
Logographic characters simplified due to SCP-CN-1001.
Item #: SCP-CN-1001
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Before a method of communication with the anomaly was established, SCP-CN-1001 was seen as uncontainable. Currently and in future, nations, governments or other forms of human culture using logographic writing systems1 are to be infiltrated by agents of the Chinese branch of the Foundation, who are to disrupt any proposals for simplification, by controlling discussion, rigging votes, assassination, mass amnesticization, or any other means deemed necessary.
Countries that have undergone the Ts'ang Chieh2 Protocol, involving the reduction or complete elimination of logographic writing in order to partially or fully eliminate SCP-CN-1001's effects, are to be monitored for 50 years following the initiation of the protocol for reduction in intellectual ability. If such reduction is detected in the adult population, Mobile Task Force 庚辰-17 ("Nine Chapters on Density") is to take control of the country or region's academic and scientific community in order to maintain its quality, while using brainwashing-type intelligence enhancing treatment on all newborns to remove SCP-CN-1001's hereditary effects.
If SCP-CN-1001 is detected in a country that has never used a logographic writing system, the Foundation will monitor the region for drastic changes in its writing system both officially and colloquially among the population, and upon such changes occurring verify whether they are caused by SCP-CN-1001.
Description: SCP-CN-1001 is an anomalous phenomenon occuring in logographic writing systems. In countries that use logographic writing systems, SCP-CN-1001 manifests in the form of repeated simplifications of the national script either officially or among the population, as well as a subsequent series of enhanced Sapir-Whorf processes3. It is speculated that SCP-CN-1001 is deliberately caused by an unknown sapient entity. The motive of this entity is unknown, but is speculated to be the use of simplification and associated Sapir-Whorf processes to drastically lower the intelligence and cognitive ability of humans in order to induce an AK-class end-of-the-world scenario.
Currently, SCP-CN-1001 has not occurred in countries using non-logographic writing systems. The Ts'ang Chieh Protocol can be used on countries using logographic writing systems, and consists of changing the writing system used in the region to a non-logographic system (such as a syllabary4 or alphabet5, in order to prevent the effects caused by SCP-CN-1001.
All attempts at communication with the entity causing SCP-CN-1001 have ended in failure. It is currently unknown whether the entities causing SCP-CN-1001 in different countries are in actuality the same entity. In accordance with present conjecture, these entities have been assigned different designations, and are separately researched. For latest developments, please see Addendum CN-1001.2.

An example of oversimplification during the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme.
There are at least 10 instances of character simplification campaigns caused by SCP-CN-1001-zh throughout Chinese history. An excerpt follows:
Unknown - 997 BCE: During the transition from oracle bone script to bronze script, █% of characters were simplified.
723 BCE - 612 BCE: During the transition from bronze script to early seal script, ██% of characters were simplified.
221 BCE - 215 BCE: Early seal script was successfully simplified into small seal script.
214 BCE: An attempt to simplify small seal script into bird script failed.
213 BCE: An attempt to simplify small seal script into spear script failed.
212 BCE: An attempt to simplify small seal script into [DATA EXPUNGED] failed.
210 BCE - 206 BCE: Small seal script was successfully simplified into clerical script.
698 CE - 700 CE: Clerical script was successfully simplified into regular script.
1488/02/09 - 1493/10/01: An attempt to simplify regular script into [DATA EXPUNGED] was prevented by the involvement of the Abnormality Institute. This also led to the creation of Song dynasty script.
1956/02/01 - 1959/07/15: The Chinese Character Simplification Scheme was enacted. With the intervention of the Chinese branch of the Foundation, ████ simplified characters were reverted, but a further 517 simplified characters remained.
1977/12/20 - 1986/06/24: The Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme was enacted. The Chinese branch of the Foundation succeeded in disrupting and reverting the proposed simplifications, and published the List of Simplified Characters, which prevented further simplification proposals. However, in the List of Simplified Characters, the three characters "炖", "█", and "█" were later discovered to have come from the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme.
The following material relates to the request for use of the Ts'ang Chieh Protocol on Greater China:
O5 Council:
SCP-CN-1001-zh has resurfaced in the latest decades and caused several Chinese character simplification schemes. In order to protect the intelligence and cognition of the Chinese people, and to avoid further effects from SCP-CN-1001-zh, I request that we initiate the Ts'ang Chieh Protocol, phasing out Chinese characters and switching to pinyin orthography.— SCP Foundation Chinese Branch, Zhou █████ ███
1986/08/01
Rejected.
Since the Shang dynasty, we Chinese have taken pride in our Chinese characters - their majestic, beautiful, magnificent shape recognized throughout the world, their clear, consistent meaning transmitting classics through the ages, and their plain and pleasant sounds we are all too familiar with. Since the beginning of Chinese civilization, hanzi have taken on many forms. Every stroke, every line, hook and dot, marks the spirit of Huaxia passed down through the generations. Phasing out Chinese characters would be splitting the Chinese from their roots.
When the Qin dynasty united Tianxia, the anomaly reared its head. When the Qin dynasty fell, it occurred five times in twenty years, and still hanzi clung on. Now the Foundation wields great power, and the anomaly only showed up twice. What good does it do?
The Chinese civilization is unlike the barbarians of old. The people will stand up, protect their written word, and let their civilization shine in the darkness. The MTF must stabilize the teaching of Chinese characters at all costs. If China is to live, hanzi must not be allowed to die out.— O5-12
The long-term activity of SCP-CN-1001 in the above-mentioned major countries of the East Asian cultural sphere has allowed the Foundation to accumulate experience and develop the current complete prevention methods in use. Since 1986, there have been no SCP-CN-1001-related incidents of note.