has become the most widely used international auxiliary language in the worldEsperanto organizations and Esperanto speakers are found in many countries and regions.
UNESCO officially designated the International Esperanto Association as a UNESCO organizationbThe official status of the International Esperanto Association in UNESCO was determined. The World Federation of United Nations Associations has also taken a positive approach to Esperanto.
Other international organizations that use Esperanto as an official language include the International Academy of Sciences of San Marino, the International Federation of Culture and Art, and the International Federation of Religions of Yongzhong. The Esperanto broadcasts of China Radio International are among the best in Esperanto broadcasts in various countries and have always attracted the attention of the international Esperanto community. Esperanto has rigorous grammar, beautiful pronunciation, strong logic, and rich expressiveness, and many world classics have Esperanto translations, such as the Bible, the Quran, and so on.
Esperanto is an artificial language created on the basis of the Indo-European language family, with a total of 28 letters, written in the Latin alphabet, each letter is pronounced with only one sound, the sound value of each letter is always the same, there is no non-pronounced letter, and the pronunciation and writing are exactly the same. The stress of each word is fixed on the penultimate syllable. After learning the twenty-eight letters and mastering the rules of pinyin, you can read and write any word. Most of the roots of Esperanto's basic vocabulary come from the natural languages of the Indo-European language family. The grammar of Esperanto is based on the Indo-European language family, and its basic rules are only sixteen, so it is relatively easy to master compared to other foreign Chinese.
The symbol of Esperanto is the Green Star Flag. It isYear of the Irishrichard geogheganIt was designed for Zamenhof, who was also the first person to write a textbook for English Esperanto. The delegates of the First Congress of Esperanto in Buren, France, approved the flag as a symbol.
2. The development of Esperanto in China
After the birth of Esperanto, it was mainly spread in European countries. Japan has the strongest foundation in Esperanto in Asia. At the beginning of the 20th century, Esperanto was introduced to China by Russian businessmen, Chinese students from Japan and Western Europe, and was endorsed and supported by Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun, Hu Yuzhi, Ba Jin, Chen Duxiu, etc., and later contributed to the progressive cultural movement and the national liberation movement.
In New China, the earliest Esperanto magazine "China Report" was launched. The following year, the All-China Esperanto Association was founded. Esperanto Radio, a radio station of China International, which was launched in the year, has a wide audience of Esperanto and has now been transformed into an online and new ** report. In addition to official and semi-official publications, Esperanto speakers throughout the country also have their own publications and **. According to incomplete statistics, there are people in the country who have studied EsperantoMore than 10,000 peopleyears,SectionThe International Esperanto Congress was held in China, which was the most attended and successful congress outside of Europe, where it originated. year, firstThe International Esperanto Congress was held in BeijingThe theme of this year's congress is "Linguistic Equality in International Relations".
Esperanto was introduced to China at the beginning of the 20th century and has been since thenYears. Because it was able to follow the customs of the locals and integrate it with China's progressive cultural movement and national liberation movement, it quickly took root in China, and after the founding of New China, it served the cause of foreign propaganda and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and achieved more achievements than in any period of old China. Thanks to the support of the Party and the good environment of reform and opening up, Esperanto has continued to develop in China.
At the beginning of the last century, a group of progressive intellectuals also learned Esperanto, such as Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Hu Yuzhi, Ba Jin, Yun Daiying and others. Although some have not studied Esperanto, they also agree with the ideal of Esperanto's universal harmony and human family, such as Sun Yat-sen, Chen Duxiu, Qian Xuan, and others. Thanks to the advocacy of the above two groups, Esperanto gradually spread in China. Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hankou are the last centuryThe city where the Esperanto movement was most active before the decade. In these cities, Esperanto organizations were established, Esperanto publications were organized, Esperanto schools were created, and even dozens of universities, including Peking University, Shanghai University, and Sun Yat-sen University, also offered Esperanto courses. A number of Soviet and Eastern European literary works were also introduced to China through Esperanto. Some Chinese literary works have also been disseminated to all parts of the world through Esperanto, which shows the role of Esperanto in cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, which is particularly valued by China's cultural circles.
3. Learning, disseminating and using Esperanto
As mentioned earlier, Esperanto is an artificial language, and Comrade Zamenhof's original intention in founding it was to eliminate misunderstandings, estrangements, and antagonisms between ethnic groups due to language barriers, and to promote peace and cultural exchanges among various ethnic groups. Some people make friends because of Esperanto, some people learn Esperanto and get a job, some people get married because of Esperanto, and some people get a high-level title because of Esperanto. There are too many people and things to mention.
So, Esperanto is a language, a tool, and it can be used in any way – provided that you learn it first. Whether it's making friends, doing business, studying, researching, translating, writing books, or speaking, you can do it. The role of tools is to make it easier for everyone to do what they want to do.
