Zhou Youguang was a Chinese linguist and economist, best known for creating the Pinyin system, which is a method for transcribing Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet. Born on January 13, 1906, he played a significant role in modernizing the Chinese language, making it easier for people to learn and communicate. Throughout his life, Zhou Youguang published numerous works on linguistics and language reform. He was also an advocate for the importance of language in culture and education. Zhou passed away on January 14, 2017, leaving a lasting legacy in the field of linguistics and Chinese language education.