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{{Short description|Logographic writing system}}{{redirect|Hanzi|the Chinese philosopher also known as “Hanzi“|Han Fei|the anthology attributed to him|Han Feizi{{!}}Han Feizi}}{{redirect|Chinese character|the moth species|Cilix glaucata{{!}}Cilix glaucata}}{{EngvarB|date=September 2016}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}{{bots|deny=Citation bot}}

factoids

{{nwr(Chinese family of scripts>among others)}}13th century BCE}}{{snd}}present| fam1 = (Proto-writing)BopomofoKana>Yi scriptKhitan small script>NüshuJurchen script>Tangut script}}U+4E00–U+9FFF {{nwr>CJK Unified Ideographs}} {{nwr(CJK Unified Ideographs#CJK Unified Ideographs blocks>full list)}}| iso15924 = HaniLeft-to-right|Top-to-bottom, columns right-to-left}}}}

factoids

h4zi|4}}ã„�ㄢˋ|ã„—Ë‹}}| gr = Hanntzyh| j = Hon3 zi6| y = Hon-jihh3z6}}Hon5-ci5}}Hon55 sii55}}| poj = Hàn-jÄ«| tl = Hàn-jÄ«Hang3 ri7}}| buc = Háng-cê| mc = XanCdzɨC[høz]}}| kanji = 漢字| revhep = kanji| kunrei = kanzi| hanja = 漢字| hangul = í•œìž�| rr = Hanja| mr = Hanchachữ HánHán tá»±}}| chuhan = 漢字𡨸漢|𡨸儒}}𭨡倱GUANGXI NATIONALITIES PUBLISHING HOUSE >YEAR=1989 EDITION=2ND LANGUAGE=ZH TRANS-TITLE=DICTIONARY OF THE OLD ZHUANG SCRIPT, |Sawgun}}| order = st| tp = Hàn-zìh}}{{Chinese characters sidebar}}Chinese characters{{efn|name=lead}} are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Chinese characters have a documented history spanning over three millennia, representing one of the four independent inventions of writing accepted by scholars; of these, they comprise the only writing system continuously used since its invention. Over time, the function, style, and means of writing characters have evolved greatly. Unlike letters in alphabets that reflect the sounds of speech, Chinese characters generally represent morphemes, the units of meaning in a language. Writing a language’s entire vocabulary requires thousands of different characters. Characters are created according to several different principles, where aspects of both shape and pronunciation may be used to indicate the character’s meaning.The first attested characters are oracle bone inscriptions dating to the 13th century BCE, which were made as part of divinations practised by the Shang dynasty royal house in what is now Anyang, Henan. Their style was originally pictographic, but gradually evolved over time as their use spread across China. Numerous attempts were made by the state to reform the script, including the promotion of the small seal script during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). Clerical script, which had matured by the early Han dynasty (202 BCE{{snd}}220 CE), abstracted character forms and obscured their pictographic origins in favour of ease of writing. Regular script emerged following the Han as the result of cursive influence on clerical script, and has been the primary style used for characters since. Informed by a long tradition of lexicography, modern states using Chinese characters have standardised their forms: broadly, simplified characters are used to write Chinese in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia, while traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.After being introduced to other countries in order to write Literary Chinese, characters were eventually adapted to write the local languages spoken throughout the Sinosphere. In Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, Chinese characters are known as kanji, hanja, and respectively. Each of these countries used existing characters to write both native and Sino-Xenic vocabulary, and created new characters for their own use. These languages each function differently from Chinese, which contributed to Korean and Vietnamese largely replacing Chinese characters with alphabets, leaving Japanese as the only major non-Chinese language still written with Chinese characters.At the most basic level, characters are composed of strokes that are written according to a conventional order. Methods of writing have historically included characters being carved into stone, being inked with a brush onto silk, bamboo, or paper, and being printed using movable type. Modern information technologies have been adapted for characters, including the introduction of input methods and text encodings for use with computers.

Development

{{Further|Proto-writing|History of writing}}{{See also|Ideograph|Rebus}}Chinese characters are accepted as representing one of four independent inventions of writing in human history.{{efn|Zev Handel lists:{{sfn|Handel|2019|p=1}} {{olist|Sumerian cuneiform emerging {{circa|3200 BCE}}|Egyptian hieroglyphs emerging {{circa|3100 BCE}}|Chinese characters emerging {{circa|13th century BCE}}|Maya script emerging {{circa|1 CE}}}}}} In each instance, writing evolved from a system using two distinct types of ideographs. Ideographs could either be pictographs visually depicting objects or concepts, or fixed signs representing concepts only by shared convention. These systems are classified as proto-writing, because the techniques they used were insufficient to carry the meaning of spoken language by themselves.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=2}}Various innovations were required for Chinese characters to emerge from proto-writing. Firstly, pictographs became distinct from simple pictures in use and appearance: for example, the pictograph {{hani|大}}, meaning ‘large’, was originally a picture of a large man, but one would need to be aware of its specific meaning in order to interpret the sequence {{hani|}} as signifying ‘large deer’, rather than being a picture of a large man and a deer next to one another. Due to this process of abstraction, as well as to make characters easier to write, pictographs gradually became more simplified and regularised—often to the extent that the original objects represented are no longer obvious.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=3–4}}This proto-writing system was limited to representing a relatively narrow range of ideas with a comparatively small library of symbols. This compelled innovations that allowed for symbols to directly encode spoken language.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=5}} In each historical case, this was accomplished by some form of the rebus technique, where the symbol for a word is used to indicate a different word with a similar pronunciation, depending on context.{{sfnm|Norman|1988|1p=59|Li|2020|2p=48}} This allowed for words that lacked a plausible pictographic representation to be written down for the first time. This technique pre-empted more sophisticated methods of character creation that would further expand the lexicon. The process whereby writing emerged from proto-writing took place over a long period; when the purely pictorial use of symbols disappeared, leaving only those representing spoken words, the process was complete.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=11, 16}}

Classification

Chinese characters have been used in several different writing systems throughout history. The concept of a writing system includes the written symbols that are used, called graphemes—these may include characters, numerals, or punctuation—as well as the rules by which the graphemes are used to record language.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1p=1|Handel|2019|2pp=4–5}} Chinese characters are logographs, graphemes that denote words or morphemes in a language. Writing systems that use logographs are contrasted with alphabets and syllabaries, where graphemes correspond to the phonetic units in a language.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1pp=13–15|Coulmas|1991|2pp=104–109}} In special cases characters may correspond to non-morphemic syllables; due to this, written Chinese is often characterised as morphosyllabic.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1pp=22–26|Norman|1988|2p=74}}{{efn|According to Handel: “While monosyllabism generally trumps morphemicity—that is to say, a bisyllabic morpheme is nearly always written with two characters rather than one—there is an unmistakable tendency for script users to impose a morphemic identity on the linguistic units represented by these characters.“{{sfn|Handel|2019|p=33}}}}The areas where Chinese characters were historically used—sometimes collectively called the Sinosphere—have a long tradition of lexicography attempting to explain and refine their use; for most of history, analysis revolved around a model first popularised in the 2nd-century Shuowen Jiezi dictionary.{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1p=51|2a1=Yong|2a2=Peng|2y=2008|2pp=95–98}} Newer models have since appeared, often attempting to describe both the methods by which characters were created, the characteristics of their structures, and the way they presently function.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=19, 162–168}}

Structural analysis

Most characters can be analysed structurally as compounds made of smaller components ({{zhi|c=��|p=pi�npáng}}), which may have their own functions. Phonetic components provide a hint to a character’s pronunciation, and semantic components indicate some element of the character’s meaning. Components that serve neither function may be classified as pure signs with no particular meaning, other than their presence distinguishing one character from another.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=14–18}}A straightforward structural classification scheme may consist of three pure classes of semantographs, phonographs and signs—having only semantic, phonetic, and form components respectively, as well as four classes corresponding to each possible combination of the three component types.{{sfnm|Yin|2007|1pp=97–100|Su|2014|2pp=102-111}} According to Yang Runlu, of the {{val|3500}} characters used frequently in Standard Chinese, pure semantographs are the rarest, accounting for about 5% of the lexicon, followed by pure signs with 18%, and semantic–form and phonetic–form compounds together accounting for 19%. The remaining 58% are phono-semantic compounds.{{sfn|Yang|2008|pp=147-148}}The Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui ({{born-in|1935}}) presents “three principles� of character formation adapted from an earlier proposal by {{ill|Tang Lan|zh|�蘭}} (1901–1979), with semantographs describing all characters whose forms are wholly related to their meaning, regardless of the method by which the meaning was originally depicted, phonographs that include a phonetic component, and loangraphs encompassing existing characters that have been borrowed to write other words. Qiu also acknowledges the existence of character classes that fall outside of these principles, such as pure signs.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=163–171}}

Semantographs

Pictographs

{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|width=300|caption_align=center|border=none|header=Graphical evolution of pictographsc=日caption2={{zhcl=mountain}}c=象|l=elephant}}image2=Evo-sh�n.svg|image3=Evo-xiàng.svg}}While relatively few in number, many of the earliest characters were pictographs ({{zhi|c=象形|p=xiàngxíng}}), representational pictures of physical objects.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1p=154|Norman|1988|2p=68}} In practice, their forms have become regularised and simplified after centuries of iteration in order to make them easier to write. Examples include (’Sun’), (’Moon’), and (’tree’).{{efn-ua|{{multiref| {{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=1588|loc=日}} | {{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=2188|loc=月}} | {{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=1231|loc=木}} }} }}As character forms developed, distinct depictions of various physical objects within pictographs became reduced to instances of a single written component.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1pp=44–45|Zhou|2003|2p=61}} As such, what a pictograph is depicting is often not immediately evident, and may be considered as a pure sign without regard for its origin in picture-writing. However, if a character’s use in compounds, such as {{zhi|c=日}} in {{zhc|c=晴|l=clear sky}} still reflects its meaning and is not phonetic or arbitrary, it can still be considered as a semantic component.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=18–19}}Pictographs have often been extended from their original concrete meanings to take on additional layers of metaphor and synecdoche, which sometimes even displace the pictograph’s original meaning. This process has sometimes created excess ambiguity between different senses of a character, which is usually then resolved by deriving new compound characters by adding components corresponding to specific senses. This can result in new pictographs, but usually results in other character types.{{sfn|Yip|2000|pp=39-42}}

Indicatives

Indicatives ({{zhi|p=zh�shì|t=指事}}), also called simple ideographs, represent abstract concepts that lack concrete physical forms, but nonetheless can be visually depicted in an intuitive way. Examples include (’up’) and (’down’)—these characters originally had forms consisting of dots placed above and below a line, which later evolved into their present forms, which have less potential for graphical ambiguity in context.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=46}} More complex indicatives include (’convex’), (’concave’), and (’flat and level’).{{sfnm|Norman|1988|1p=68|Qiu|2000|2pp=185–187}}

Compound ideographs

Compound ideographs ({{zhi|t=會�|s=会�|p=huìyì}})—also called logical aggregates, associative idea characters, or syssemantographs—juxtapose multiple pictographs or indicatives to suggest a new, synthetic meaning. A canonical example is {{zhi|明}} (’bright’), interpreted as the juxtaposition of the two brightest objects in the sky: {{kxr|日}} and {{kxr|月}}, together expressing their shared quality of brightness. Though the historicity of this etymology has been contested in recent scholarship, it is a canonical reading. Other examples include {{zhc|c=休|l=rest}}, composed of pictographs {{kxr|人}} and {{kxr|木}}, and {{zhc|c=好|l=good}}, composed of {{kxr|女}} and {{kxr|�}}.{{efn-ua|{{multiref| {{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=1599|loc=明}} | {{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=1101|loc=好}} | {{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=150|loc=休}} }} }}{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=15, 190–202}}(File:Compound Chinese character demonstration with 好.gif|frameless|left|upright=0.9|The compound character {{zhi|c=好}} illustrated as its component characters {{zhi|女}} and {{zhi|�}} positioned side by side)Many traditional examples of compound ideographs are now believed to have actually originated as phono-semantic compounds, made obscure by subsequent changes in pronunciation.{{sfn|Sampson|Chen|2013|p=261}} For example, the Shuowen Jiezi describes {{zhc|c=信|l=trust}} as an ideographic compound of {{kxr|人}} and {{kxr|言}}, but modern analyses instead identify it as a phono-semantic compound—though with disagreement as to which component is phonetic.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=155}} Peter A. Boodberg and William G. Boltz go so far as to deny that any compound ideographs were devised in antiquity, maintaining that secondary readings that are now lost are responsible for the apparent absence of phonetic indicators,{{sfn|Boltz|1994|pp=104–110}} but their arguments have been rejected by other scholars.{{sfn|Sampson|Chen|2013|pp=265–268}} Compound ideographs are common in {{tlit|ja|kokuji}}, characters originally coined in Japan.{{sfn|Handel|2019|p=193}}

