actually if u want to study how the Chinese words evolve, u should study the 繁体字. 简体字was modify by the Communist China for easy writing.
Malaysia, Taiwan and some overseas Chinese communities still learn, read and write 繁体字.
even jap and korea also using 繁体字.
jap is a culture without words. their language only got our dialect standard. they used to use Chinese words for their language and pronounce the word using their own pronunciations. even until now, their words are only 拼音. still need to use Chinese words in their language to express better.