Tang's life experience

1938 February (23 years old), under the sponsorship of my mother and friends, Standardized Chinese Shorthand in Yahweh was officially published and taught in class. 1939 In April, "Yahweh China Shorthand Society" was formally established in Longmenhao, the south bank of Chongqing, Sichuan, and his shorthand entrepreneurial career began.

According to Yahweh's self-report, "My contact with shorthand is also very accidental. Only in the summer of 1930, I found an early shorthand book in an old bookstore in Nanchang, which aroused my interest and began to study. In the future, I thought shorthand was an academic that was extremely beneficial to human culture, but unfortunately I didn't see anyone promoting it at that time. Is to pay attention to collecting relevant information at home and abroad. " Later, he found "Pitman Shorthand" and "Greg Shorthand" in English in the library, and made a comparative study, hoping to create a shorthand scheme suitable for our country for the convenience of Chinese people. After that, he immersed himself in shorthand symbols, stayed up all night, forgot to eat and sleep, spent a lot of energy, took many detours, and finally made a systematic and simplified shorthand scheme at 1934. (See Tang's Road from Difficult Support to Successful Development, published in Shorthand Monthly, No.49 and No.50 1955). Insist on innovation

Since Tang devoted himself to shorthand education from 65438 to 0938, he has been working hard for the development of shorthand in China for the next 60 years, making great contributions and achievements.

He not only introduced the ellipsis shorthand system into China, but also developed it and became the mainstream of shorthand in China. In order to improve Yahweh's shorthand, he constantly revised his plan, initiated three methods of "attachment and separation" in improving phonetic symbols, omitting rhymes and omitting, and developed "overlapping ellipsis" to make it systematic. This had a far-reaching impact on various shorthand later.

Although he initiated and developed the school of ellipsis shorthand, his students kept innovating, which made ellipsis shorthand blossom and talented people come forth in large numbers. But he is not enlightened and does not adopt "protectionism", but can be far-sighted and look at the world. He set up a creative research group of italic shorthand in shorthand monthly. 1953 In August, a creative research conference was held, and the draft of China Italic Shorthand Program was discussed and adopted. In the following 40 years, the "3Y italic shorthand system" was formed and applied to classroom teaching in colleges and universities.

Leading the mainstream

With the development of shorthand in the world, computer shorthand appeared abroad. As early as 1950s, Tang himself began to study the parallel stroke shorthand machine with special keyboard. In 1980s, he further studied the computer shorthand machine for parallel strokes with special keyboard, which was successfully developed in 1994. It was named "Yahweh Chinese Speed Recorder", which filled the blank of China computer shorthand machine.

popular

In the early 1980s, when China shorthand entered the period of revival and innovation, Tang personally held shorthand training courses in Sanlihe and Xinjiekou Workers' Clubs in Xicheng District, and nearly 4,000 party and government cadres and teenagers participated in the training. Tang first established the Beijing Shorthand Association in association with people in Beijing shorthand field. Driven by the Beijing Shorthand Association, shorthand research societies, associations and societies have been established all over the country. 1985 organized a Japanese shorthand friendly delegation to visit China, and was promoted as the head of the delegation to visit Japan for shorthand cultural exchange. From 65438 to 0994, as the president of China Literature and Information Shorthand Society, he led the China shorthand delegation to Turkey to attend the 40th International Shorthand Typing Federation. At this conference, the International Speed Federation officially accepted China as a member. 1934 created the summary table of simplified Chinese shorthand notes and the Chinese character abbreviation table. 1938, Standardizing Chinese Shorthand in Yahweh was published. 1939, "Yahweh Chinese Quick Recording Society" was established. In 2007, "Yahweh Chinese Speed Recorder Technology and Device" won the second prize of national technological invention in 2006.

It has played a leading and promoting role in shorthand academic research, shorthand education, shorthand promotion and shorthand activities, and has become the forerunner and driving force of shorthand development in China. The achievement of "amazing speech speed" has become an important part of China's modern shorthand history. He has become a contemporary celebrity in China, and has been included in the China Who's Who, the Dictionary of Contemporary Talents and China Experts. It is no stranger to mention Chinese shorthand. It was Tang who invented Chinese shorthand in the 1930s. The award-winning "Yahweh Quick Record" is the key technology of real-time language information collection. It uses special keyboard and special software to record language information synchronously and convert it into words, which is an indispensable link in Chinese information processing and the basis of informatization.

China has made two strides in the development of shorthand, both of which he crossed. Achievement hypothesis

A book called "Sound Fast Word" in a second-hand bookstore inspired the birth of "Yahweh Shorthand".

