University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Athropology


Author: Cheng-mei Chang

Chinese Writing

A System of Characters Rich in Structural Diversity

By: Cheng-mei Chang

Chinese writing is a system primarily intelligible to the eyes rather than to the ears. Each written character can be comprehended without knowing the pronunciation. Chinese thus acts as a unifying force in a country where for millennia people have spoken many different dialects, dialects not understood by their countrymen. On the other hand, it is […]