Phonographs

Phono-semantic compounds

Phono-semantic compounds ({{zhi|p=xíngshÄ“ng|s=形声|t=å½¢è�²}}) are composed of at least one semantic component and one phonetic component.{{sfn|Norman|1988|p=68}} They may be formed by one of several methods, often by adding a phonetic component to disambiguate a loangraph, or by adding a semantic component to represent a specific extension of a character’s meaning.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=154}} Examples of phono-semantic compounds include {{zhc|c=æ²³|p=hé|l=river}}, {{zhc|c=æ¹–|p=hú|l=lake}}, {{zhc|c=æµ�|p=liú|l=stream}}, {{zhc|c=æ²–|p=chÅ�ng|l=surge}}, and {{zhc|c=滑|p=huá|l=slippery}}. Each of these characters have three short strokes on their left-hand side: {{kxr|æ°µ|v=y|name=no}}, a component that is a reduced form of {{kxr|water|name=no}} (’water’). In these characters this component serves a semantic function, indicating the character has some meaning related to water. The remainder of each is a phonetic component: {{zhc|c=æ¹–|p=hú}} is pronounced identically to {{zhc|c=胡|p=hú}} in Standard Chinese, {{zhc|c=æ²³|p=hé}} is pronounced similarly to {{zhc|c=å�¯|p=kÄ›}}, and {{zhc|c=æ²–|p=chÅ�ng}} is pronounced similarly to {{zhc|c=中|p=zhÅ�ng}}.BOOK, Cruttenden, Alan, Writing Systems and Phonetics, Routledge, 2021, 978-1-000-33404-3, 167–168, While they may sometimes indicate a character’s pronunciation exactly, the phonetic components of most compounds only attempt to provide an approximation—even before any subsequent sound shifts take place within the spoken language. Some characters may only have the same initial or final sound of a syllable in common with phonetic components.{{sfn|Williams|2010}} The table below lists characters that each use {{hani|也}} for their phonetic part—save the final one, which uses a previous character in the list—it is apparent that none of them share its modern pronunciation. The Old Chinese pronunciation of {{hani|也}} has been reconstructed by Baxter and Sagart (2014) as similar to that for each compound.{{sfn|Baxter|Sagart|2014|p=371}} The table illustrates the sound changes that have taken place since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, when most of the characters in question entered the lexicon. The resulting drift is illustrative of the more extreme cases, when a character’s phonetic component no longer provides any hint of its pronunciation.{{sfn|Norman|1988|p=74}}{| class=“wikitableâ€� style="text-align:centerâ€�{{hani|也}}}}! scope=“colâ€� rowspan=“2â€� | {{abbr|Char.|character}}! scope=“colâ€� rowspan=“2â€� | Gloss! scope=“colgroupâ€� colspan=“2â€� | Component! scope=“colâ€� rowspan=“2â€� | {{abbr|OC|Old Chinese}}{{efn-lg|name=bs-oc}}! scope=“colâ€� rowspan=“2â€� | {{abbr|MC|Middle Chinese}}{{efn-lg|name=b-mc}}! scope=“colgroupâ€� colspan=“3â€� | Modern{{efn-lg|name=readings}}! scope=“colâ€� | {{abbr|Sem.|semantic}} !! scope=“colâ€� | {{abbr|Phon.|phonetic}} !! scope=“colâ€� | Mandarin !! scope=“colâ€� | Cantonese !! scope=“colâ€� | Japanese {{gcl|PTC}}Originally a pictograph of a vulva. The Shuowen Jiezi gives the origin of {{zhic=女陰也yin [organ]}}. By the 6th century BCE, the original definition had fallen into disuse. The use of the character in the definition itself is as a declarative sentence-final particle, and all appearances of the character in Classical texts from that time forward use it as a phonetic loan for the grammatical particle. In addition to being a Classical particle, in modern vernacular Chinese {{zhi>c=也}} has acquired a meaning of ‘also’.{{efn-uaMulti-function Chinese Character Database|loc=也}} }}}}ochitalics=no}}ltcitalics=no}}zhye|3}}yuej5}}jajalabel=}} {{hani|æ± }} {{ubc也}}ochitalics=no}}}}ochitalics=no}} {{tlitdrje|italics=no}} {{tlitchí}} {{IPAc-cmni|2}} {{tlitci4}} {{IPAc-yuei|4}} {{tlitchi}} {{IPAtÉ•i|label=}} {{hani}} ‘loosen’{{hani’bow’}}ochitalics=no}}ltcitalics=no}}zhch2}}{{tlitshÇ�}} {{IPAc-cmni|3}}yuec4}}jajalabel=}}{{tlitshi}} {{IPAÉ•i|label=}} {{hani|æ–½}} ‘ground’{{hani’earth’}}ochitalics=no}}ltcitalics=no}}zhd4}}yued6}}jajalabel=}}{{tlitchi}} {{IPAtÉ•i|label=}} {{gclthird-person personal pronoun}}{{hlist人}}亻}}𠂉}}’person’}}ochitalics=no}}ltcitalics=no}} {{tlittÄ�}} {{IPAc-cmna|1}} {{tlittaa1}} {{IPAc-yueaa|1}}jajalabel=}} {{hani|她}} ‘drag’{{hlist{{hani{{hanilist_style=white-space:nowrap;text-align:center}}Coca-Cola’s Chinese name is {{zhc|s=å�¯å�£å�¯ä¹�|t=å�¯å�£å�¯æ¨‚|p=KÄ›kÇ’u KÄ›lè|l=delicious enjoyable}}.{{sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|pp=30–32}}{{sfn|Ramsey|1987|p=60}}BOOK, Gnanadesikan, Amalia E.,books.google.com/books?id=nlEPhP900-UC&pg=PT61, The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet, Wiley, 2011, 978-1-444-35985-5, 61, Google Books,

Signs

Some characters and components are pure signs, whose meaning merely derives from their having a fixed and distinct form. Basic examples of pure signs are found with the numerals beyond four, e.g. {{zhc|c=五|l=five}} and {{zhc|c=八|l=eight}}, whose forms do not give visual hints to the quantities they represent.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1p=168|Norman|1988|2p=60}}Shuowen Jiezi classification“>

Traditional Shuowen Jiezi classification

The Shuowen Jiezi is a character dictionary authored {{circa|100 CE}} by the scholar Xu Shen ({{circa|58|148 CE}}). In its postface, Xu analyses what he sees as all the methods by which characters are created. Later authors iterated upon Xu’s analysis, developing a categorisation scheme known as the {{zhl|s=六书|t=六書|p=liùshÅ«|l=six writings}}, which assigns every character to one of six categories that had previously been mentioned in the Shuowen Jiezi. For nearly two millennia, this scheme was the primary framework by which characters were analysed throughout the Sinosphere.{{sfnm|Norman|1988|1pp=67–69|Handel|2019|2p=48}} Xu based most of his analysis on examples of Qin seal script that were written down several centuries before his time—these were usually the oldest forms available to him, but Xu stated that he was aware of the existence of even older forms.{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=170–171}}Modern scholars agree that the theory presented in the Shuowen Jiezi is problematic, failing to fully capture the nature of Chinese writing, both in the present, as well as at the time Xu was writing.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1pp=153–154, 161|Norman|1988|2p=170}} Traditional Chinese lexicography as embodied in the Shuowen Jiezi presupposes either a phonetic or semantic purpose for every character component, providing implausible etymologies for characters.{{sfnm|Qiu|2013|1pp=102–108|Norman|1988|2p=69}} However, the ‘six writings’ model has proven resilient, and it continues to serve as a guide for students in the process of memorising characters. The Shuowen Jiezi was also important for introducing the concept of radicals ({{zhi|c=部首|p=bùshÇ’u|l=section headers}}), which are visually prominent components shared by a number of characters. The Shuowen Jiezi organised its entries by radical; this methodology would be a ubiquitous feature of later Chinese character dictionaries.{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1p=43|2a1=Yong|2a2=Peng|2y=2008|2pp=102–103}}

History

File:Comparative evolution of Cuneiform, Egyptian and Chinese characters.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|Diagram comparing the abstraction of pictographs in cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Chinese characters – from an 1870 publication by French Egyptologist Gaston MasperoGaston Maspero{{Further|Chinese script styles|History of the Chinese language}}The broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ({{zhi|c=字形|p=zìxíng}}), the “external appearances of individual graphs�, and in graphical form ({{zhi|s=字体|t=字體|p=zìt�}}), “overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes�.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=44–45}} The traditional notion of an orderly procession of script styles, each suddenly appearing and displacing the one previous, has been disproven by later scholarship and archaeological work. Instead, scripts evolved gradually, with several coexisting in a given area.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=59–60, 66}}

Traditional invention narrative

Several Chinese classics indicate that knotted cords were used to keep records prior to the invention of writing.CONFERENCE, Yang, Yuxin, Yang Yuxin, 2018, Unveiling and Activating the “Uncertain Heritageâ€� of Chinese Knotting,papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/accs2018/ACCS2018_41803.pdf, The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies 2018, 3, WEB, Mair, Victor H., Victor H. Mair, Prehistoric notation systems in Peru, with Chinese parallels,languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=50819, 2023-07-31, Language Log, Works that reference the practice include chapter 80 of the Tao Te ChingBOOK, The Way of Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching), Bobbs-Merrill, 1963, 0-023-20700-0, 238, Chan, Wing-tsit, Let the people again knot cords and use them (in place of writing), and the “Xici IIâ€� chapter within the I Ching.BOOK, I Ching, 1899, lzh,en, Legge, James, zh:易經, The Book of Changes, zh:系辞下, Xi Ci II, In the highest antiquity, government was carried on successfully by the use of knotted cords (to preserve the memory of things). In subsequent ages the sages substituted for these written characters and bonds. By means of these (the doings of) all the officers could be regulated, and (the affairs of) all the people accurately examined., James Legge,ctext.org/book-of-changes/xi-ci-xia/ens, the Chinese Text Project, According to one tradition, Chinese characters were invented during the 3rd millennium BCE by Cangjie, a scribe of the legendary Yellow Emperor. Cangjie is said to have invented symbols called {{zhc|c=å­—|p=zì}} due to his frustration with the limitations of knotting, taking inspiration from his study of the tracks of animals, landscapes, and the stars in the sky. On the day that these first characters were created, grain rained down from the sky; that night, the people heard the wailing of ghosts and demons, lamenting that humans could no longer be cheated.BOOK, Yang, Lihui, Handbook of Chinese Mythology, An, Deming, Oxford University Press, 2008, 978-0-195-33263-6, 84–86, {{sfn|Boltz|1994|pp=130–138}}