The stenographers of the older generation in China still clearly remember that when President Mao Zedong met literary and art workers at the first national literary congress, the photojournalist's glare made nervous stenographers more anxious. Seeing this, Chairman Mao stopped talking and said to the reporter, "Please stand back so as not to affect the stenographer's work." On one occasion, Premier Zhou Enlai received a foreign guest, and the waiter arranged the stenographer's seat at the door. The stenographer couldn't hear clearly because of the distance. After being noticed by the Prime Minister, he immediately invited reporters to come over and sit behind him. Since then, shorthand and translation have become the fixed format of foreign affairs activities. Zhou Enlai repeatedly instructed: "Journalists and translators should learn shorthand." Ji, the former UN Deputy Secretary-General, followed the instructions of Premier Zhou in 1950s and studied shorthand hard, becoming the fastest shorthand writer in China at that time.

Talking about the past, Tang Lao said that the technical methods they used at that time did not know how they came from. In fact, an obscure little book in a second-hand bookstore inspired me and gave birth to "Yahweh Shorthand".

Tang, formerly known as Tang Gonghan, was born in Hengshan, Hunan, 19 15. Born in a worker's family, he grew up in a poor family, but he was smart, diligent and eager to learn. He not only studies well, but also writes well. He was once recommended as the secretary of the Sabbath Society in Jiangxi Province at that time. Because of his occupation, he became interested in writing methods. At this time, he saw the earliest book on shorthand in China, Yinkuai Zi (written by Cai Xiyong), at the second-hand bookstall in Nanchang. It is this humble little book that determines his unswerving goal in life-to devote himself to the shorthand career in China.

When studying this book, Tang discovered that Cai Xiyong's shorthand symbols for China were recorded according to the thickness of the brush based on the British shorthand system. But at that time, with the development of science and technology, China had a fountain pen, and his writing style changed a lot. Tang found English shorthand "Pitman Shorthand" and "Gregg Shorthand" for comparative study, hoping to sum up a set of shorthand methods suitable for China people. As a result of recording a large number of official documents and letters dictated by the principal every day, Tang tried to express the words with some simple symbols, and the writing speed was really much faster. Therefore, he combined the principles of Chinese structure, pronunciation, grammar and lexicology, and absorbed the international shorthand principle, and finally created the Summary of Simplified Chinese Shorthand Notes and the Chinese Character Abbreviation Table in 1934.

This invention was of epoch-making significance at that time, which initiated China's shorthand. Tang Lao was still in high spirits when he mentioned this past. He said: "Practice makes true knowledge. Didn't our ancestors know to tie knots with ropes before writing? It should be said that it is the oldest writing symbol. Then came the characterization of Cang Xie. In fact, so many Chinese characters can never be created by Cang Xie behind closed doors. They must have been created by the ancients in their labor practice. Cang Xie has done some processing and finishing work. Shorthand also comes from work practice. " He insisted on the establishment of the discipline of labor practice, processing and finishing, and difficulties and hardships were integrated into his tortuous experience. 1938, he officially published the Standard Chinese Shorthand in Yahweh.

Tang started running a school and popularized shorthand. 1939, "Yahweh China shorthand society" was formally established. 1942 spring, it was renamed "Yahweh shorthand school", with General Feng Yuxiang as the chairman of the school board and Tao Xingzhi, Li Gongpu and Gu Zhizhong as directors. 1945 Mr. Tang clearly remembers that General Feng Yuxiang gave a speech entitled "The Role and Development Path of Shorthand", and combined with the three characteristics of "quickness, accuracy and secrecy" in military victory, analyzed and emphasized the important role of shorthand. He said: "I advocate that every primary school student should learn shorthand from the third grade, which is really incalculable for students to learn."

Create a quick record of Chinese characters

After the founding of New China, especially in 1950s, the development of shorthand in China reached a climax. At that time, China studied the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union paid special attention to shorthand. Every department in the Soviet Union has stenographers, so every department in China also has stenographers. For example, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has 14 stenographers, the Central Party School also has more than a dozen stenographers, and all ministries and commissions have stenographers. Yahweh Shorthand School has a general school in Beijing and branches in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Lanzhou, Chongqing, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Beijing Yahweh Shorthand School has a specialized class sponsored by various institutions. Held every six months 13, it has trained a large number of shorthand professionals for the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pays special attention to shorthand, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also offers shorthand classes, which are taught by students from Tang.

1955, with the approval of Vice Premier Chen Yi, Beijing Shorthand School, the first official shorthand school in China, was established, and Yahweh Shorthand Method was still used as the teaching material. Although there are various shorthand methods popular in society, Yahweh shorthand method is always the most popular one. Only the Soviet Union and Germany are the unified shorthand methods in the world. For example, both America and Japan are parallel shorthand methods, but Gregg method is the most widely used in America. Professor Tang admits that he is greatly influenced by Greg's method and has something in common with Greg in system and system.

