Zhou Youguang was once known as the "father of Chinese pinyin", but he modestly said: "I haven't said such stupid things!" In fact, Hanyu Pinyin is not his own effort, but is completed by a number of contributors.
He once said, "I'm just one of the producers, and some people say it's the main producer, and that's fine." Nevertheless, because of his extensive influence in Chinese Chinese linguistics, people still habitually call him the "father of Hanyu Pinyin."
Gu Chuanju, Shen Congwen, and Zhou Youguang are famous for different reasons. Gu Chuanyu became famous for his kinship with Shen Congwen, who was famous for his longevity and lived to be 112 years old.
However, Zhou Youguang's 100-year-old life was not as good as he imagined, and his relatives passed away one after another, leaving him alone to face life and death, and no one to accompany him through the final journey.
Despite the length of his life, his later years were filled with loneliness and regret.
Zhou Youguang is a famous linguist in China, born in 1906, and his family was once a prominent family in Changzhou, Jiangsu. However, when he was born, his family was in a middle-class situation, and the reality of the family's ** and his father's concubine forced his mother to move to Suzhou with her children to live alone.
In Suzhou, Zhou Youguang met his future wife, Zhang Yunhe, who was three years younger than him and came from a prestigious family.
The four talented women of the Zhang family in Jiuru Lane, Zhang Yuanhe, Zhang Yunhe, Zhang Zhaohe, and Zhang Chonghe, all have extraordinary talents. Ye Shengtao once said:'Marrying these four daughters, happiness can be expected.
Zhang Yunhe and Zhou Youguang's sister are classmates and often go to Zhou's house to play. Zhou Youguang gradually fell in love with Zhang Yunhe secretly, so he mustered up the courage to write a letter: "Have you received something that your family entrusted my sister to bring?" ”
It's actually a mutual crush. Zhang Yunhe was a little nervous after receiving the letter, and she asked her senior sister for advice on how to deal with it. The senior sister reminded her: "You should reply to the other party's sincerity, so as not to miss a beautiful relationship." ”
So, they began to exchange letters, which gradually developed into dating and love, and everything came naturally and naturally.
This ill-intentioned man! Zhou Youguang embarrassedly put the book in his pocket, and then gently took Zhang Yunhe's hand. Zhang Yunhe's palms were sweating nervously, and Zhou Youguang smiled and took out a small white handkerchief from his pocket and stuffed it between the two of them.
Although Zhang Yunhe was a little dissatisfied in her heart, the moment Zhou Youguang held her hand, her heart was full of sweetness and expectation. She was convinced that from now on, whether it was laughter or tears, they would spend it together.
Zhang Yunhe. 
When Zhou proposed to her, he said, "I can't give you a rich life. Zhang Yunhe didn't care: "Happiness needs to be fought for by yourself, women need to be independent, and they can't rely entirely on men." ”
Surprisingly, Zhang Yunhe's nanny secretly took out the birthdays of the two to tell fortunes to the fortune teller, and the gentleman said: "Neither of these two people will live to be 35 years old." ”
However, Jang Yoon-ho is very calm, and she firmly believes that the end of the old is the beginning of the new.
On April 30, 1933, Zhang Yunhe decisively chose to spend the rest of his life with Zhou Youguang. Their wedding took place in Shanghai, warm and simple. Zhou Youguang is a talented scholar who majored in economics at university and is proficient in linguistics, fluent in English, French, and Japanese.
After graduating, he taught at the university while working in a bank and writing for magazines about the reform of the text. Jang Yoon-ho is also an aspiring woman, and she is not satisfied with being a housewife, but chooses to teach in middle schools and contribute to newspaper supplements.
Their diligent efforts have led to a significant improvement in the family's economic situation.
The couple had a son and a daughter after marriage, and they moved to Suzhou for a period of time before the Anti-Japanese War, where they chose a beautiful residence and enjoyed a quiet and elegant life.
The place where they live is called Wuqueqiao Lane, and it is an extremely peaceful place. Outside the door is a field of beautiful roses. Every time I open the door, I can see a sea of roses, colorful and fragrant, and the scenery is so beautiful that people can't describe it in words.
In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, and Zhou Youguang's beautiful life was destroyed by ruthless artillery fire. In the midst of displacement, he took his family to Sichuan.
In 1942, Zhou Xiaohe unfortunately died of appendicitis, which caused deep trauma to Zhou Youguang and his wife. The death of his daughter made it difficult for Zhou Youguang's spirit to be sustenance, so in this year, he accepted the baptism of ** religion.