Neolithic

A series of inscribed graphs and pictures have been discovered at Neolithic sites in China, including Jiahu ({{circa|6500 BCE}}), Dadiwan and Damaidi (6th millennium BCE), and Banpo (5th millennium BCE). The marks attested at these sites appear one at a time, and do not seem to imply any greater context. As such, Qiu concludes “[w]e simply possess no basis for saying that they were already being used to record language.“{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=31}} However, they do demonstrate sign use in the Yellow River valley from the Neolithic through to the Shang period.NEWS, Rincon, Paul, 2003-04-17, ‘Earliest Writing’ Found in China,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2956925.stm, BBC News, A historical connection with the symbols used by the late Neolithic Dawenkou culture ({{circa|4300|2600 BCE}}) in Shandong has been deemed possible by palaeographers, with Qiu concluding that they “cannot be definitively treated as primitive writing, nevertheless they are symbols which resemble most the ancient pictographic script discovered thus far in China... They undoubtedly can be viewed as the forerunners of primitive writing.“{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=39}}

Oracle bone script

{{mim| header = Oracle bone script| width = 60| caption_align = center| image1 = 天-oracle.svg’Heaven’}}| image2 = 馬-oracle.svg’horse’}}| image3 = æ—…-oracle.svg’travel’}}| image4 = æ­£-oracle.svg’straight’}}| image5 = 韋-oracle.svg’leather’}}}}{{CSS image crop|Image = Shang dynasty inscribed scapula.jpg|bSize = 280|cWidth = 240|cHeight = 300|oTop = 115|oLeft = 35|Description = Ox scapula inscribed with characters recording the result of divinations}}The earliest attested Chinese writing comprises a body of inscriptions produced during the Late Shang period ({{circa|1250}}{{snd}}1050 BCE), with the very earliest examples from the reign of Wu Ding dated between 1250 and 1200 BCE.BOOK, Boltz, William G., The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC, Cambridge University Press, 1999, 978-0-521-47030-8, Loewe, Michael, Michael Loewe, 74, 107–108, Language and Writing, 3 April 2019, Shaughnessy, Edward L., Edward L. Shaughnessy,books.google.com/books?id=cHA7Ey0-pbEC&pg=PA108, Google Books, JOURNAL, 2021, Radiocarbon Dating of Oracle Bones of the Late Shang Period in Ancient China, Radiocarbon (journal), Radiocarbon, 63, 1, 155–175, 2021Radcb..63..155L, 10.1017/RDC.2020.90, free, Liu, Kexin, Wu, Xiaohong, Guo, Zhiyu, Yuan, Sixun, Ding, Xingfang, Fu, Dongpo, Pan, Yan, Many of these inscriptions were made on oracle bones—usually either ox scapulae or turtle shells—and recorded official divinations carried out by the Shang royal house. Contemporaneous inscriptions in a related but distinct style were also made on ritual bronze vessels. This oracle bone script ({{zhi|c=甲骨文|p=jiÇŽgÇ”wén}}) was first documented in 1899, after specimens were discovered being sold as “dragon bonesâ€� for medicinal purposes, with the symbols carved into them identified as early Chinese character forms. By 1928, the source of the bones had been traced to a village near Anyang in Henan—discovered to be the site of Yin, the final Shang capital—which was excavated by a team led by Li Ji (1896–1979) from the Academia Sinica between 1928 and 1937.JOURNAL, Chang, K. C., 1980, Li Chi: 1896–1979, Asian Perspectives, 23, 2, 317–321, 0066-8435, 42928036, To date, over 150,000 oracle bone fragments have been found.{{sfnm|Kern|2010|1p=1|Wilkinson|2012|2pp=681–682}}Oracle bone inscriptions recorded divinations undertaken to communicate with the spirits of royal ancestors. The inscriptions range from a few characters in length at their shortest, to around 40 characters at their longest. The Shang king would communicate with his ancestors by means of scapulimancy, inquiring about subjects such as the royal family, military success, and the weather. The answers as interpreted would be inscribed on the divination material itself.{{sfn|Kern|2010|p=1}}Oracle bone script is the direct ancestor of later forms of written Chinese. The oldest known inscriptions already represent a well-developed writing system, which suggests an initial emergence predating the late second millennium BCE. Although written Chinese is first attested in official divinations, it is widely believed that writing was also used for other purposes during the Shang, but that the media used in other contexts—likely bamboo and wooden slips—were less durable than bronzes or oracle bones, and have not been preserved.{{sfnm|Boltz|1986|1p=424|Kern|2010|2p=2}}

Zhou scripts

{{mim| header = Bronze script| width = 60| image1 = 天-bronze.svg| image2 = 馬-bronze.svg| image3 = æ—…-bronze.svg| image4 = æ­£-bronze.svg| image5 = 韋-bronze.svg| alt1 = 天| alt2 = 馬| alt3 = æ—…| alt4 = æ­£| alt5 = 韋}}{{CSS image crop|Image = Shi Qiang pan.jpg|bSize = 300|cWidth = 285|cHeight = 160|oTop = 30|oLeft = 6Shi Qiang pan, a bronze ritual basin dated {{circa>900 BCE}}. Long inscriptions on the surface describe the deeds and virtues of the first seven Zhou kings.}}{{See also|Chinese bronze inscriptions|Bamboo and wooden slips|Seal script}}As early as the Shang, the oracle bone script existed as a simplified form alongside another that was used in bamboo books, in addition to elaborate pictorial forms often used in clan emblems. These other forms have been preserved in what is called bronze script ({{zhi|c=金文|p=jÄ«nwén}}), where inscriptions were made using a stylus in a clay mould, which was then used to cast ritual bronzes.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=63–66}} These different techniques generally resulted in character forms that were less angular in appearance than the forms of oracle bone script.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=88–89}}Study of these bronze inscriptions has revealed that the mainstream script underwent slow, gradual evolution during the late Shang, which continued during the Zhou dynasty ({{circa|1046}}{{snd}}256 BCE) until assuming the form now known as small seal script ({{zhi|c=å°�篆|p=xiÇŽozhuàn}}) within the Zhou state of Qin.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=76–78}}BOOK, Chen, Zhaorong, Academia Sinica, 2003, 978-9-576-71995-0, zh, zh:秦系文字研究﹕从漢字å�²çš„角度考察, Research on the Qin Writing System: Through the Lens of the History of Writing in China, Chen Zhaorong (陳昭容), Other scripts in use during the late Zhou include the bird-worm seal script ({{zhi|t=鳥蟲書|s=鸟虫书|p=niÇŽochóngshÅ«}}), as well as the regional forms used in non-Qin states. Examples of these styles were preserved as variants in the Shuowen Jiezi.JOURNAL, Louis, François, 2003, Written Ornament: Ornamental Writing: Birdscript of the Early Han Dynasty and the Art of Enchanting, Ars Orientalis, 33, 18–27, 0571-1371, 4434272, Historically, Zhou forms were collectively referred to as large seal script ({{zhi|c=大篆|p=dàzhuàn}}), a term which has fallen out of favour due to its lack of precision.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=77}}

Qin unification and small seal script

{{mim| header = Small seal script| width = 60| image1 = 天-seal.svg| image2 = 馬-seal.svg| image3 = æ—…-seal.svg| image4 = æ­£-seal.svg| image5 = 韋-seal.svg| alt1 = 天| alt2 = 馬| alt3 = æ—…| alt4 = æ­£| alt5 = 韋}}Following Qin’s conquest of the other Chinese states that culminated in the founding of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, the Qin small seal script was standardised for use throughout the entire country under the direction of Chancellor Li Si ({{circa|280}}{{snd}}208 BCE).{{sfn|Boltz|1994|p=156}} It was traditionally believed that Qin scribes only used small seal script, and the later clerical script was a sudden invention during the early Han. However, more than one script was used by Qin scribes: a rectilinear vulgar style had also been in use in Qin for centuries prior to the wars of unification. The popularity of this form grew as writing became more widespread.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=104–107}}

Clerical script

{{mim| header = Clerical script| width = 60| image1 = 天-clerical-han.svg| image2 = 馬-clerical-han.svg| image3 = æ—…-clerical-han.svg| image4 = æ­£-clerical-han.svg| image5 = 韋-clerical-han.svg| alt1 = 天| alt2 = 馬| alt3 = æ—…| alt4 = æ­£| alt5 = 韋}}By the Warring States period ({{circa|475}}{{snd}}221 BCE), an immature form of clerical script ({{zhi|t=隸書|s=隶书|p=lìshÅ«}}) had emerged based on the vulgar form developed within Qin, often called “early clericalâ€� or “proto-clericalâ€�.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=59, 119}} The proto-clerical script evolved gradually; by the Han dynasty (202 BCE{{snd}}220 CE), it had arrived at a mature form, also called {{zhc|c=八分|p=bÄ�fÄ“n}}. Bamboo slips discovered during the late 20th century point to this maturation being completed during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han ({{reign|141|87 BCE}}). This process, called libian ({{zhi|t=隸變|s=隶å�˜}}), involved character forms being mutated and simplified, with many components being regularised, substituted, or omitted. In turn, the forms of components themselves were regularised as to use fewer, straighter, and more well-defined strokes. As a result, clerical forms largely lack the direct pictorial quality of seal script—the process that produced the clerical form of {{hani|月}} obscured its origins as a picture of the Moon.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=119–124}}Around the midpoint of the Eastern Han (25–220 CE), a simplified and easier form of clerical script appeared, which Qiu terms {{zhl|s=新隶体|t=新隸體|p=xÄ«nlìtÇ�|l=neo-clerical}}.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=113, 139, 466}} By the end of the Han, this had become the dominant script used by scribes, though clerical script remained in use for formal works, such as engraved stelae. Qiu describes neo-clerical as a transitional form between clerical and regular script which remained in use through the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE) and beyond.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=138–139}}

Cursive and semi-cursive

{{mim| header = Semi-cursive script| width = 60| image1 = 天-xingshu.svg| image2 = 馬-xingshu.svg| image3 = æ—…-xingshu.svg| image4 = æ­£-xingshu.svg| image5 = 韋-xingshu.svg| alt1 = 天| alt2 = 馬| alt3 = æ—…| alt4 = æ­£| alt5 = 韋}}By the late Han, an early form of semi-cursive script ({{zhi|t=行書|s=行书|p=xíngshÅ«|l=running script}}) had developed from a cursive form of neo-clerical script. The invention of semi-cursive was traditionally credited to Liu Desheng ({{zhi|劉德å�‡}}; {{circa|147}}{{snd}}188 CE), although such attributions often identify early masters of a given style, rather than its earliest practitioners. Later analysis has suggested a popular origin for the semi-cursive script, rather than it being Liu’s invention.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=113, 139–142}} A semi-cursive style is commonly used in modern handwriting, with there being no formal rules regarding technique or composition. It can be characterised partly as the result of clerical forms being written more quickly, with strokes that would be discrete in clerical script sometimes flowing together instead.{{sfnm|Li|2020|1p=51|Qiu|2000|2p=149|Norman|1988|3p=70}} {{mim| header = Cursive script| width = 60| image1 = 天-caoshu.svg| image2 = 馬-caoshu.svg| image3 = æ—…-caoshu.svg| image4 = æ­£-caoshu.svg| image5 = 韋-caoshu.svg| alt1 = 天| alt2 = 馬| alt3 = æ—…| alt4 = æ­£| alt5 = 韋}}An early type of cursive script ({{zhi|t=è�‰æ›¸|s=è�‰ä¹¦|p=cÇŽoshÅ«}}) was also in use as early as 24 BCE, incorporating cursive forms popular at the time, as well as elements from the vulgar writing that originated within Qin. By the Jin dynasty (266–420), the Han cursive style became known as {{zhc|c=ç« è�‰|p=zhÄ�ngcÇŽo}}, sometimes known in English as ‘clerical cursive’, ‘ancient cursive’, or ‘draft cursive’. Some attribute this name, which uses the character {{zhc|c=ç« |l=orderly}}, to the fact that the style was considered more orderly than what would become the modern form of cursive, called {{zhc|c=今è�‰|p=jÄ«ncÇŽo}}. This latter form had first emerged during the Jin and was influenced by semi-cursive and regular script; it was exemplified by the work of figures like Wang Xizhi (303–361), who is often regarded as the most important calligrapher in Chinese history.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=130–148}}BOOK, Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Brill, 2014, 978-9-004-19240-9, Knechtges, David R., 2, Leiden, 1257–1259, Chang, Taiping,

