Abstract：The “Archaic-differentiation and Modern-merging” of Chinese characters refers to those Chinese characters or components that were different in shapes, sounds and meanings in ancient time but have evolved into current Chinese characters or components with unified written forms, sounds and meanings. By examining and comparing the written forms of these Chinese characters and components that are in current use in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong based on the Comparative Dictionary of Chinese Character Forms (published by Zhonghua Book Company in Hong Kong), this study has identified 12 groups of characters or components involving over 400 characters: 舌—、臼—𦥑、林—、夊—夂—攵、艹—卝、丰—丯—豐、匚—匸、壬—、冃—曰、另—叧—、月—⺼、曰—日。Having analyzed these characters one by one, it reveals that for these “Archaic-differentiation and Modern-merging” characters and components, Mainland China generally integrates them into one form based on historical inheritance and contemporary practical considerations; Taiwan, however, deliberately distinguishes them to maintain the continuity of ancient forms; Hong Kong is largely consistent with Taiwan but leaves room for flexibility by accepting integrated forms with historical inheritance and contemporary practical foundations as acceptable written variants. The inconsistencies in differentiation and integration of these characters and components across the three regions, although do not pose major obstacles to reading comprehension, they do create problems for basic education and teaching of Chinese characters worldwide, especially for Chinese character information processing. It is hoped that the three regions can work towards convergence on these micro-level issues of written forms, ultimately achieving true “unity in written language”.
张素格，陈双新. 海峡两岸暨香港“古异今混”部件的分合现状研究[J]. 语言战略研究, 2024, 9(4): 66-81.
Zhang Suge and Chen Shuangxin. A Study on the Current Situation of “Archaic-differentiation and Modern-merging” in Chinese Characters across Taiwan Straits and Hong Kong. , 2024, 9(4): 66-81.
