Why Learn Chinese

It is almost symbolic of the Eastern hemisphere, no different from how the English language came to representation of the Western hemisphere before the onset of globalization.

The Chinese language is one of the oldest written languages still existing today with a startling (really?) statistical grand total of over hundred million speakers, which hardly comes off as surprising given its enduring and creative nature.

How enduring is the Chinese language? How creative is it? Now repeat those questions in past tense. How enduring WAS the Chinese language? How creative WAS it?

Chinese Language – born from the Stone Ages

The Chinese Language goes a long, long way back in Eastern history as far back as the primitive man. It is an invention that is almost as old as fire. It came into existence due to Man’s undying desire to communicate further and better than what was available to them then.

The first Chinese characters were born from ungainly strokes early Man etched on the soil with twigs. They were inelegant but gained purpose after Man started attaching meaning to them. It made life easier, somewhat but Man soon started growing dissatisfied with the limitations and desiring more.

Improved over time, but not by scholars

The late Qin Dynasty in ancient China saw drastic improvement in what we now know as the Chinese language. Who improved it? Surprise, surprise! It wasn’t the scholars… Rather, it was the farmers who came up with the improvements!

The first Chinese characters came into formation under their ingenuity. Using animal footprints and characteristics as templates, the farmers came up with a basic alphabet and writing system. Next, the scholars refined the technique by developing proper writing tools fit for their generation then: a brass basin filled with sand and a brass stick for writing the characters into the sand. This particular refinement elevated the writing and reading systems from commoners’ grounds to glory.

Under Confucius’ influence, the writing and reading systems gained a name: the Chinese language, as well as a glowing reputation for being dual symbolisms of refinement and literacy, personal traits that were highly valued by ancient Chinese throughout the different dynasties.

Mandatory education for the Chinese under the Han

Right after the Qin Dynasty, came the Han Chinese. It was during the Han Dynasty that the Chinese language and culture saw huge leaps and bounds in its technical and academic refinement. The Han Chinese emperors made education mandatory and advocated literacy in their people. The Han Chinese royal families poured in much money in refining the writing and reading systems and alphabet, speech and of course, the writing tools.

Chinese writing as both a literary and visual art

Here, the Four Gems of Calligraphy; the brush, the ink-stone, ink-stick and paper weight, were invented and welcomed into the scholar’s study as prized treasures. The Han Chinese scholars repackaged the alphabet and writing system. It became the Chinese calligraphy, a highly refined writing technique which remains a still-surviving Chinese folk-art (but we will talk about that later).

In improving their alphabet and writing, the Han Chinese took great inspiration from nature. They treated each and every stroke to a single character as a wondrous piece of art in itself in order to achieve artistic and poetic perfection. They believe that each and every stroke will make a new portrait in a newly-pieced character, which in turn, will make an entire museum of Chinese art in a sequence of Chinese characters.

This is exactly the reason why the Chinese people place so much artistic emphasis and temperament on their language and learning. Look at how much effort and inspiration they put in, in refining their technique and literature. The Han Chinese took the brass bin and stick and turned them into bamboo pieces. Eventually, writing on bamboo fell out of fashion and people took to writing on hemp grass instead, which was softer and required less storage space.

Finally, with the discovery of tree pulp, the first pieces of paper was invented. Like its predecessors, paper came from extremely humble origins. Funny, how the most illustrious of the Chinese alphabet and writing tools, the way we know them to be now, all started out humbly and unexpectedly.

Traditional Chinese meets modern Republicanism

The Chinese language came to a standstill as it drifted through the various dynasties. Through the fall of the Han, the rise of Tang where it saw a brief but powerful spike, all the way to the last of dynasties, the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese language went through a major overhaul under the influence of the Republic of China.

The Republican Chinese started out with the Traditional Chinese alphabet and writing system. It still exists today! And appears to be making a comeback. Despite the various alterations done to it, Traditional Chinese has not deviated much from its predecessors in terms of poetic sense and literary meaning.

As you can see, the Chinese language has garnered enough respect to serve as a template for its other variations, one of them being Traditional Chinese. Taiwan adopts the Traditional Chinese variation and added its own twist to it to make it their national language, and a mandatory subject to be studied at school!

Hong Kong, is yet another country, to have adopted the Chinese language and added her own unique elements to it, turning it into a Chinese dialect most commonly known as Cantonese. It reuses the Chinese character alphabet, writing and reading except for the pronunciation!

What variation of the Chinese language does Singapore use, you may ask? Well, we use a simplified variation simply known as ‘Simplified Chinese’. Alongside Traditional and Taiwanese Chinese, Simplified Chinese also counts as a national language in itself. Using a completely different, highly simplified character and writing system, Simplified Chinese has gained high popularity among language-lovers for its ease of learning and usage in daily life.

Similar Posts

  • Anecdote 15: どっちの道? (Which Path?)

    登山に行った。山の上の景色を見たかった。途中、道が二つあった。どっちに行く?左?右? スマホを見た。道の外側に岩が多い。でも、内側は暗くてこわい。友達が「内側の道に行こう!」と言った。「でも…」と思った。でも、行くしかない! 内側を歩いた。でも、すぐに後悔した!道が狭くて、暗い。「やっぱり、外側の方がよかった!」どうやって安全に歩けばいい?そう考えながら、頑張って歩いた。 最後、景色を見た時、「すごい!」と思った。 写真を撮ろうと思ったけど、「この景色は写真になくてもいい!」と思った。やっぱり、自分の目で見るのが一番!帰る前に、友達が「次は外側の道にしよう!」と言った。「でも、今度はランプを持って行かなくてはいけないね!」皆んな笑った。 Grammar Used: どっち Meaning: Which one? / Which way? (Used to ask or indicate choice between two options) Formation: Examples:この二つ、どっちが好き?(Which one do you like between these two?) 右と左、どっちに行く?(Which way do we go, right or left?) Sentence from Anecdote:❝左?右?どっちがいい?❞(Left? Right? Which one is better?) Notes: しかない Meaning: No choice but to do ~…

  • Anecdote 6: 嚔が止まらない! (I Can’t Stop Sneezing!)