Regular script

{{mim| header = Regular script| width = 60| image1 = 天-kaishu.svg| image2 = 馬-kaishu.svg| image3 = 旅-kaishu.svg| image4 = 正-kaishu.svg| image5 = 韋-kaishu.svg| alt1 = 天| alt2 = 馬| alt3 = 旅| alt4 = 正| alt5 = 韋}}File:浙江姓解1.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.86|A page from a Song-era publication printed in a regular script typefacetypefaceRegular script ({{zhi|t=楷書|s=楷书|p=kǎishū}}), based on clerical and semi-cursive forms, is the predominant form in which characters are written and printed.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=113, 149}} Its innovations have traditionally been credited to the calligrapher Zhong Yao ({{circa|151}}{{snd}}230), who was living in the state of Cao Wei (220–266); he is often called the “father of regular script�.ENCYCLOPEDIA, 2020, The Three Kingdoms Period, The Routledge Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Culture, Routledge, Chan, Sin-wai, 125, 978-1-138-21115-5, The earliest surviving writing in regular script comprises copies of Zhong Yao’s work, including at least one copy by Wang Xizhi. Characteristics of regular script include the {{zhl|t=頓|p=dùn|l=pause}} technique used to end horizontal strokes, as well as heavy tails on diagonal strokes made going down and to the right. It developed further during the Eastern Jin (317–420) in the hands of Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi (344–386).{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=143}} However, most Jin-era writers continued to use neo-clerical and semi-cursive styles in their daily writing. It was not until the Northern and Southern period (420–589) that regular script became the predominant form.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=144-145}} The system of imperial examinations for the civil service established during the Sui dynasty (581–618) required test takers to write in Literary Chinese using regular script, which contributed to the longstanding prevalence of both in later Chinese history.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=41}}

Structure

{{See also|Chinese character strokes}}Each character of a text is written within a uniform square allotted for it. As part of the evolution from seal script into clerical script, character components became regularised as discrete series of strokes.{{sfnm|Li|2020|1pp=54, 196–197|Peking University|2004|2pp=148–152|Zhou|2003|3p=88}} Strokes can be considered both the basic unit of handwriting, as well as the writing system’s basic unit of graphemic organisation. In clerical and regular script, individual strokes belong to one of eight categories according to their technique and graphemic function. In what is known as the Eight Principles of Yong, calligraphers practice their technique using the character {{zhc|c=永|p=yǒng|l=eternity}}, which is traditionally written with one stroke of each type.{{sfnm|Norman|1988|1p=86|Zhou|2003|2p=58|Zhang|2013}}Characters are constructed according to predictable visual patterns. Some components may have distinct forms when occupying specific positions within a character—for example, the {{kxr|刀}} component appears as {{kxr|刂|v=y|name=no}} on the right side of characters, but as {{kxr|⺈|v=y|name=no}} at the top of characters. The order in which components are drawn within a character is largely fixed. The order in which the strokes of a component are drawn is also set, but may differ by region.{{sfn|Yin|2016|pp=58–59}} This is summed up in practice with a few rules of thumb: components and characters are generally assembled from left-to-right, and from top-to-bottom, with ‘enclosing’ components started before, then closed after, the components they enclose.BOOK, Li, Wendan, Chinese Writing and Calligraphy, University of Hawai’i Press, 2009, 978-0-824-83364-0, Honolulu, 70, For example, {{hani|字}} is made of two components, with each in turn composed of three strokes, drawn in the following order:{| cellspacing=1 cellpadding=2 border=thin role=presentation style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:center;font-size:1.1rem;�! scope=“col� style="font-size:0.85rem� | Character !! scope=“col� style="font-size:0.85rem� | Component !! scope=“col� style="font-size:0.85rem� | Stroke {{hani|宀}} (1) (File:CJK_Stroke_D_(1).svgalt=㇔) (2) (File:CJK_Stroke_D_(2).svgalt=㇔) (3) (File:CJK_Stroke_HG.svgalt=乛) {{hani|�}} (4) (File:CJK_Stroke_HG.svgalt=乛) (5) (File:CJK_Stroke_SG.svgalt=㇚) (6) (File:CJK_Stroke_H_(1).svgalt=�) (File:字-bw.png|500px)

Variant characters

(File:Variations of the 213th Chinese radical, gui ‘tortoise’.png|thumb|Variants of the Chinese character for ‘turtle’, collected {{circa|1800}} from printed sources. The traditional form {{zhi|t=龜}} (left) is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The simplified form {{zhi|s=龟}} is used in China, and the simplified form is used in Japan.)Over a character’s history, variant character forms ({{zhi|t=異體字|s=异体字|p=yìt�zì}}) emerge via several processes. Variant forms are allographs that represent the same underlying character, and correspond to the same morpheme. This is comparable to visually distinct double-storey {{angbr|a}} and single-storey {{angbr|ɑ}} forms both representing the Latin letter A. Character variants also emerge for aesthetic reasons, to make handwriting easier, or to correct what the writer perceives to be errors in a character’s form.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=204–215, 373}} Individual components may be replaced with visually, phonetically, or semantically similar alternatives.{{sfn|Zhou|2003|pp=57–60, 63–65}} The boundary between character structure and style, and thus between allographs of the same character versus semantically distinct characters, is often non-trivial or unclear.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=297–300, 373}}For example, prior to the Qin dynasty the character meaning ‘bright’ was written as either {{lzh|明}} or {{lzh|朙}}—with either {{kxr|日}} or {{lzh|囧}} {{sc|’window’}} on the left, and {{kxr|月}} on the right. As part of Qin attempts to standardise small seal script across China, the {{lzh|朙}} form was promoted. Some scribes ignored this, and continued to write the character as {{lzh|明}}. However, the increased usage of {{lzh|朙}} was followed by the proliferation of a third variant: {{lzh|眀}}, with {{kxr|目}} on the left—likely derived as a contraction of {{lzh|朙}}. Ultimately, {{lzh|明}} became the character’s standard form.{{sfn|Bökset|2006|pp=16, 19}}

Layout

{{Further|Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts}}From the earliest inscriptions until the 20th century, texts were generally laid out vertically—with characters written from top to bottom in columns, arranged from right to left. A horizontal writing direction—with characters written from left to right in rows, arranged from top to bottom—only became predominant in the Sinosphere during the 20th century, as a result of Western influence.{{sfnm|Li|2020|1p=54|Handel|2019|2p=27|Keightley|1978|3p=50}}

Methods of writing

(File:噹噹茶é¤�廳2021å¹´7月åˆ�çš„å�ˆé¤�é¤�牌-tweaked.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Ordinary handwriting on a lunch menu in Hong Kong)The earliest attested Chinese characters were carved into bone, or marked using a stylus in clay moulds used to cast ritual bronzes. They were also written in ink onto slips of silk, wood, and bamboo. The invention of paper for use as a writing medium occurred during the 1st century CE, and is traditionally credited to Cai Lun ({{died-in|121 CE}}).{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|2001|pp=23–25, 38–41}} There are numerous styles, or scripts ({{zhi|t=書|s=书|p=shÅ«}}) in which characters can be written, including the historical forms like seal script and clerical script. Most styles used throughout the Sinosphere originated within China, though they may display regional variation. Styles that have been created outside of China tend to remain localised in their use: these include the Japanese {{tlit|ja|edomoji}} and Vietnamese scripts.BOOK, Nawar, Haytham, Language of Tomorrow: Towards a Transcultural Visual Communication System in a Posthuman Condition, Intellect, 2020, 978-1-789-38183-2, 130–155, Transculturalism and Posthumanism, j.ctv36xvqb7,

Calligraphy

File:This Letter written by Mi Fei.jpg|thumb|right|Chinese calligraphy of mixed styles by Song poet Mi FuMi FuCalligraphy was traditionally one of the four arts to be mastered by Chinese scholars, considered to be an artful means of expressing thoughts and teachings. Chinese calligraphy typically uses an ink brush in accordance with a deliberately minimalist set of rules. Strict regularity is not required, and character forms may be accentuated to evoke a variety of aesthetic effects.BOOK, Li, Wendan, Chinese Writing and Calligraphy, University of Hawai’i Press, 2009, 978-0-824-83364-0, Honolulu, 180–183,

Printing and typefaces

(File:監�體樣本.svg|thumb|upright=0.75 |Sample of {{ill|Prison Gothic|zh|监狱体}}, a sans-serif typeface){{Further|History of printing in East Asia|East Asian typography}}Woodblock printing was invented in China between the 6th and 9th centuries,{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|2001|pp=146–147, 159}} followed by the invention of movable type by Bi Sheng (972–1051) during the 11th century.{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|2001|pp=201–205}} The increasing use of print during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties (1644–1912) led to considerable standardisation in character forms, which prefigured later script reforms during the 20th century. This print orthography, exemplified by the 1716 Kangxi Dictionary, was later dubbed the jiu zixing (’old character shapes’).{{sfn|Yong|Peng|2008|pp=280–282, 293–297}}Printed Chinese characters may use different typefaces,{{sfn|Li|2013|p=62}} of which there are four broad classes in use:{{sfn|Lunde|2008|pp=23–25}}

• Song ({{zhi|s=宋体|t=宋體}}) or Ming ({{zhi|s=明体|t=明體}}) typefaces—with “Songâ€� generally used with simplified Chinese typefaces, and “Mingâ€� with others—broadly correspond to Western serif styles. Song typefaces are broadly within the tradition of historical Chinese print; both names for the style refer to eras regarded as high points for printing in the Sinosphere. While type during the Song dynasty (960–1279) generally resembled the regular script style of a particular calligrapher, most modern Song typefaces are intended for general purpose use and emphasise neutrality in their design.
• Sans-serif typefaces are called {{zhl|t=黑體|s=黑体|p=hÄ“itÇ�|l=black form}} in Chinese and ‘Gothic’ () in Japanese. Sans-serif strokes are rendered as simple lines of even thickness.
• “Kaiâ€� typefaces ({{zhi|s=楷体|t=楷體}}) imitate a handwritten style of regular script.
• Fangsong typefaces ({{zhi|s=仿宋体|t=仿宋體}}), called “Songâ€� in Japan, correspond to semi-script styles in the Western paradigm.