In the 1960s, due to the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations, shorthand gradually slackened. Shorthand writing is neglected when the stenographer of each department is changed to the secretary, or the secretary acts as a stenographer. Especially during the Cultural Revolution, Beijing Shorthand School was forced to close, and shorthand symbols were abolished as code names and heresies. Only Vice Premier Chen Yi insisted on offering shorthand courses in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In embassies all over the world, there are also some stenographers who have made great contributions to China's diplomatic career. Chen Yi said: "Shorthand and typing are the weapons of diplomatic struggle." In the past, when we negotiated with foreign countries, it was easy to suffer without a stenographer, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs always insisted on shorthand. Kissinger came to China secretly with two stenographers. The Prime Minister also brought two stenographers, one named Lian and the other named Hu Fengxian. Comrade Lian, who is now the director of the Archives Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recalled: "1973, Premier Zhou was very interested to see that the stenographer brought by Kissinger could use the stenographer and tap the keyboard by hand to complete the recording work. During the break, he came up to me and asked me in front of Kissinger if we could be China's speedometer. I was brave, and I said,' Yes, I can do it.' But I don't know. The Prime Minister smiled and said,' Well, work hard and try to make it happen. If others can do it, so can we. Facts have also proved this point. In the 1980s and 1990s, I spent most of my time working in foreign embassies and consulates ... 1998 After I returned to China, I learned that Professor Tang led a group of experts to create the' Yahweh Chinese Speed Recorder', which can directly display Chinese on the computer monitor by tapping the keyboard, with better speed and effect than the English Speed Recorder of that year. What I didn't do, Tang Lao did, and realized Premier Zhou's last wish! "

At that time, our stenographers all used "Yahweh Shorthand". Speaking of the past, Mr. Tang missed Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice Premier Chen Yi's concern and support for Yahweh's shorthand career. Although teaching stopped, shorthand was not abolished. Even in the days of May 7th cadre school, Professor Tang's mind was full of "shorthand". He feels that handwriting shorthand is too tired, and he always wants to use typing instead of handwriting to improve accuracy and reduce labor intensity. He worked during the day, returned to the hut at night, began to ponder and study, and finally conceived and formed a plan. That year, how could he put his research plan into practice! Don is not satisfied with it. Under the bad conditions at that time, he created the "fast Chinese character recording method" with his brain and pen, which did not stop his tireless pursuit. This new method of handwritten shorthand was all the rage.

Piano performance breeds inspiration and China's quick recording.

The era of reform and opening up is the second spring of China's shorthand career. People have changed their ideas and paid more and more attention to shorthand. Professor Tang is also rejuvenated. He attaches great importance to the study of shorthand and keeps innovating. The design schemes of typing shorthand method, ABC recording method and shorthand machine research have been completed successively, paving the way for the mechanization and electronization of shorthand. 198 1 was elected chairman of Beijing shorthand association and director of academic Committee. He is engaged in the leadership of shorthand and the research and development of academic technology. He also has academic exchanges with shorthand scholars in Japan, Canada, the United States and other countries, and constantly understands and studies the new development of international shorthand, thus promoting the new development of shorthand in China.

After entering the 1990s, computers began to enter China. Since he studied computers, Tang has been trying to find a way to combine shorthand with computers and hand over the most complicated work to computers. It is precisely because of the most tiring "translation" in the later stage of shorthand that shorthand is rarely used. Then, the best way to popularize shorthand is computer. However, for an old man who knows nothing about computers, this difficulty can be imagined.

The first thing that Tang needs to solve is whether shorthand can be typed completely according to pinyin. At that time, he creatively designed an input scheme, using a standard keyboard, typing initials in one hand and finals in the other. Because Chinese characters are basically a combination of sound and rhyme, two hands are only the division of sound and rhyme. According to this idea, you should be able to enter 200 words per minute. However, two hands are too busy. However, Tang found that there are the most disyllabic words in Chinese. How to use the characteristics of these disyllabic words to develop a convenient and fast computer shorthand method?

Finally, he was inspired by playing the piano. Since playing the piano can play the main theme with one hand, the chord with the other hand, or even cross-play, computer shorthand can also use the method of tapping the keyboard with both hands at the same time. Because both hands hit the keyboard at the same time, the recording speed can be obviously improved. However, the next problem caused by this idea is that we must abandon the existing computer keyboard and re-develop a new type of fast recording keyboard. With profound shorthand skills, rich coding skills and solid pinyin skills, Tang redesigned the keyboard. In the face of 26 letters, how many keys are needed for phonetic code, how many keys are needed for rhyme code, the correlation between keys and so on. These have become the focus of his daily thinking. 1993, he came up with a whole set of computer shorthand coding scheme and shorthand keyboard design. However, when the computer was not developed, computer shorthand made others sound so strange, and things jointly developed with others ran aground again and again, and then they found like-minded cooperative companies.

