How Chinese language Characters Work: The Evolution of a Three-Millennia-Previous Writing System

Con­trary to some­what pop­u­lar perception, Chi­nese char­ac­ters aren’t simply lit­tle pic­tures. The truth is, most of them aren’t pic­tures in any respect. The very outdated­est, whose evo­lu­tion will be traced again to the “ora­cle bone” script of thir­teenth cen­tu­ry BC etched direct­ly onto the stays of tur­tles and oxen, do bear traces of their pic­to­graph…