{{Clear}}

Use with computers

File:Chenzihmyon typefaces.svg|thumb|upright=0.75|The first four characters of the (Thousand Character Classic]] in different styles. From right to left: seal script, clerical script, regular script, Song type, and sans-serif type)Before computers became ubiquitous, earlier electro-mechanical communications devices like telegraphs and typewriters were originally designed for use with alphabets, often by means of alphabetic text encodings like Morse code and ASCII. Adapting these technologies for use with a writing system comprising thousands of distinct characters was non-trivial.{{sfn|Su|2014|p=218}}BOOK, Mullaney, Thomas S., The Chinese Typewriter: A History, MIT Press, 2017, 978-0-262-03636-8, Cambridge, MA, 25,

Input methods

{{Further|Chinese input method|Japanese input method}}Chinese characters are predominantly input on computers using a standard keyboard. Many input methods (IMEs) are phonetic, where typists enter characters according to schemes like pinyin or bopomofo for Mandarin, Jyutping for Cantonese, or Hepburn for Japanese. For example, {{zhc|c=香港|l=Hong Kong}} could be input as {{code|xiang1gang3}} using pinyin, or as {{code|hoeng1gong2}} using Jyutping.{{sfn|Li|2020|pp=152–153}}Character input methods may also be based on form, using the shape of characters and existing rules of handwriting to assign unique codes to each character, potentially increasing the speed of typing. Popular form-based input methods include Wubi on the mainland, and Cangjie—named after the mythological inventor of writing—in Taiwan and Hong Kong.{{sfn|Li|2020|pp=152–153}} For example, {{zhc|c=疆|l=border}} is encoded as {{code|NGMWM}} using the Cangjie method, with each letter corresponding to the components |italic=no}}, with some omitted according to predictable rules.{{sfn|Zhang|2016|p=422}}Contextual constraints may be used to improve candidate character selection. When ignoring tones, {{zhi|s=大学|t=大學}} and are both transcribed as {{code|daxue}}, the system may prioritize which candidate should appear first based on the surrounding context.{{sfn|Su|2014|p=222}}

Encoding and interchange

{{See also|Han unification|CJK Unified Ideographs}}While special text encodings for Chinese characters were introduced prior to its popularisation, The Unicode Standard is the predominant text encoding worldwide.{{sfn|Lunde|2008|p=193}} According to the philosophy of the Unicode Consortium each distinct graph is assigned a number in the standard, but specifying its appearance or the particular allograph used is a choice made by the engine rendering the text.{{Citation |title=Technical Introduction |date=22 August 2019 |url=https://www.unicode.org/standard/principles.html |access-date=11 May 2024 |publisher=The Unicode Consortium}} Unicode’s Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) represents the standard’s 216 smallest code points.{{Citation |title=Unicode Version 15.1 Character Counts |year=2023 |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/stats/charcountv15_1.html |publisher=The Unicode Consortium}} Of these, {{val|20992}} (or {{sigfig|32.03125|2}}%) are assigned to “CJK Unified Ideographs�, a designation comprising characters used in each of the Chinese family of scripts. As of version {{Unicode version|version=15.1}}, Unicode defines a total of {{val|97670}} Chinese characters.{{Citation |title=UAX #38: Unicode Han Database (Unihan) |url=https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr38/#BlockListing |access-date=11 May 2024 |publisher=The Unicode Consortium}}

Vocabulary and adaptation

{{Further|Chinese family of scripts|Adoption of Chinese literary culture}}Writing first emerged during the historical stage of the Chinese language known as Old Chinese. Most characters correspond to morphemes that originally functioned as stand-alone Old Chinese words.{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=74–75}} Classical Chinese is the form of written Chinese used in the classic works of Chinese literature between roughly the 5th century BCE and the 2nd century CE.BOOK, Vogelsang, Kai, Introduction to Classical Chinese, Oxford University Press, 2021, 978-0-198-83497-7, xvii–xix, This form of the language was imitated by later authors, even as it began to diverge from the language they spoke. This later form, referred to as “Literary Chineseâ€�, remained the predominant written language in China until the 20th century. Its use in the Sinosphere was loosely analogous to that of Latin in pre-modern Europe. While it was not static over time, Literary Chinese retained many properties of spoken Old Chinese. Informed by the local spoken vernaculars, texts were read aloud using literary and colloquial readings that varied by region. Over time, sound mergers created ambiguities in vernacular speech as more words became homophonic. This ambiguity was often reduced through the introduction of multi-syllable compound words,{{sfn|Wilkinson|2012|p=22}} which comprise much of the vocabulary in modern varieties of vernacular Chinese.BOOK, Tong, Xiuli,books.google.com/books?id=z6d5AgAAQBAJ, Contemporary Perspectives on Reading and Spelling, Liu, Phil D., McBride-Chang, Catherine, Routledge, 2009, 978-0-415-49716-9, Wood, Clare Patricia, New York, 202–218, Metalinguistic and subcharacter skills in Chinese literacy acquisition, Often, the Chinese character can function as an independent unit in sentences, but sometimes it must be paired with another character or more to form a word. [...] Most words consist of two or more characters, and more than 80 per cent make use of lexical compounding of morphemes (Packard, 2000)., Connelly, Vincent, Google Books, 203, {{sfn|Yip|2000|p=18}} At different times following the Classical period, forms of writing that more closely reflected speech were practised. However, use of written vernacular Chinese was limited until the early 20th century, when a standard form reflecting the dialect spoken in Beijing largely replaced Literary Chinese throughout the country as part of the New Culture Movement.{{sfn|DeFrancis|1972|pp=11–13}}Over time, use of Literary Chinese spread to neighbouring countries, including Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Alongside other aspects of Chinese culture, local elites adopted writing for record-keeping, histories, and official communications, forming what is sometimes called the Sinosphere.{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1pp=11–12|Kornicki|2018|2pp=15–16}} Excepting hypotheses by some linguists of the latter two sharing a common ancestor, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese each belong to different language families,{{sfn|Handel|2019|pp=28, 69, 126, 169}} and tend to function differently from one another. Reading systems were devised to enable non-Chinese speakers to interpret Literary Chinese texts in terms of their native language, a phenomenon that has been variously described as either a form of diglossia, as reading by gloss,{{sfn|Kin|2021|p=XII}} or as a process of translation into and out of Chinese. The shared literary culture that developed in this context was less directly tied to a specific spoken language compared to those that used phonetic writing systems. This comparative lack of phonocentrism is exemplified by the cross-linguistic phenomenon of brushtalk, where mutual literacy allowed speakers of different languages to engage in face-to-face conversations.BOOK, Denecke, Wiebke, A Companion to Translation Studies, Wiley, 2014, 978-0-470-67189-4, Bermann, Sandra, Oxford, 204–216, Worlds Without Translation: Premodern East Asia and the Power of Character Scripts, Porter, Catherine, {{sfn|Kornicki|2018|pp=72–73}}Following the introduction of Literary Chinese, characters were later adapted to write many non-Chinese languages spoken throughout the Sinosphere. These new writing systems used characters to write both native vocabulary and the numerous loanwords each language had borrowed from Chinese, collectively referred to as Sino-Xenic vocabulary. Characters may have native readings, Sino-Xenic readings, or both.{{sfn|Handel|2019|p=212}} Comparison of Sino-Xenic vocabulary across the Sinosphere has been useful in the reconstruction of Middle Chinese phonology.{{sfn|Kornicki|2018|p=168}} Literary Chinese was used in Vietnam during the millennium of Chinese rule that began in 111 BCE. By the 15th century, a system that adapted characters to write Vietnamese called had fully matured.{{sfn|Handel|2019|pp=124–125, 133}} The earliest possible period for writing to have arrived in Korea is during the 2nd century BCE, with the country’s oldest surviving manuscripts dating to the early 5th century CE. From Korea, writing then spread to Japan during the 5th century CE.{{sfn|Handel|2019|pp=64–65}} Both Korean and Japanese were being written with characters by the 6th century.{{sfn|Kornicki|2018|p=57}} By the late 20th century, Vietnam and Korea had largely replaced both Literary Chinese and Chinese characters with alphabets designed to write their local languages, leaving Japanese as the only major non-Sinitic language normally written with Chinese characters.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|pp=136–138}}

Literary and vernacular Chinese

(File:chineseprimer3.png|right|upright=0.7|thumb|Excerpt from a 1436 primer on Chinese characters|alt=Line drawings of various ordinary objects such as books, baskets, buildings, and musical instruments are displayed beside their corresponding Chinese characters){{See also|Reconstructions of Old Chinese|Middle Chinese|Varieties of Chinese}}Words in Classical Chinese were generally monosyllabic; as such, each character denoted an independent word.{{sfn|Norman|1988|p=58}} An estimated 25–30% of the vocabulary used in Classical Chinese texts consists of two-syllable words.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2012|pp=22–23}} Over time, the introduction of multi-syllable vocabulary into vernacular varieties of Chinese was encouraged by phonetic shifts that increased the number of homophones.{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=86–87}} The most common process of Chinese word formation after the Classical period has been to create compounds of existing words. Words have also been created by appending affixes to words, by reduplication, and by borrowing words from other languages.{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=155–156}} While polysyllabic words are generally written with one character per syllable, abbreviations are occasionally used.{{sfn|Norman|1988|p=74}}Sometimes, different morphemes come to be represented by characters with identical shapes. For example, {{hani|行}} may represent either {{zhl|p=xíng|l=road}} or the extended sense of {{zhl|p=háng|l=row}}: these morphemes are ultimately cognates that diverged in pronunciation but remained written with the same character. However, Qiu reserves the term homograph to describe identically-shaped characters with different meanings that emerge via processes other than semantic extension. An example homograph is {{hani|铊}}; {{hani|鉈}}, which originally meant {{zhl|l=weight used at a steelyard|p=tuó}}. In the 20th century, this character was created again with the meaning {{zhl|l=thallium|p=t�}}. In this case, both characters are phono-semantic compounds representing unrelated words, with {{kxr|gold}} as the semantic component and {{hani|它}} as the phonetic component.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|pp=301–302}}There are a number of {{zhl|c=方言字|l=dialect characters|p=f�ngyánzì}} that are not used in standard written vernacular Chinese—a form corresponding to spoken Standard Chinese, in turn based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin—but are found in other spoken varieties. The most complete example of an orthography based on a variety other than Standard Chinese is Written Cantonese. It is common to use standard characters to transcribe previously unwritten words in Chinese dialects when obvious cognates exist. When no obvious cognate exists due to factors like irregular sound changes, semantic drift, or an ultimate origin in a non-Chinese language substratum or loanword, characters are often borrowed or invented to transcribe the word—either ad hoc, or according to existing principles.JOURNAL, Kwan-hin, Cheung, Bauer, Robert S., 2002, The Representation of Cantonese with Chinese Characters, Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series, 18, 12–20, 2409-2878, 23826053, Cheung Kwan-hin (張系顯);, These new characters are generally phono-semantic compounds, although there are examples of compound ideographs, e.g. (’bad’).{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=75–77}}{{efn-ua| {{harvnb|Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants|loc=孬}} }} In Taiwan, there are also government-compiled dictionaries of characters used in Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka.{{multiref| BOOK,sutian.moe.edu.tw/zh-hant/introduction/, Taiwan Ministry of Education, 2024, zh:常用詞辭典, Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan, Introduction, | BOOK,hakkadict.moe.edu.tw/introduction/, Taiwan Ministry of Education, 2023, zh:客語辭典, Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka, Introduction, }} An example of an Hakka vernacular character is ({{tlit|hak|cii11}}; ‘kill’).{{efn-ua|{{harvnb|Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka |loc=㓾}} }}

Japanese

{{Japanese writing}}In Japanese, Chinese characters are referred to as {{tlit|ja|kanji}}. Beginning in the Nara period (710–794), a system of reading techniques and annotations called {{tlit|ja|kundoku}} were employed by readers and writers of {{tlit|ja|kanbun}}—the Japanese term for Literary Chinese writing. Japanese speakers would adapt the syntax and vocabulary of Literary Chinese texts to reflect their Japanese-language equivalents while reading. Writing essentially involved the inverse of this process, and resulted in ordinary Literary Chinese.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=88}} When adapted to write Japanese, characters were used to represent both Sino-Japanese vocabulary loaned from Chinese, as well as the corresponding native synonyms. Most kanji were subject to both borrowing processes, and as a result have both Sino-Japanese and native readings, known as {{tlit|ja|on’yomi}} and {{tlit|ja|kun’yomi}} respectively. Moreover, kanji may have multiple readings of either kind. Distinct classes of {{tlit|ja|on’yomi}} were borrowed into Japanese at different points in time from different varieties of Chinese.{{sfn|Coulmas|1991|pp=122–129}}The Japanese writing system is a mixed script, and has also incorporated syllabaries called {{tlit|ja|kana}} to represent phonetic units called moras, rather than morphemes. Prior to the Meiji era (1868–1912), writers used certain kanji to represent their sound values instead, in a system known as {{tlit|ja|man’y�gana}}. Starting in the 9th century, specific {{tlit|ja|man’y�gana}} were graphically simplified to create two distinct syllabaries called {{tlit|ja|hiragana}} and {{tlit|ja|katakana}}, which slowly replaced the earlier convention. Modern Japanese retains the use of kanji to represent most word stems, while {{tlit|ja|kana}} syllabograms are generally used for grammatical affixes, particles, and loanwords. The forms of {{tlit|ja|hiragana}} and {{tlit|ja|katakana}} are visually distinct from one another, owing in large part to different methods of simplification: {{tlit|ja|katakana}} were derived from smaller components of each {{tlit|ja|man’y�gana}}, while {{tlit|ja|hiragana}} were derived from the cursive forms of {{tlit|ja|man’y�gana}} in their entirety. In addition, the {{tlit|ja|hiragana}} and {{tlit|ja|katakana}} for some moras were derived from different {{tlit|ja|man’y�gana}}.{{sfn|Coulmas|1991|pp=129–132}}As opposed to exclusively being monosyllabic in Chinese, many kanji have multi-syllable readings. For example, the kanji {{Nihongo2|刀}} has a native {{tlit|ja|kun’yomi}} reading of {{tlit|ja|katana}}. In different contexts, it can also be read with the {{tlit|ja|on’yomi}} reading {{tlit|ja|t�}}, such as in the Chinese loanword {{nwr|}} ({{tlit|ja|nihont�}}; ‘[Japanese] sword’), with a pronunciation corresponding to that in Chinese at the time of borrowing. Prior to the invention of {{tlit|ja|katakana}}, loanwords were typically written with unrelated kanji with {{tlit|ja|on’yomi}} readings matching the syllables in the loanword. These spellings are called {{tlit|ja|ateji}}: for example, {{nwr|}} was the {{tlit|ja|ateji}} form for modern {{nwr|}} ({{tlit|ja|Amerika}}; ‘America’). As opposed to {{tlit|ja|man’y�gana}} used solely for their pronunciation, {{tlit|ja|ateji}} still corresponded to specific Japanese words. Some are still in use: the official list of {{tlit|ja|j�y� kanji}} includes 106 {{tlit|ja|ateji}} readings.{{sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|pp=275–279}}