    ある日、私は公園で遊んだ。風が強かった。でも、元気だから大丈夫!それから、家に帰った時、嚔が出た。「はくしょん!」一回だけ。気にしなかった。でも、すぐに何回も嚔をした! 「どうして?」と思った。少し熱もあった。お母さんが「風邪を引いたのかもしれない」と言った。「ゆっくり休んだら?」でも、私は「大丈夫!まだ宿題をしなきゃ!」と言った。 次の日、もっと酷くなった!鼻水が止まらない!お母さんは言った。「ほらね?」私はしょんぼりした。 先生に「今日、学校に行かない方がいいですか?」と聞いた。先生が言った。「もちろん!ゆっくり休んでね。」でも、私は「薬を買いに行くのは大丈夫ですか?」と聞いた。先生が笑って、「誰かに買ってもらいなさい!」と言った。 Grammar Used: 時 Meaning: When; At the time of ~ (Used to indicate the time something happens) Formation: Examples:雨が降る時、傘を持って行きます。(When it rains, I bring an umbrella.) 子供の時、よく公園で遊びました。(When I was a child, I often played in the park.) Sentence from Anecdote:❝それから、家に帰った時、嚔が出た。❞(Then, when I got home, I sneezed.) Note: 何回も Meaning: Many times; Repeatedly Formation: Examples:この映画は何回も見ました。(I’ve…

  • Anecdote 5: 心配なお婆さん (A Worried Grandmother)

    お婆さんは毎日散歩する。でも、ある日、足が痛くなった。歩く前に、ストレッチをしなかったからかもしれない。「まだ大丈夫」と言った。でも、一週間後、まだ痛かった。 お婆さんの娘が「病院に行った方がいいよ」と言った。病院で先生が「無理しないでください」と言った。お婆さんはしょんぼりした。でも、「少し休んだら、また歩けますよ」と先生が言った。 お婆さんは「じゃ、三日間休むつもりです!」と言った。でも、次の日、「やっぱり、ちょっとだけ歩きたいんです!」と言って、こっそり外に行った。 Grammar used: つもり Meaning: Plan to ~ / Intend to ~ Formation: Examples: 来年、日本に行くつもりです。(I plan to go to Japan next year.) 今日、テレビを見ないつもりです。(I intend not to watch TV today.) Sentence from Anecdote:❝お婆さんは「じゃ、三日間休むつもりです!」と言った。❞(Grandma said, “Then, I plan to rest for three days!”) Note: ないでください Meaning: Please don’t do ~ (Used to politely ask someone not to…

  • Anecdote 12: 亀の競争 (The Turtle Race)

    夏休み、田舎の祖父母の家に遊びに行った。大きな池があって、「ここには亀がいるんだ。」とお爺さんが教えてくれた。 ある日、「どの亀が一番速く歩くか、競争しよう!」と提案された。私は元気な亀を選び、「この亀が勝つはずだ!」と自信満々だった。そして、レースが始まった! 亀がゴール出来るように、みんな応援した。しかし、亀はなかなか進まなかった。「思ったより遅いな…。亀は速く走ることが出来るだろうか?」そう思っている間に、お爺さんの亀がゴールしてしまった。 もし最初にもっと軽い亀を選んでいれば、勝ってたかもしれない。でも、最後まで頑張ったから、後悔はしない!「また次の機会があれば、勝ちたい!」そう言って、再戦を約束した。 Grammar Used: そして Meaning: And then; Also; Furthermore (Used to connect sentences and show sequence) Formation: Examples:朝ご飯を食べました。そして、学校へ行きました。(I ate breakfast. Then, I went to school.) この映画は面白かった。そして、とても感動した!(This movie was interesting. Also, it was very touching!) Sentence from Anecdote:❝ そして、レースが始まった!❞(And then, the race started!) Notes: はずだ Meaning: Should be ~; Expected to be ~…

  • Why Learn Korean?

    Amongst themselves, the Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages share a stunning number of similarities in terms of writing and character systems, grammatical and sentence structures and finally, their pre-histories. Just like how the Chinese and Japanese languages are regarded as the national languages of their own countries respectively, the Korean language functions as the national…

  • Anecdote 1: びっくりした声 (A Surprised Voice)

    朝、起きた。喉に違和感があります。話そうとした。でも、声が変だった!まるでロボット見たい。「どうしよう?」 お母さんに聞いた。「あれ?喉、大丈夫?」びっくりした顔をした。喉を見てもらうと、赤かった。「まだ話せるけど、ちょっと変。」 先生に聞いた。「大丈夫。でも、今日は静かにした方がいいよ。」でも、学校で友達が「少しだけでいいから、話して見て!」と言った。私は小さな声で「こんにちは…」皆んな、大笑いした! Grammar Used: (が)あります Meaning: There is ~; I have ~ (Used to express existence of things, possession,or a certain state) Formation: Examples:公園の近くに大きい木があります。(There is a big tree near the park.) 頭痛があります。(I have a headache.) 問題があります。(I have a problem.) Sentence from Anecdote:❝ 喉に違和感があります。 ❞(I have discomfort in my throat.) Note: 見たい Meaning: Seems like…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.