What's in a Chinese Character

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A Chinese script of one form or another has been in existence for over 5,000 years. Although it has continued to developed, the basic form of the writing was already established by 200 A. D. This makes it not only a very interesting aspect of Chinese life, but also one of mankind's greatest early achievements. Chinese script consists of characters, which range from simple pictographic representations of objects, to complex compound characters. These are built up from root characters, or radicals. Of the 214 radicals, some can function independently as characters, and are then contracted when they appear in combination. This set of cartoons illustrates how some of the radicals, and their associated characters, have evolved over the years. They make a useful introduction to the Chinese language and also provide a fascinating insight into the Chinese sense of humour. Useful information is given on the types of strokes and stroke sequence, which will help those learning written Chinese. Also, the Chinese for numbers, days and months are provided in the Appendix.