Korean

In Korean, Chinese characters are known as hanja. Literary Chinese was written in Korea possibly as early as the 2nd century BCE. During the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE{{snd}}668 CE), a form of Korean-language literature comprising mostly Sino-Korean vocabulary called {{tlit|ko|idu}} was also written with characters. Similarly to the use of {{tlit|ja|kundoku}} in Japan, writers in Korea also developed a system of phonetic annotations for Literary Chinese called {{tlit|ko|gugyeol}} during the Goryeo period (918–1392), though it only entered widespread use during the later Joseon period (1392–1897).{{sfn|Li|2020|pp=78–80}} Although the hangul alphabet was invented by the Joseon king Sejong ({{reign|1418|1450}}) in 1443, it was not taken up by the Korean literati and was not widely used outside glosses in Literary Chinese texts until the late 19th century.{{sfn|Fischer|2004|pp=189–194}}Much of the Korean lexicon, especially technical and academic vocabulary, consists of Chinese loanwords.{{sfnm|1a1=Hannas|1y=1997|1p=49|2a1=Taylor|2a2=Taylor|2y=2014|2p=435}} While hanja were usually only used to write this Sino-Korean vocabulary, there is evidence that vernacular readings were sometimes used.{{sfn|Kornicki|2018|p=168}} During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Korean was written either using a mixed script of hangul and hanja, or only using hangul.{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1pp=112–113|Hannas|1997|2pp=60–61}} Following the end of the Empire of Japan’s occupation of Korea in 1945, the total replacement of hanja with hangul was advocated throughout the country as part of a broader “purification movementâ€� of the national language and culture.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|pp=64–66}} However, due to the lack of tones in spoken Korean, there are many Sino-Korean words that are homophones with identical hangul spellings. For example, the phonetic dictionary entry for ({{tlit|ko|gisa}}) yields more than 30 different entries. This ambiguity had historically been resolved by also including the associated hanja. While still sometimes used for Sino-Korean vocabulary, it is much rarer for native Korean words to be written using hanja.{{sfn|Norman|1988|p=79}} When learning new characters, Korean students are instructed to associate each one with both its Sino-Korean pronunciation, as well as a native Korean synonym.{{sfn|Handel|2019|pp=75–82}} Examples include:{| class=“wikitableâ€�Example Korean dictionary listings}}! rowspan=“2â€� scope=“colâ€� | Hanja! colspan=“2â€� scope=“colgroupâ€� | Hangul! rowspan=“2â€� scope=“colâ€� | Gloss! scope=“colâ€� | Native translation !! scope=“colâ€� | Sino-Korean! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘water’! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘person’! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘big’! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘small’! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘down’! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘father’! scope=“rowâ€� | {{normal|}}koko| ‘Korea’

South Korea

Hanja are still used in South Korea, though not to the extent that kanji are used in Japan. In general, there is a trend toward the exclusive use of hangul in ordinary contexts.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|p=48}} Characters remain in use in place names, newspapers, and to disambiguate homophones. They are also used in the practice of calligraphy. Use of hanja in education is politically contentious, with official policy regarding the prominence of hanja in curricula having vacillated since the country’s independence.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|pp=65–66, 69–72}} BOOK, Choo, Mi-Ho,books.google.com/books?id=psO_Oli22m8C&q=sino-korean+words&pg=PR9, Handbook of Korean Vocabulary: A Resource for Word Recognition and Comprehension, O’Grady, William, University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1996, 978-0-824-81815-9, Honolulu, ix, Google Books, Some support the total abandonment of hanja, while others advocate an increase in use to levels previously seen during the 1970s and 1980s. Students in grades 7–12 are presently taught {{val|1800}} characters, albeit with a principal focus on simple recognition and attaining sufficient literacy to read a newspaper.{{sfn|Fischer|2004|pp=189–194}}

North Korea

In the years following its establishment, the North Korean government sought to eliminate the use of hanja in standard writing; by 1949, characters had been almost entirely replaced with hangul in North Korean publications.{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1pp=113|Hannas|1997|2pp=66–67}} While mostly unused in writing, hanja remain an important part of North Korean education: a 1971 textbook for university history departments contained {{val|3323}} distinct characters, and in the 1990s North Korean school children were still expected to learn {{val|2000}} characters.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|pp=67–68}} A 2013 textbook appears to integrate the use of hanja in secondary school education.NEWS, 14 March 2014, ko:�한� 한문�과서를 보다, A look at North Korea’s “Literary Chinese� textbooks,nk.chosun.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=155532, Chosun NK, The Chosun Ilbo, ko, It has been estimated that North Korean students learn around {{val|3000}} hanja by the time they graduate university.NEWS, Kim, Kim Mi-young, Kim Mi-young (김미�), 4 June 2001, ko:’3000�까지 배우� 쓰지는 마�’, “Learn up to 3000 characters, but don’t write them�,nk.chosun.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=7252, Chosun NK, The Chosun Ilbo, ko,

Vietnamese

File:Tale of Kieu parallel text.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|The first two lines of the classic Vietnamese epic poem #149f78|Borrowed characters representing Sino-Vietnamese words}}{{legend|#7671b4|Borrowed characters representing native Vietnamese words}}{{legend|#da5f00|Invented representing native Vietnamese words}}{{See also|Literary Chinese in Vietnam}}Chinese characters are called ’ (), ’ (), or () in Vietnamese. Literary Chinese was used for all formal writing in Vietnam until the modern era,{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1pp=124–126|Kin|2021|2p=XI}} having first acquired official status in 1010. Literary Chinese written by Vietnamese authors is first attested in the late 10th century, though the local practice of writing is likely several centuries older.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|p=73}} Characters used to write Vietnamese called () are first attested in an inscription dated to 1209 made at the site of a pagoda.{{sfn|DeFrancis|1977|pp=23–24}} A mature script had likely emerged by the 13th century, and was initially used to record Vietnamese folk literature. Some characters are phono-semantic compounds corresponding to spoken Vietnamese syllables.{{sfn|Kornicki|2018|p=63}} The resulting system was highly complex, and literacy was limited to a small segment of the Vietnamese population, never more than 5%.{{sfn|DeFrancis|1977|p=19}} Both Literary Chinese and fell out of use during the French colonial period, and were gradually replaced by the Latin-based Vietnamese alphabet. Following the end of French colonisation in 1954, the Vietnamese alphabet has been the country’s sole official writing system, and is used exclusively in Vietnamese-language media.{{sfnm|Coulmas|1991|1pp=113–115|Hannas|1997|2pp=73, 84–87}}

Other languages

Several minority languages of South and Southwest China have been written with scripts using both borrowed and locally created characters. The most well-documented of these is , a script created to write the Zhuang languages of Guangxi. is still used, despite the Chinese government encouraging its replacement with a Latin-based Zhuang alphabet.{{sfnm|Handel|2019|1pp=231, 234–235|Zhou|2003|2pp=140–142, 151}} Other non-Sinitic languages of China written with Chinese characters include Miao, Yao, Bouyei, Bai, and Hani. Each of these languages are now written with Latin-based alphabets in official contexts.{{sfn|Zhou|1991}}

Graphically derived scripts

File:Secret history.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.85|Excerpt from the Secret History of the MongolsSecret History of the Mongols{{See also|Transcription into Chinese characters}}Between the 10th and 13th centuries, dynasties founded by non-Han peoples in northern China also created scripts for their languages that were inspired by Chinese characters, but did not use them directly: these included the Khitan large script, Khitan small script, Tangut script, and Jurchen script.{{sfn|Zhou|1991}} This has occurred in other contexts as well: Nüshu was a script used by Yao women to write the Xiangnan Tuhua language,JOURNAL, Zhao, Liming, 1998, Nüshu: Chinese women’s characters, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 129, 1, 10.1515/ijsl.1998.129.127, 0165-2516, and bopomofo ({{zhi|t=注音符號|s=注音符�|p=zhùyīn fúhào}}) is a semi-syllabary invented during the 20th century to represent the sounds of Standard Chinese;{{sfnm|1a1=DeFrancis|1y=1984|1p=242|2a1=Taylor|2a2=Taylor|2y=2014|2p=14|3a1=Li|3y=2020|3p=123}} both use forms graphically derived from Chinese characters. Other scripts within China that have adapted some characters but are otherwise distinct include the Geba syllabary used to write the Naxi language, the script for the Sui language, the script for the Yi languages, and the syllabary for the Lisu language.{{sfn|Zhou|1991}}Chinese characters have also been repurposed phonetically to transcribe the sounds of non-Chinese languages. For example, the only manuscripts of the 13th-century Secret History of the Mongols that have survived from the medieval era use characters in this way to write the Mongolian language.JOURNAL, Hung, William, William Hung (sinologist), 1951, The Transmission of The Book Known as The Secret History of The Mongols, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Cambridge, MA, Harvard–Yenching Institute, 14, 3/4, 481, 2718184,

Reform and standardisation

(File:ROC24 SC1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|The first official list of simplified characters, published in 1935 and consisting of 324 characters{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=153}}){{See also|Simplified Chinese characters|Traditional Chinese characters}}Attempts to reform and standardise the use of characters have been undertaken by states throughout the script’s history. Subjects of standardisation have included character forms, pronunciations, and stroke orders. Reforms prior to the 20th century were generally conservative, and sought to reduce the use of simplified variants.{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=404}} With the goals of modernisation and mass literacy, thousands of simplified characters were standardised and adopted in mainland China during the 1950s and 1960s—with most either already existing as common variants, or produced by the systematic simplification of components.{{sfn|Zhou|2003|pp=60–67}} After World War II, the Japanese government also simplified hundreds of character forms, including some simplifications distinct from those adopted in China.{{sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|pp=117–118}} Non-simplified forms have been termed traditional characters. Across Chinese-speaking polities, mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore use simplified characters, while Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau use traditional characters.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=136}}Though most closely associated with the People’s Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during the early 20th century. During this period, an increasing number of Chinese intellectuals began to see the country’s writing system as a serious impediment to modernisation, along with its use of Literary Chinese and its lack of a national spoken dialect. Many began advocating for script reform, or even the total replacement of characters with an alphabet. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui (1886–1941) formally proposed the adoption of simplified characters in education for the first time.{{sfnm|Zhou|2003|1pp=xvii–xix|Li|2020|2p=136}}In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution toppled the Qing dynasty, and resulted in the establishment of the Republic of China. The early Republican era (1912–1949) featured growing sociopolitical discontent that erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement, which catalysed the replacement of Literary Chinese with written vernacular Chinese over the following decades.{{sfn|Zhou|2003|pp=xviii–xix}} During this time, script reform was discussed within both the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, as well as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 1935, the Republican government published the first official list of simplified forms, comprising 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong (1887–1939). However, strong opposition within the party resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936.{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=150–153}}

