This is regarded as the forerunner to modern traditional Chinese. There’s a slight difference between the two scripts, mostly because of the material it was written on. This script existed around the same time as the oracle bone script but was written on cast bronze vessels. 大篆 / 大篆 ( dà zhuàn) – Greater Seal, about 3,100 years old.Because they were used in fortune telling, the word “oracle” is part of the name. The cracks pointed to the answer to the question. A pictograph and its opposite (for example, “rain” and “no rain”) would be etched into turtle shells or animal bones, and the shells or bones would be heated until cracks appeared. This script was mainly pictographs, or very simple pictures representing objects. 甲骨文 / 甲骨文 ( jiǎ gǔ wén) – Oracle Bone Script, which is about 3,500 years old.There are seven Chinese scripts, starting with the four scripts that evolved into today’s traditional Chinese writing: A Very Brief History of Chinese Characters Here’s a little bit of their cultural history to help you understand why. The slightly offended tone of 华人 / 華人 ( huá rén) – Chinese expats tells you that the need (or lack thereof) for simplified characters can be a hot button issue. The the answer is usually “traditional,” often said with a very strong, slightly-offended-sounding tone. When I’ve encountered native Chinese people in the States, I’ve asked many of them which writing system they prefer.
The Historical Significance of Traditional vs. You could say that simplified Chinese is the more common writing system because China has way more people than the other regions and countries mentioned, but the traditional system shouldn’t be written off just because of the numbers. Because they’re part of mainland China, they use the simplified writing system. Simplified Chinese is used by both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers living in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore. Most Cantonese speakers in China live in the 广东 / 廣東 ( guǎng dōng) province. It’s also used by anyone who wants to stand out from others, similar to how cursive script fonts might be used in the States to represent elegance.
Traditional characters are generally used in very formal business settings, as well as any situation involving high-level professional writing (contracts, government papers, etc.). In areas where simplified characters are generally used, traditional characters do show up on occasion in everyday life.
Traditional Chinese is used by Chinese speakers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, as well as the majority of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers who live in other countries. Territories that use traditional characters generally use them exclusively.Īlthough some locals may be familiar with simplified text through news channels and online articles, simplified Chinese really hasn’t found its way into everyday life in those areas. Simplified Chinese: What They Are and Where to Use Them Where Traditional and Simplified Chinese Are Used
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