Zhou Youguang, Who Standardized Chinese In Western Alphabet, Dead At 111

Pinyin, the spelling system that Zhou and a Communist Party committee developed in the 1950s, revolutionized the learning of Chinese – and not only for foreigners. The illiteracy in China was nearly 85% before pinyin was introduced; it’s now in the low single digits. What’s surprising, given the time and place, was that Zhou had a past as a Wall Street banker and economist.