迎 → 迊 答 → 荅 撤 → 𢪃 (⿰扌切) 阎 → 闫 In some characters, components that are complicated are replaced with a simpler one not similar in shape but sometimes similar in sound: 鞋 → 𰆻 (⿰又圭) 短 → 𰦓 (⿰矢卜) 道 → 辺 嚷 → 𠮵 (⿰口上) In some characters, the radical is simply dropped, leaving only the phonetic. This results in mergers between previously distinct characters: 稀 → 希 彩 → 采 帮 → 邦 蝌蚪 → 科斗 蚯蚓 → 丘引 豫 → 予 In some characters, entire components are dropped: 糖 → 𰪩 (⿰米广) 停 → 仃 餐 → 歺 雪 → 𫜹 宣 → 㝉 囊 → 𰀉 (⿻一中) Some characters are simply replaced by a similar-sounding one (a rebus or phonetic loan). This also results in mergers between previously distinct characters: 萧 → 肖 蛋 → 旦 泰 → 太 雄 → 厷 鳜 → 桂 籍 → 笈 芭/粑/笆 → 巴 蝴/糊/猢 → 胡 衩/扠/杈/汊 → 叉 Reasons for failure The Second Scheme broke with a millennia-long cycle of variant forms coming into unofficial use and eventually being accepted (90 percent of the changes made in the First Scheme existed in mass use, many for centuries) in that it introduced new, unfamiliar character forms. The sheer number of characters it changed — the distinction between simplifications intended for immediate use and those for review was not maintained in practice — and its release in the shadow of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1978) have been cited among the chief reasons for its failure. As a result of the Cultural Revolution, trained experts were expelled and the Second Scheme was compiled by the Committee and its staffers without outside consultation, which may also have been a factor. The exact circumstances surrounding the creation and release of the Second Scheme remain shrouded in mystery due to the still-classified nature of many documents and the politically sensitive nature of the issue. However, the Second Scheme is known to have encompassed only about 100 characters before its expansion to over 850. A two-year delay from 1975 to 1977 was officially blamed on Zhang Chunqiao, a member of the Gang of Four; however, there is little historical evidence to support this. Against the political backdrop of the Cultural Revolution, a special section known as the "748 Project" was formed with an emphasis on non-experts, under whose supervision the lists