Until 1994, after hundreds of days and nights, the speed recorder finally appeared in the most conspicuous booth of Beijing Exhibition Hall. After the 30-minute speech, when the participants go out, everyone can get a hot express, that is, record it in real time with a speed recorder, complete the manuscript in an instant, and then print out the express list with a speed recorder. This has undoubtedly become a highlight of the exhibition.

During the period of 1995, in the exhibition hall of the 4 1 international shorthand joint conference held in the Netherlands, the representatives of various countries were surprised to find that China already had its own Chinese computer shorthand recorder. Because Chinese characters are square characters, it is a difficult problem to take shorthand by computer. Who overcame many difficulties and made China's dream of computer quick recording come true? Tang Yawei, a well-known name in the international shorthand field, once again entered their sight-"Yahweh Chinese stenographer".

Health secret: shorthand stays in youth.

I asked questions and talked with Tang Lao. Miss Wang, who was sitting by, recorded it with a Chinese tape recorder. Don't worry, the Chinese record of the conversation is clearly displayed on the laptop screen. I'm going to speed up my speech, ask questions quickly and continuously and say some idioms. As soon as the words fell, the computer screen was written neatly, word for word! I was surprised by this magical way of working, but Tang Lao calmly continued to talk with Kan Kan: "The speed recorder is a multi-key strike at the same time. Press a few keys at a time, hit with both hands, and two Chinese characters will appear in one hit. This method of multi-fingered hitting is completely possible in physiology, and playing the piano is an example. We use the pinyin method, and the keyboard is symmetrical. We can type one phonetic Chinese character with one hand, and two Chinese characters with two hands at once, that is, a disyllabic word. The speed is very fast, which can completely keep up with the speed of language. Reading and typing even exceed 200 words per minute. A person's speech is about 180 words per minute, and the speed recorder is completely competent. "

Tang Lao told me that there is a gap between people's spoken and written language, and their spoken language is verbose. Mr. Zhang Zhigong, a linguist and president of China Education Press, saw at a glance that this was a "shorthand draft" of his own speech. If you arrange your spoken English word by word on the tape, you can't stand it. It's too verbose A good stenographer must have a certain writing quality in order to write high-level and high-quality manuscripts. Tang Keliang, the son of Tang Lao, added: In the days of coding research, old people either delved into experiments in the studio, or rode bicycles to the library to find information, and went to Zhongguancun computer industry to "make waves", just like young people running around.

Today, Tang Lao has many titles on his business card: professor and consultant of Language College of China Renmin University, director of the Council of China Old Professors Association, consultant of China Language Modernization Society, consultant of Beijing School Committee of Fudan University, consultant of Beijing International Painting and Calligraphy Art Exchange Center, president of China Literature and Information Shorthand Society, president of Beijing Shorthand Association and training center, executive director and director of Shorthand Professional Committee of China Chinese Information Society, honorary chairman of Beijing Xiaojun Office Equipment Co., Ltd., consultant of Beijing Municipal Committee of Jiu San Society, etc.

I tried to find out the secret of his physical and mental health. He smiled and said seriously, it has something to do with shorthand. I took a lot of shorthand every day and stayed in my youth.

His family jokingly gave an example to prove that when the old man was over 70 years old, he always liked to ride a bicycle around. I was hit by a car once, fell down and had a cerebral hemorrhage. During the treatment, he couldn't name anyone even in front of his relatives, but he could clearly say the word "shorthand". After recovery, his family told him that you were not recognized by your six relatives and only knew "shorthand"!

Although Professor Tang and his shorthand recorder have been widely concerned and recognized by all walks of life, shorthand, an ancient technology, is reappearing in front of the world with a brand-new look and is playing an irreplaceable role more and more. However, this 80-year-old man still cares about shorthand, the historical mission and sacred responsibility of Yahweh's shorthand in the information age, that is, shorthand is necessary for the inheritance of Chinese civilization and human civilization.

Nowadays, to the great satisfaction of the elderly, Yahweh Chinese speedometer has been gradually recognized by more people and widely used in various fields.

The results are widely used.

The Supreme People's Court once officially issued a document, "Vigorously promote the use of Yahweh Chinese shorthand recorder in the national court system to realize the computerization of court trial records." More than 2,000 courts across the country have used this equipment, which is being further promoted. CCTV has used this equipment for many times to sort out meeting minutes. There are even some long TV dramas in which seven or eight screenwriters are invited to talk about the plot and structural design, and stenographers are invited to record and arrange. A military writer recorded a novel of 300,000 words by himself, and asked them to help me sort it out with tapes. As a result, it took only five days to finish a manuscript. Now Xiaojun Company, with Tang Lao as the honorary chairman, has set up a fast recording service department to help all departments take minutes of meetings and put them into words, which is very busy.

The long journey of Mr. Tang Yawei, the master of shorthand, is admirable!

(Beijing Daily, March 2, 2007)