It is almost inevitable that typing will replace handwriting as the world becomes more computerized. In China, the invention of the Pinyin input method has made typing Chinese characters very convenient, both on computers and phones; one only has to choose the right character from a few that pop up on the screen. The more electronic gadgets people use, the less often they go through the elaborate sequence of strokes that make up Chinese characters.

The dependence on electronic gadgets like computers and smartphones has become so pervasive that many people often cannot write even familiar characters without the help of the "pop-ups". According to a survey conducted by HorizonKey in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan last year, 94.1 percent of the respondents had encountered the tibiwangzi syndrome (forgetting words while writing with a pen), and 26.8 percent often faced such embarrassment. HorizonKey is an independent research organization, specializing in public polls, and social and cultural studies.

Chinese people's increasing inability to write has prompted some people to urge the authorities to take measures to reverse the situation. A few have even warned that, if things are not changed, it could lead to a crisis in Chinese culture. Considering the unique composition of Chinese words, which instead of alphabets are made up of one, two or multiple characters, their vicissitudes over time and their contribution to human history, such concern is not misplaced.

The creation of Chinese characters and calligraphy, which eventually led to typeface and printing, is believed to be one of China's main contributions to human civilization. It carries the same value as the creation of paper, gunpowder and perhaps silk. Chinese characters, the epitome of China's millennia-old civilization, can be traced to pictographs inscribed on bones and turtle shells in 1,200 BC.

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