The Chinese writing

With a population accounting for a quarter of the world human count, very soon China will be the first economic and thus political power. For all those open to the outside world, and the global village, China will become a must see, as witnesses the enthusiasm of the students and entrepreneurs towards China.

The Chinese language, Mandarin, is already the widest spread language. But its writing system is a riddle to all observers. Its principle is unique, without any connection with other modern writing systems, since each character has meaning, whereas our alphabetical letters used on their own have none. To be fully functional, it requires several thousands characters. How does one find one's way through this profusion of signs ? Where does written Chinese originate from ? How does one create new words ? How does one classify them, how does one use a computer keyboard and surf the Internet ?

This book has become a reference for all those who deal with China, such as students, calligraphers, visitors or simply aficionados. We shall be more and more numerous in years to come to complete the « Chinese trip ». This new little book imposes itself as an intelligent passport almost as necessary as the biometric passport.