Simplified and Traditional Chinese
The usages in different countries/regions:
Simplified Chinese characters:
Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia use simplified Chinese characters.
Traditional Chinese characters:
Taiwan and Hong Kong remain using traditional Chinese characters.
Historical background for simplifying traditional (or complicated) Chinese characters:
(Taken and adapted from Flaws, 1999)
Many Chinese scholars thought the Chinese people were illiterate, because traditional Chinese characters were very difficult to recognize and read. They felt that a low literacy rate kept China a weak country in a world where the literacy rates in neighboring countries and the rest of the world were much higher. Simplified Chinese was introduced in the People’s Republic of China in 1956 in hopes that illiteracy could be eliminated. Some see simplification as a way to dramatically increase the literacy rate in rural and urban areas of China. Others see it as a destruction of traditional Chinese culture.
This is the historical background displayed in Simplified Chinese characters:
二十世纪初，中国国力落后，一群精英以为汉字是造成中国衰微的原因。 陈独秀、钱玄同、傅斯年、瞿秋白、吴稚晖、鲁迅等皆主张废弃汉字，拼音化。他们说: “汉字不灭，中国必亡”（鲁迅）；“汉字真正是世界上最龌龊、最恶劣、最混蛋的中世纪的毛坑”（ 瞿秋白）；“野蛮”、“又笨、又粗、牛鬼蛇神的文字”（傅斯年）；汉字“难识、难记、难写”，是“僵死的文字”（钱玄同）。 所以, 經過中国文字改革委员会一番努力, 中国大陆在1956年推行了简化汉字。
This is the historical background displayed in Traditional Chinese characters:
二十世紀初，中國國力落后，一群精英以為漢字是造成中國衰微的原因。 陳獨秀、錢玄同、傅斯年、瞿秋白、吳稚暉、魯迅等皆主張廢棄漢字，拼音化。他們說: “漢字不滅，中國必亡”（魯迅）。；“漢字真正是世界上最齷齪、最惡劣、最混蛋的中世紀的毛坑”（ 瞿秋白）；“野蠻”、“又笨、又粗、牛鬼蛇神的文字”（傅斯年）；漢字“難識、難記、難寫”，是“僵死的文字”（錢玄同）。 所以, 經過中國文字改革委員會一番努力, 中國大陸在1956年推行了簡化漢字。
See the similarities and differences?
The results of simplifying traditional (or complicated) Chinese characters:
Simplified versions of Chinese characters use fewer strokes.
汉字的简化用原有笔画简单的字代替笔画繁的字, 所以简化的汉字减少了原有的笔画。
漢字的簡化用原有筆畫簡單的字代替筆畫繁的字, 所以簡化的漢字減少了原有的筆畫。
The total number of strokes for Chinese characters is reduced.
简化的汉字减少了原有的字数。
簡化的漢字減少了原有的字數。
Simplifying Chinese characters have caused a greater emphasis on their sounds rather than their meanings.
简化时用同音代替的方法, 所以简化的汉字提升表音功能, 但是沒丧失表意功能。
簡化時用同音代替的方法, 所以簡化的漢字提升表音功能, 但是沒喪失表意功能。