Two years later, Zhou Xiaoping was playing in the garden when a stray bullet flew and hit him in the stomach, leaving five wounds. At that moment, Zhou Youguang and Zhang Yunhe seemed to see the sky falling, and they couldn't accept that God would treat their baby child like this!
Fortunately, they were living in Chengdu at the time, and there was a hospital near their home. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and Zhou Xiaoping miraculously survived.
In 1945, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression ended in victory. After the tragic death of their young daughter, the multiple tribulations of their son being hit by a stray bullet, and their lives hanging by a thread, Zhou Youguang and his wife returned to Shanghai to work.
Soon after, Zhou Youguang was dispatched by the bank to work on Wall Street in the United States. The couple left their son in the care of their mother in Suzhou, and then crossed the ocean to the United States.
Zhou Youguang works in the financial industry during the day, and after work, he goes to the public library, uses his spare time to read fully, and spares no effort to study, and does not want to waste any time.
He not only studied economics, but also taught himself alphabetology, and collected many books and materials on alphabetology.
As a senior staff member, Zhou Youguang has annual travel expenses, which allows him to travel the world with his wife and broaden his horizons.
In 1948, after Zhou Youguang and Zhang Yunhe traveled in Europe, they made up their minds to return to their homeland. Zhou Youguang said: "After experiencing the War of Resistance Against Japan, our feelings for the motherland have become deeper, and the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression has united us and made the revitalization of China our common aspiration.
At that time, what our country needed most should be economic construction, so I decided to return to my homeland and devote myself to the economic field. After returning to China, Zhou Youguang worked in a bank while teaching economics at Fudan University, and co-founded the Economic Weekly with other economists.
However, what happened next made Zhou Youguang feel that his ideals had been disappointed. "I thought I could contribute to the economic development of my homeland, but the tide of history disrupted my plans," he said. ”
So he went from being a financier to a linguist. And Zhang Yunhe was forced to quit his job because of his mother's background and became a housewife ever since.
In 1955, Zhou Youguang moved his family to Beijing, where he focused on the study of Hanyu Pinyin and published Introduction to Chinese Reform, which systematically summarized the evolution of the Chinese Pinyin alphabet in the past three centuries and the history of Chinese independently creating the Pinyin alphabet.
In 1958, Zhou Youguang participated in the formulation of the "Hanyu Pinyin Program", and since then, Pinyin has officially entered the campus and become a compulsory course in primary schools across the country, which is a great contribution to the modernization of Chinese Chinese.
It is precisely because Zhou Youguang turned to the reform of language and writing that Zhang Yunhe also became a housewife, and in the tide of the times, they were not greatly affected - Zhang Yunhe stayed in Beijing to take care of his granddaughter, and although Zhou Youguang was sent to a cadre school, he did not suffer severe beatings or too many crimes.
In 1972, Zhou Youguang ended his school life and returned to Beijing, and the family resumed normal family life. Zhou Youguang's stable life gave him more time to pursue his studies, and he not only became a member of the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of China, but also published a series of books, such as The History of the Development of World Writing.
In 1988, at the age of 83, Zhou Youguang officially retired, but he did not stop working, but continued to read and write at home. Moreover, he is very stylish! This year, he started using an electronic typewriter.
1988 was a turning point for me. This year I got an electronic typewriter and it was a fresh start. ”
After Zhou Youguang had an electronic typewriter, his writing efficiency was greatly improved. While focusing on anthropology and the history of human writing, he also wrote many essays.
Zhou Youguang is an accomplished scholar who has made outstanding contributions in both the fields of economics and linguistics. Before the age of 50, he was a financier and professor of economics; Until the age of 85, he was a philologist; After the age of 85, he became a cultural scientist who focused on the changes of the times and the evolution of history.
Zhou Youguang once put forward a very famous viewpoint: "We should look at the country from the world, not from the country." He believes that only by looking at things from a macro perspective can we truly understand the place of the state in the world.
He also stressed against superstitious prophets and prophecies, because "prophets are self-appointed and prophecies are deceitful." True wisdom, he said, comes from reflection. Zhou Youguang's point of view has attracted widespread attention.
On the one hand, people marvel at his advanced age, which still keeps his mind alive; On the other hand, people also realize that as a witness to history, the importance of Zhou Youguang is self-evident.
During this period, Zhou Youguang's family life was both quiet and colorful. He lived in harmony with his wife, and the two of them held a ceremony at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day.