Thirty-eight years ago, the first National Esperanto Congress was held in Kunming, which was an unprecedented event. The unique attributes of Esperanto as fair, just, peaceful, and neutral are also known to the people of the whole country. As early as August 1963, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China issued a policy of "...Teach Erhu Xu ZidiThe "Notice on the Commencement of Esperanto Courses" clearly states that "institutions of higher learning may use Esperanto as a second foreign language or offer elective courses." Later, in 1982, he ([Teach the word "high school".The Circular on the Reaffirmation of Esperanto as a Second Foreign Language reiterates the requirement that Esperanto be included as a second foreign language in the teaching subjects. At the same time, Esperanto, as a second foreign language, has also been listed as one of the languages of the promotion examination for professional and technical personnel, and Esperanto has achieved great development in China, and the cause of Esperanto has also made great progress. At that time, a large number of Esperanto schools, Esperanto classes, workshops, and correspondence courses sprung up all over the country, and Esperanto schools around the country trained batch after batch of Esperanto students through on-site or correspondence teaching, and these students gradually formed the mainstream of the national Esperanto movement and became the backbone of the Esperanto movement in China. Looking back at that time, Esperanto was so popular and how promising it was for the Esperanto cause! From that meeting, a new page was opened in the history of Esperanto in China.
However, the ensuing trend of "everything is looking at money" has given many businesses, including Esperanto, a de facto "cold mix". Due to the influence of erroneous trends of thought such as "the supremacy of money" and "the supremacy of power", the national Esperanto movement gradually went to a low ebb, and the theory of the uselessness of Esperanto was rampant. However, countless Esperanto scholars have not given up on this, and they have organized their own industry organizations according to the different characteristics of their respective industries, such as the Youth Esperanto Association, the Rail Transit Esperanto Association, the Medical Esperanto Association, the Teachers' Esperanto Association, etc., in addition, there are various Esperanto associations such as philately, Go, economy and trade, tourism, law, etc., which have proved the great role played by Esperanto in various aspects with their own personal experience and specific practice. Huang Yinbao, a well-known Esperantoist, served as Vice-President of the International Association for the World Association and Editor-in-Chief of the Esperanto edition of The Courier, an organ of UNESCO, telling the story of China to the world in Esperanto. Jiang Zuyue, the representative of the International Esperanto Association in China, "married Esperanto all his life" and finally won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" of Esperanto issued by the National Association of World Esperanto. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Esperanto appeared on the match ball. In February this year, China's International Space Station (ISS) was open for 2023 mission logos. At the suggestion of Comrade Li Zhongmin, an Esperanto speaker from Hangzhou, 34 Esperanto speakers across the country jointly sent a public letter to the Chinese space station on 18 February, calling on the space station to use Chinese and a fair, just, peaceful, and neutral Esperanto that does not belong to any country. There are countless such people and examples around us.
And today, in Zaozhuang College, in the Esperanto Museum, and in the Esperanto Forest Park, I see the spirit of Esperanto and the new hope of Esperanto.
I think history is calling again!
4. Esperanto's future prospects
The concern of the Chinese Party and the Chinese Esperanto people for Esperanto was reflected as early as the beginning of the last century. On December 9, 1939, the chairman expressed great enthusiasm and support for the progressive activities carried out by the Yan'an Esperanto Association, and wrote an inscription: "I still have this sentence: If Esperanto is used as the form and the way of true internationalism and revolution is enshrined, then Esperanto can be learned and should be learned." ”
Therefore, it is the primary task and common responsibility of Esperanto to learn Esperanto so that it can be promoted, used, and promoted throughout the world.
The development of the Esperanto movement was multifaceted, and one of the most important aspects was the support of the economic base. We have never objected to the organic combination of the Esperanto movement and the economy, any more than the organic combination of the Olympic movement and business. In fact, we have many successful cases of the organic combination of Esperanto and economics (business), such as the International Esperanto Economic and Trade Union, the Economic and Trade Committee of the National Association of the World Association, etc., and Wang Tianyi, who is currently the chairman of the International Esperanto Economic and Trade Union, is a typical representative. We are firmly opposed to the commercialization of Esperanto, but we are not opposed to the organic combination of Esperanto and commerce. If Esperanto and economy and trade (business) are organically combined, promote each other, support each other, and develop together, this should be something we are happy to see.
I have always believed that in order to make progress, we must boldly emancipate our minds, resolutely carry out reforms, have the courage to invent and create, and embark on a new path of development and growth of the Esperanto movement. We Esperanto speakers have always considered ourselves pioneers in overcoming obstacles, so we appreciate this spirit of courage and optimism. The Esperanto movement in China is moving forward on a new path, and Hunan Esperanto speakers hope to have the opportunity to move forward side by side with Esperanto speakers across the country.
We are facing a glorious era of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We are shouldering the great mission of national rejuvenation. All of us Esperanto will shoulder this mission and make our Esperanto movement a great leap forward in this great era!
It's up to us to create the future. It may be difficult to overcome the risks and clear some people's doubts, but I firmly believe that the peak is worth climbing.
He is a life member of the International Esperanto Association and the vice president of the Hunan Esperanto AssociationSong Yandeyu, director of the All-China Esperanto AssociationFebruary 2024.
Does Esperanto work? Let the facts speak! (Huang Yinbao).