People’s Republic of China

{{mim |direction=vertical |width=100pxcaption1=Traditional ({{zhi|t=們}})caption2=Simplified ({{zhi|s=们}})gate}}}}The project of script reform in China was ultimately inherited by the Communists, who resumed work following the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Simplified forms were collated and standardised by the PRC during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1958, Premier Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) announced the government’s intent to focus on character simplification, as opposed to replacing characters with Hanyu Pinyin, which had been introduced that same year.{{sfn|Zhong|2019|pp=157–158}} The PRC formed a Script Reform Committee which began official character simplification during the 1950s, producing a draft list of {{val|2238}} characters published in 1956, which was fully ratified in 1964.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=142}} The majority of these characters were drawn from conventional abbreviations or ancient forms with fewer strokes.{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=154–156}} In addition, they also sought to reduce the total number of characters in use by merging some forms together.{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=154–156}} For example, {{zhc|c=雲|l=cloud}} was written as {{zhi|c=云}} in oracle bone script. The simpler form remained in use as a loangraph meaning ‘to say’; it was replaced in its original sense of ‘cloud’ with a form that added a semantic {{kxr|雨}} component. The simplified forms of these two characters have been merged into {{zhi|s=云}}.{{sfn|Zhou|2003|p=63}}{{efn-ua|{{harvnb|Hanyu Da Zidian|p=4323|loc=雲}} }}A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by the public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986.{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=155–156}} The second round of simplifications were unpopular in large part because the vast majority of its forms were completely new, in contrast to the many familiar variants present in the first round.{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=159–160}} Following the rescission of the second round, the Chart of Generally Utilised Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included {{val|7000}} characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese, which specified {{val|2500}} common characters and {{val|1000}} less common characters.{{sfnm|Zhou|2003|1p=79|Chen|1999|2p=136}} In 2013, the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of {{val|8105}} characters.{{sfn|Li|2020|pp=145–146}}WEB, 5 June 2013, zh:国务院关于公布《通用规范汉字表》的通知, State Council Announcement of the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters,www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-08/19/content_2469793.htm, 8 November 2023, Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, zh,

Japan

(File:CJK 次 glyph variants.svg|right|upright=0.75|thumb|Regional forms of the character {{hani|次}} in the Noto Serif typeface family. From left to right: forms used in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (top), and in Japan and Korea (bottom)){{further|Differences between Shinjitai and Simplified characters}}After World War II, the Japanese government instituted its own program of orthographic reforms. Some characters were assigned simplified forms called {{tlit|ja|shinjitai}}; the older forms were then labelled {{tlit|ja|kyūjitai}}. Inconsistent use of different variant forms was discouraged, and lists of characters to be taught to students at each grade level were developed. The first of these was the {{val|1850}}-character {{tlit|ja|t�y� kanji}} list in 1945, later replaced by the {{val|1945}}-character {{tlit|ja|j�y� kanji}} list in 1981. In 2010, the list of {{tlit|ja|j�y� kanji}} was revised, expanding it to a total of {{val|2136}} characters.{{sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|p=275}}NEWS, 24 November 2010, ja:改定常用漢字表�30日�内閣告示 閣議�正�決定, The amended list of j�y� kanji receives cabinet notice on 30th: to be officially confirmed in cabinet meeting,www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASDG22043_U0A121C1CR0000/, The Nikkei, ja, The Japanese government restricts characters that may be used in names: in addition to the {{tlit|ja|j�y� kanji}}, names may also include the {{tlit|ja|jinmeiy� kanji}}, an additional list of 983 characters historically prevalent in names.NEWS, 25 September 2017, ja:人�用漢字�「渾�追加 �法判断を��法務� 改正戸�法施行�則を施行�計863字�, “渾� added to kanji usable in personal names; Ministry of Justice enacts revised Family Registration Law Enforcement Regulations following judicial ruling, totaling 863 characters,www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLASDG24H0N_U7A920C1000000/, The Nikkei, ja, {{sfn|Lunde|2008|pp=82–84}}

Other regional standards

South Korea’s Ministry of Education published the Basic Hanja for Educational Use in 1972, which specified {{val|1800}} characters meant to be learned by secondary school students.{{sfn|Lunde|2008|p=84}} In 1991, the Supreme Court of Korea published the Table of Hanja for Use in Personal Names (; {{tlit|ko|Inmyeong-yong hanja}}), which initially included {{val|2854}} characters.JOURNAL, 1991, Summary of the deliberation results of the Korean Language Council on the scope of Chinese characters for personal use,www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1991_2/2_25.html, National Academy of the Korean Language, ko,www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1991_2/2_25.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20160319163239www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1991_2/2_25.html,">web.archive.org/web/20160319163239www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1991_2/2_25.html, 19 March 2016, The list has been expanded several times since; {{As of|2022|lc=yes}}, it includes {{val|8319}} characters.NEWS, 26 December 2021, ko:乻(땅�름 늘)·�(목치장 �)... ‘�명용 한�’ 40� 추가�다, 乻 · �... 40 Hanja for Use in Personal Names added,www.chosun.com/national/court_law/2021/12/26/OZCAQQTHSFANXKF4UU2C7GEBQM, The Chosun Ilbo, ko, Singapore’s Ministry of Education promulgated three successive rounds of simplifications: the first round in 1969 included 502 simplified characters, and the second round in 1974 included {{val|2287}} simplified characters—including 49 that differed from those in the PRC, which were ultimately removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted the revisions made in mainland China in 1986.JOURNAL, Shang, Guowen, Zhao, Shouhui, 2017, Standardising the Chinese language in Singapore: issues of policy and practice, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38, 4, 320, 10.1080/01434632.2016.1201091, 0143-4632, The Chart of Standard Forms of Common National Characters published by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education lists {{val|4808}} traditional characters.{{sfn|Lunde|2008|p=81}} The Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau’s List of Graphemes of Commonly-Used Chinese Characters includes {{val|4762}} traditional characters used in elementary and junior secondary education.{{sfn|Hong Kong Education Bureau|2012}}{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=161}}

Lexicography

{{See also|Chinese character sets|Chinese character orders|Chinese dictionaries}}Dozens of schemes have been devised for indexing Chinese characters and arranging them in dictionaries, though relatively few have achieved widespread use. Characters may be ordered according to methods based on their meaning, visual structure, or pronunciation.{{sfnm|Su|2014|1p=183|2a1=Needham|2a2=Tsien|2y=2001|2pp=65–66}}The Erya dictionary ({{circa|3rd century BCE}}) used meaning-based groupings for characters,JOURNAL, Xue, Shiqi, 1982, Chinese Lexicography Past and Present, Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, 4, 1, 152–153, 10.1353/dic.1982.0009, 2160-5076, predating the graphical approach based on radicals introduced in the 1st-century CE Shuowen Jiezi that has predominated since. The Shuowen Jiezi used 540 radicals, with later dictionaries generally using fewer. The set of 214 Kangxi radicals was popularised in the 1716 Kangxi Dictionary, but was first used by the Zihui in 1615.{{sfnm|Zhou|2003|1p=88|Norman|1988|2pp=170–172|3a1=Needham|3a2=Tsien|3y=2001|3pp=79–80}} Character dictionaries have historically been indexed using radical-and-stroke sorting, where characters are grouped by radical and sorted within each group by stroke number. Some modern dictionaries arrange character entries alphabetically according to their pinyin spelling, while also providing a traditional radical-based index.{{sfn|Yong|Peng|2008|pp=145, 400–401}}Studies of Chinese-language literacy suggest that literate individuals generally have an active vocabulary of three to four thousand characters; for specialists in fields like literature or history, this figure may be between five and six thousand.{{sfn|Norman|1988|p=73}} According to analyses of mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Japanese, and Korean sources, the total number of characters in the modern lexicon is around {{val|15000}}.{{sfn|Su|2014|pp=47, 51}}

See also

{{Sister project|project=wiktionary|text=(:Wiktionary:Appendix:Chinese radical|Radical index) on Wiktionary}}{{Sister project|project=wiktionary|text=(:Wiktionary:Appendix:Chinese total strokes|Total strokes index) on Wiktionary}}{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Character amnesia
• Modern Chinese characters
• Chinese numerals
• Chinese punctuation
• Chinese character frequency
• Chinese character forms
• Chinese character sounds
• Chinese character meanings
• Chinese character education

{{div col end}}

Notes

{{Notelist|refs={{efn|name=lead|{{hani|漢字}}; simplified as * Chinese {{zh|p=Hànzì|w=Han4-tzŭ4|j=Hon3 zi6}}

• Japanese Hepburn: {{tlit|ja|kanji}}
• Korean revised romanisation: {{tlit|ko|Hanja}}; McCune–Reischauer: {{tlit|ko|Hancha}}
• Also referred to as sinographs{{sfn|Tam|2020|p=29}} or sinograms{{sfnm|Fischer|2004|1p=166|DeFrancis|1984|2p=71}}

}}}}{{Notelist-lg|refs={{efn-lg|name=readings|Standard Chinese and Cantonese readings are given in pinyin and Jyutping respectively. Japanese {{tlit|ja|on’yomi}} readings are given in Hepburn romanisation.}}{{efn-lg|name=b-mc|Using Baxter’s transcription for Middle Chinese}}{{efn-lg|name=bs-oc|According to Baxter and Sagart’s 2014 reconstruction of Old Chinese}}}}{{Reflist|group=note}}

References

Citations

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

Example lexemes

{{Notelist-ua|colwidth=22em}}

• BOOK, Sichuan cishu chubanshe, 1990, 978-7-805-43156-7, 8 vol., zh:汉语大字典, Hanyu Da Zidian, {{sfnref, Hanyu Da Zidian, |language=zh}}
• BOOK,dict.variants.moe.edu.tw, Academica Sinica, 2017, zh:異體字字典, Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants, {{sfnref, Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants, |language=zh}}
• BOOK,hakkadict.moe.edu.tw, Taiwan Ministry of Education, 2019, zh:客語辭典, Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka, {{sfnref, Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka, |language=hak}}
• BOOK, 2014, Multi-function Chinese Character Database, zh:漢語多功能字庫,humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/, Chinese University of Hong Kong, {{sfnref, Multi-function Chinese Character Database, |lang=zh}}

