From a 1918 letter that linguist and litterateur Qian Xuantong (1887-1939) wrote to Chen Duxiu, editor of New Youth magazine, then the signal journal of political and cultural change:

In an early essay of yours you strongly advocated the abolition of Confucianism. Concerning this proposal of yours I think that it is now the only way to save China. But upon reading it I have thought of one more thing: if you want to abolish Confucianism you must first abolish the Chinese [written] language. If you want to get rid of the average person’s childish, uncivilized, obstinate way of thinking, then it is all the more essential that you abolish the Chinese language. To abolish Confucianism and eliminate Taoism is a fundamental way to prevent the fall of China and allow the Chinese to become a civilized nation in the twentieth century. But a more fundamental way than this is to abolish the written Chinese language, in which Confucian thoughts and fallacious Taoist sayings are recorded. “欲使中国不亡，欲使中国民族为二十世纪文明之民族，必以废孔学、灭道教为根本之解决，而废记载孔门学说及道教妖言之汉文，尤为根本解决之根本。”