The PRC view towards language is more about function than art. And, the fact that both simplified characters (now common in Japan/Korea) and pinyin are smashing successes, demonstrates that the powers that be are not morons in this respect. I also wonder if literacy rates -- which correlate directly with productivity/GDP -- would have soared through the roof if people were still expected to draw dozens of small pictures in order to express themselves.

For better or for worse, the practice of physically writing Chinese characters seems to be following the same path as the "penmanship" that many of us learned in school... it's all about computers and cell phones these days, and pinyin is rapidly displacing bpmf.

Lest you get too concerned, almost everyone in first/second tier cities can still read 繁体字... thanks, in large part, to KTV.