The Impact of Chinese Characters

Chinese characters are one of the most ingenious inventions of the Chinese people. China is a vast country, comparable in size to Europe, with two-thirds of its total area being mountainous. In ancient times, when transportation was underdeveloped, different regions were relatively isolated, leading to the formation of numerous local dialects. People speaking these different dialects often struggled to communicate with each other. (See Tango Is a Language (II).)

To overcome this challenge, the resourceful Chinese people invented Chinese characters—a system of ideograms. Unlike phonetic writing systems, each character represents a meaning rather than a sound. This enabled people from different regions to communicate through the written system, despite their differing pronunciations.

The disadvantage of Chinese characters is that they are difficult to learn. A person needs to master over three thousand characters to be considered educated. The complexity of the characters and their vast number present significant challenges to literacy, as learning them demands considerable time and effort.

However, the advantage of Chinese characters is that they provide a unified means of communication for people speaking different dialects. This has prevented China from splitting into multiple countries, as happened in Europe. In many ways, Chinese characters form the bedrock and vessel of Chinese civilization, through which its enduring culture is recorded and passed down. Chinese characters not only prevent the division of the Chinese nation, but they also enhance national cohesion. Throughout its long history, China has been invaded numerous times by northern nomads. In order to govern China, these invaders had to adopt Chinese characters and embrace the rich Chinese culture preserved through them. In doing so, they ultimately assimilated into Chinese civilization and became part of it.

The common written language has played a crucial role in maintaining unified and effective governance, enabling the centralized administration of a vast and diverse country, facilitating trade and cultural exchange, and fostering a shared identity among the Chinese people. In addition, Chinese characters have been pivotal in preserving the integrity of Chinese culture. Western phonetic languages are more susceptible to foreign influences. English, for instance, incorporates 1,000-4,000 new words annually. This linguistic mutability contributes to the instability of Western culture. In contrast, the Chinese language is far more stable and resistant to external influences. Its vocabulary consists of characters, making it easier to learn and create new terms once these characters are mastered. This has significant implications in the age of AI, as processing a dataset of a few thousand unique Chinese characters requires significantly less computing power than handling a corpus exceeding one million unique English words. Moreover, Chinese calligraphy, as an art form, has profoundly shaped the aesthetic taste of the Chinese people.

As ideograms, Chinese characters carry meanings and values, such as benevolence (仁), propriety (禮), and filial piety (孝). China, with its long history, has a wealth of classical literature. A large number of Chinese words, idioms, concepts and expressions still used by modern Chinese people can find their origins in these classics. Understanding them requires some background knowledge. For example, the character 信 consists of two parts: 人 (man) on the left and 言 (word) on the right. 信 means a man should keep his words, as Confucius said, "Man cannot succeed without good faith (人無信不立)." Chinese children learn their language by studying Chinese characters and texts, which encapsulate the wisdom of countless generations, embedding moral values and social sagacity within the very fabric of the language. Learning Chinese instills in students an appreciation of their cultural heritage and traditional values. This deep connection between language, history, culture and values gives educated Chinese a unique character. I often feel that the Chinese people are fortunate because their language makes them a wise, cohesive, collectivist, cooperative, moderate, and moral people.

In summary, the impact of Chinese characters on Chinese society is both profound and multifaceted. They have not only facilitated communication but also maintained national unity. The shared written language preserves cultural heritage and values, reinforcing social cohesion and a strong national identity. Furthermore, the moral principles and social values embedded in Chinese characters and classical texts continue to shape contemporary Chinese society, influencing behavior and social interactions. The enduring legacy of Chinese characters stands as a testament to the ingenuity of the Chinese people and their ability to adapt while staying true to their identity in an ever-changing world. (See Understanding China: Geography, Confucianism, and Chinese-Style Modernization.)