Works cited

• BOOK, Baxter, William H., Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction, Sagart, Laurent, Laurent Sagart, Oxford University Press, 2014, 978-0-199-94537-5,
• BOOK, Bökset, Roar,su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:200810/FULLTEXT01, Long Story of Short Forms: The Evolution of Simplified Chinese Characters, Stockholm University, 2006, 978-9-162-86832-1, Stockholm East Asian Monographs, 11, PDF,
• JOURNAL, William G. Boltz, 1986, Early Chinese Writing, World Archaeology, 17, 3, 420–436, 10.1080/00438243.1986.9979980, 124705, William G., Boltz,
• BOOK, Boltz, William G., The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System, American Oriental Society, 1994, 978-0-940-49078-9, New Haven, 3,
• BOOK, The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language, Routledge, 2016, 978-1-317-38249-2, Chan, Sin-Wai,
  • {{Harvc|in=Chan |year=2016 |last=Yin |first=John Jing-hua |pages=51–63 |c=Chinese characters}}
  • {{Harvc|in=Chan |year=2016 |last=Zhang |first=Xiaoheng |pages=420–437 |author-mask=Zhang Xiaoheng (å¼ å°�è¡¡) |c=Computational Linguistics}}
• BOOK, Chen, Ping,archive.org/details/modernchinesehis00chen, Modern Chinese: History and Sociolinguistics, Cambridge University Press, 1999, 978-0-521-64572-0, 4th, Chen Ping (陳平), registration,
• BOOK, Coulmas, Florian, Florian Coulmas,archive.org/details/writingsystemsof0000coul, The Writing Systems of the World, Blackwell, 1991, 978-0-631-18028-9, registration,
• BOOK, DeFrancis, John, John DeFrancis, Nationalism and language reform in China, Octagon, 1972, 978-0-374-92095-1, New York, 1950,
• BOOK, DeFrancis, John, John DeFrancis, Colonialism and Language Policy in Viet Nam, Mouton, 1977, 978-9-027-97643-7, Contributions to the Sociology of Language, 19, 3,
• BOOK, DeFrancis, John, The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, 1984, Honolulu, University of HawaiÊ»i Press, 978-0-824-81068-9, 3,
• BOOK, Fischer, Steven R.,books.google.com/books?id=Ywo0M9OpbXoC&pg=PA189, A History of Writing, Reaktion, 2004, 978-1-861-89101-3, Globalities, London, Google Books,
• BOOK, Handel, Zev,brill.com/display/title/39284, Sinography: The Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script, Brill, 2019, 978-9-004-35222-3, Language, Writing and Literary Culture in the Sinographic Cosmopolis, 1, 189494805,
• BOOK, Hannas, William C., Asia’s Orthographic Dilemma, University of Hawai’i Press, 1997, 978-0-824-81892-0,
• BOOK, Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2012, 2007, 978-9-888-12393-3, zh, zh:常用字字形表：二零零七年é‡�排本：附粤普字音å�Šè‹±æ–‡è§£é‡‹, Commonly Used Characters Glyph Table: 2007 Rearranged Edition with Cantonese and Mandarin Pronunciations and English Explanations, {{sfnref, Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2012, }}
• BOOK, Keightley, David, David Keightley, Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze-Age China, University of California Press, 1978, 978-0-520-02969-9, Berkeley,
• BOOK, Kern, Martin, The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, vol. 1: To 1375, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 978-0-521-85558-7, Chang, Kang-i Sun, Kang-i Sun Chang, 1–115, Early Chinese Literature, Beginnings through Western Han, Owen, Stephen, Stephen Owen (sinologist),
• BOOK, Kin, BunkyÅ�, Literary Sinitic and East Asia: A Cultural Sphere of Vernacular Reading, Brill, 2021, 978-9-004-43730-2, King, Ross, Language, Writing and Literary Culture in the Sinographic Cosmopolis, 3, King, Ross, Burge, Marjorie, Park, Si Nae, Lushchenko, Alexey, Hattori, Mina,
• BOOK, Kornicki, Peter, Peter Kornicki, Languages, Scripts, and Chinese Texts in East Asia, Oxford University Press, 2018, 978-0-192-51869-9,
• BOOK, Li, Dasui, Peking University Press, 2013, 978-7-301-21958-4, 3rd, zh, zh:简明实用汉字学, Concise and Practical Chinese Characters, Li Dasui (æ�Žå¤§é�‚),
• BOOK, Li, Yu, The Chinese Writing System in Asia: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Routledge, 2020, 978-1-138-90731-7,
• BOOK, Lunde, Ken, Ken Lunde, CJKV Information Processing, O’Reilly, 2008, 978-0-596-51447-1, 2nd,
• BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC, Science and Civilisation in China: Paper and Printing, 2001, Cambridge University Press, 978-0-521-08690-5, Needham, Joseph, Joseph Needham, Reprint, V:1, 1985, Tsien, Tsuen-hsuin, Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, Google Books,
• BOOK, Norman, Jerry, Jerry Norman (sinologist), Chinese, Cambridge University Press, 1988, 978-0-521-29653-3,
• BOOK, Peking University Modern Chinese Language Teaching and Research Office, The Commercial Press, 2004, 978-7-100-00940-9, zh, zh:现代汉语, Modern Chinese, {{harvid, Peking University, 2004, }}
• BOOK, Qiu, Xigui, Qiu Xigui, Chinese Writing, Society for the Study of Early China and The Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2000, 978-1-557-29071-7, Berkeley, Gilbert L. Mattos, Qiu Xigui (裘锡圭), 1988, Norman, Jerry,
• BOOK, Qiu, Xigui, Qiu Xigui, The Commercial Press, 2013, 978-7-100-09369-9, 2nd, Beijing, zh, zh:文字学概è¦�, Chinese Writing, 3,
• BOOK, Ramsey, S. Robert, The Languages of China, Princeton University Press, 1987, 978-0-691-01468-5,
• JOURNAL, Sampson, Geoffrey, Geoffrey Sampson, 2013, The reality of compound ideographs, Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 41, 2, 255–272, 23754815, Zhiqun, Chen, Chen Zhiqun (陳志群),
• BOOK, Su, Peicheng, The Commercial Press, 2014, 978-7-100-10440-1, 3rd, Beijing, zh, zh:现代汉字学纲è¦�, Essentials of Modern Chinese Characters, Su Peicheng (è‹�培æˆ�),
• BOOK, Tam, Gina Anne,www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781108776400/type/book, Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860–1960, Cambridge University Press, 2020, 978-1-108-77640-0,
• BOOK, Taylor, Insup, Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, Taylor, M. Martin, John Benjamins, 2014, 978-9-027-21794-3, Rev., Studies in Written Language and Literacy, 14, 1995,
• {{Citation |title=Unicode Standard, Version 15.1.0 |year=2023 |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode15.1.0/ |place=South San Francisco, CA |publisher=Unicode Consortium |isbn=978-1-936-21332-0}}
• BOOK, Wilkinson, Endymion, Endymion Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, Harvard University Press, 2012, 978-0-674-06715-8, Harvard–Yenching Institute Monograph Series, 85, Cambridge, MA,
• THESIS, Williams, Clay H., Semantic vs. phonetic decoding strategies in non-native readers of Chinese, Ph.D.,arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/195163/1/azu_etd_10830_sip1_m.pdf, 2010, University of Arizona Graduate College of Second Language Acquisition & Teaching, 10150/195163, free,
• BOOK, Yang, Runlu, Beijing Normal University Press, 2008, 978-7-303-09437-0, zh, zh:现代汉字学, Modern Chinese Characters, Yang Runlu (æ�¨æ¶¦é™†),
• BOOK, Yin, Jiming, Fudan University Press, 2007, 978-7-309-05525-2, Shanghai, zh, zh:现代汉语文字学, Modern Chinese Writing, Yin Jiming (殷寄明), et al,
• BOOK, Yip, Po-ching, The Chinese Lexicon: A Comprehensive Survey, Psychology Press, 2000, 978-0-415-15174-0,
• BOOK, Yong, Heming, Chinese Lexicography: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911, Peng, Jing, Oxford University Press, 2008, 978-0-191-56167-2,
• BOOK, Zhang, Xiaoheng, Li, Xiaotong, The Language Press, 2013, 978-7-802-41670-3, Beijing, zh, zh:一二三笔顺检字手册, Handbook of the YES Sorting Method, {{sfnref, Zhang, 2013, |author-mask=Zhang Xiaoheng (å¼ å°�è¡¡); |author-mask2=Li Xiaotong (æ�Žç¬‘通)}}
• BOOK, Zhong, Yurou, Chinese Grammatology: Script Revolution and Literary Modernity, 1916–1958, Columbia University Press, 2019, 978-0-231-54989-9, 10.7312/zhon19262,
• BOOK, Zhou, Youguang, Zhou Youguang, The Historical Evolution of Chinese Languages and Scripts, National East Asian Languages Resource Center, Ohio State University, 2003, 978-0-874-15349-1, Columbus, en,zh, Zhang, Liqing, zh:中国语文的时代演进, Zhou Youguang (周有光), Zhang Liqing (å¼ ç«‹é�’),
• JOURNAL, Zhou, Youguang, 3, 1991, Mair, Victor H., Victor H. Mair, The Family of Chinese Character-Type Scripts (Twenty Members and Four Stages of Development),www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp028_chinese_scripts.html, Sino-Platonic Papers, 28,

Further reading

{{See also|Bibliography of the Chinese language and writing system}}

• BOOK, DeFrancis, John, Visible Speech: The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems, University of HawaiÊ»i Press, 1989, 978-0-824-81207-2, Honolulu, Chinese,www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/visible/index.html, pinyin.info,
• BOOK, Demattè, Paola, The Origins of Chinese Writing, Oxford University Press, 2022, 978-0-197-63576-6,
• BOOK, Galambos, Imre, Imre Galambos,shahon.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Galambos-2006-Orthography-of-early-Chinese-writing.pdf, Orthography of Early Chinese Writing: Evidence from Newly Excavated Manuscripts, Eötvös Loránd University, 2006, 978-9-634-63811-7, Budapest,
• BOOK, Cosmopolitan and Vernacular in the World of Wen æ–‡, Brill, 2023, 978-9-004-43769-2, King, Ross, Language, Writing and Literary Culture in the Sinographic Cosmopolis, 5,
• WEB, Mair, Victor H., Victor H. Mair, 2 August 2011, Polysyllabic Characters in Chinese Writing,languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3330, Language Log,
• BOOK, Pulleyblank, Edwin G., Edwin G. Pulleyblank, Middle Chinese: A Study in Historical Phonology, University of British Columbia Press, 1984, 978-0-774-80192-8, Vancouver,
• BOOK, Studies in Colloquial Chinese and Its History: Dialect and Text, Hong Kong University Press, 2022, 978-9-888-75409-0, Simmons, Richard VanNess,

Works of historical interest

• BOOK, Fourmont, Étienne, Étienne Fourmont,archive.org/details/b30448955, Linguæ Sinarum Mandarinicæ Hieroglyphicæ Grammatica Duplex, Hippolyte-Louis Guérin, 1742, Paris, la, Bilingual Grammar of the Mandarin Chinese Hieroglyphics,
• BOOK, Medhurst, Walter Henry, Walter Henry Medhurst,archive.org/details/medhurst-chinese-and-english-dictionary-1842-43-volumes-1-2, Chinese and English dictionary, 1842, Jakarta,
• BOOK, Williams, Samuel Wells, Samuel Wells Williams,archive.org/details/easylessonsinch01willgoog, Easy lessons in Chinese, Office of the Chinese Repository, 1842, Macau,
• BOOK, Edkins, Joseph, Joseph Edkins,archive.org/details/introductiontos00edkigoog, Introduction to the study of the Chinese characters, Trübner, 1876, London,
• BOOK, Chalmers, John, John Chalmers (missionary),archive.org/details/anaccountstruct01chalgoog, An account of the structure of Chinese characters under 300 primary forms, Trübner, 1882, London,
• BOOK, Giles, Herbert Allen, Herbert Giles,archive.org/details/chineseenglishdi01gile, A Chinese–English dictionary, B. Quaritch, 1912, 2nd, 1, London, 1892,
• BOOK, Condit, I. M.,archive.org/details/englishchinesedi00cond, Chinese and English dictionary, American Tract Society, 1893, New York,
• BOOK, Poletti, P.,archive.org/details/achineseandengl00polegoog, A Chinese and English dictionary, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1896, Shanghai,
• BOOK, Soothill, William Edward, William Edward Soothill,archive.org/details/studentsfourtho00sootgoog, The Student’s Four Thousand Tzu and General Pocket Dictionary, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1906, 6th, Shanghai, 1900,
• BOOK, Tung, Tai,books.google.com/books?id=fkc7AAAAIAAJ, The Six Scripts, Cambridge University Press, 1954, 978-1-107-60515-2, Hopkins, L. C., Tai Tung (戴侗), Google Books,

External links

{{Sister project links|Chinese characters}}

• Unihan Database – Official Unicode site on Chinese characters and Han unification, with reference glyphs, readings, and meanings for all characters encoded in the standard
• Chinese Text Project Dictionary – Comprehensive character dictionary, including data for all Chinese characters within Unicode, and exemplary examples of use in Classical Chinese texts
• zi.tools – Character lookup by component description, character etymology, phonology, orthography, and dictionary
• Chinese Etymology by Richard Sears

{{Chinese language}}{{List of writing systems}}{{Authority control}}

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