Louisa Lim had a story on National Public Radio yesterday about Zhou Youguang (周有光 / Zhōu Yǒuguāng), who’s often referred to as the father of Pinyin.

Most stories in the mass media about him focus on just two things, which might be summarized as “pinyin” and “wow, he’s really old.” This story, however, draws welcome notice to some some other things about him, as the title reveals: At 105, Chinese Linguist Now A Government Critic. (There’s a link to the audio version near the top of the page. Zhou can be heard in the background speaking Mandarin — though his English is excellent.)

The article also provides a link to his blog: Bǎisuì xuérén Zhōu Yǒuguāng de bókè (百岁学人周有光的博客).

Further reading:

• The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts (Zhōngguó Yǔwén de Shídài Yǎnjìn / 中国语文的时代演进), available both in the original Mandarin (both simplified a traditional Hanzi versions) and in an English translation by Li-ching Chang
• some posts mentioning Zhou Youguang

Hat tip to John Rohsenow.