Before drinking tea or coffee, they will raise their cups to the level of their eyebrows and say, "Come, bumper and bumper", and enjoy this leisure time together.
In family life, it is necessary not only to have loving companionship, but also to have mutual respect and respect, which is also an important factor in family harmony. The ancient expression of raising eyebrows between husband and wife, although there is no case now, can be expressed by raising a glass and raising eyebrows.
For the later life of the two, black tea, computers and the relationship between each other without suspicion are what they cherish the most.
Zhou Youguang: After reading all the life and death in the world, there is only a lonely centenarian Zhou Youguang in his 100-year-old life, who has witnessed the life and death of the world, and knows that there is no banquet in the world.
Even Jang Yoon-ho, who has been with him all his life, left him on August 14, 2002, at the age of 93. Since then, Zhou Youguang has never raised a glass with anyone again, leaving only loneliness to accompany him.
He was reluctant to go back to the bedroom where he had spent time with Zhang Yunhe, fearing that he would not be able to let go of seeing things and thinking about people. So, he spent countless nights on the small couch in his study.
Despite his advanced age, Zhou Youguang, who is in his 90s, still contacted many parties and successfully published Zhang Yunhe's posthumous works "Wave Collection" and "Kunqu Opera Diary". He believes that this is the best way to remember his wife.
In the preface to "Wave Collection", Zhou Youguang expressed his inner grief for the first time, and felt extremely heartbroken about the death of his wife: "The death of my wife Zhang Yunhe is like a bolt from the blue for me.
We've been together for 70 years, and we never imagined that we would one day lose each other. The sudden blow made it impossible for me to breathe for a while. However, I am reminded of a philosopher's famous saying: 'The death of the individual is an important part of the development of the group', and 'if all men can live forever, then humanity cannot progress'.
It may seem like a cruel evolutionary theory, but I have to follow the laws of nature! It turns out that life is like a wave, endless. ”
Zhou Youguang devotes himself to writing, and his daily life is simple and regular, sleeping, eating, reading, and creating. With the advent of the 21st century, the number of Zhou Youguang's works has gradually increased.
Although he is over 100 years old, his creative passion remains undiminished. In 2005, he published "New Manuscripts at the Age of 100"; In 2010, he launched "Morning News and Taoism"; And in 2011, he published "Collecting Shellfish".
Even in 2012, when the philosopher Li Zehou visited him, the 107-year-old Zhou Youguang still smiled and said with an optimistic attitude: "God is too busy to forget me." ”
By 2014, he had reached the age of 109, but he still insisted on creating, and published "China from the World: Zhou Youguang's 100-year-old Essays" and "Death Like Water: Zhou Youguang's 100-year Dictation".
His story tells us that no matter how old you are, as long as you maintain your love for life and passion for creation, you can definitely achieve your dreams.
January 22 is the death day of Zhou Youguang's only son, Zhou Xiaoping. He suddenly felt unwell after the surgery and eventually passed away at the age of 82. Zhou Xiaoping was smart and studious from an early age, he studied in the best primary school in Suzhou, the best middle school in Shanghai, graduated from Peking University, and later worked at the Academy of Sciences, becoming a well-known meteorologist.
His life was full of filial piety to his father, and although he himself was old, he still ran around every day to help his father deal with things.
Over the years, he has become Zhou Youguang's friend, assistant and listener, and without his presence, it is undoubtedly a big loss for Zhou Youguang. The family originally wanted to hide his death, but Zhou Youguang sensed something.
Faced with this cruel news, everyone decided to make the truth public. This was undoubtedly an extremely painful moment, and even the nanny could not control her grief and cried bitterly.
However, Zhou Youguang seemed to be mentally prepared, and he said to the people around him: "What I need most now is quiet and alone." With that, he turned and went back to his room.
After that, Zhou Youguang's niece Tu Leqin would visit him every day and chat with him. But as long as the conversation involves personal privacy or emotional topics, Zhou Youguang will say: "We don't talk about my own business, let's talk about the world." ”
Zhou Youguang: Lost his beloved daughter and wife, and suffered the pain of losing his son, and quietly passed away at the age of 112, causing social turmoil. I don't know what he thinks of this battle for the "father of Hanyu Pinyin" in heaven?
Will he laugh mischievously and say, "It's so much fun!" "Zhou Youguang, a man with more than 100 years of wisdom in life, is deeply saddened by his passing.
His life was full of love and wisdom, and his spirit will live forever in our hearts.