Background and history of Chinese Written Language

The Chinese language is the oldest written language in the world with at least six thousand years of history. Chinese character inscriptions have been found in turtle shells dating back to the Shang dynasty1 (1766-1123 BC) proving the written language has existed for more than 3,000 years. The Chinese written language uses single distinctive symbols, or characters, to represent each word of the vocabulary. The vast majority of characters are written versions of spoken sounds that have meaning. A large dictionary usually contains 40,000 characters.2 One must be able to recognize 2,000 to 3,000 characters to read a newspaper. Although the written system has been altered over time due to revolutions and political changes, the principles of the language along with the symbols and characters have remained basically the same.

Although many Chinese dialects exist, the written language is a common form of communication. Even though people are not able to verbally communicate in different provinces, they are able to understand each other in writing. However, the written language can be further subdivided into three forms: simplified, traditional, and informal slang or phonetic. There is also a form called “pin-yin” which is the Chinese language transcribed using a roman spelling.

Chinese surname

Throughout most of Chinese history, surnames have served sociological functions. Because of their association with the aristocratic elite in their early developments, surnames were often used as symbols of nobility.

The three most common surnames in Mainland China, Li, Wang and Zhang account for almost 300 million people and are easily the most common surnames in the world. Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to children. Chinese women typically retain their maiden names after marriage.

In Chinese tradition, surnames are represented as a character (e.g.黄) with different pronunciations, depending on the regional dialect spoken by one ancestor. This means that the same character 黄 may sound like “Huang” in Mandarin, “Wong” in Cantonese, or “Ng” in Teochew. Once the ancestors migrated overseas, the way they pronounced their surname was transcribed into the local language of their new home, morphing into the last name the likely Chinese carry today.

Finally, why Chinese don’t write their name in red - Red is strictly forbidden at funerals as it is a traditionally symbolic color of happiness; however, as the names of the dead were previously written in red, it may be considered offensive to use red ink for Chinese names in contexts other than official seals.

Customs believe that is unique to Chinese people:

1. Giving hongbao (red packet)

during Chinese New Year - Hongbao usually consists of brand new bills put in a red envelope and given by the family's elders. The hongbao represents blessings for the year to come. People tend to stop receiving hongbao when they begin to work, but in some parts of China (for example, Guangdong and Hong Kong), people can receive hongbao until they get married.

2. Celebrating two birthdays

some Chinese people celebrate the Lunar Calendar birthdays and the Gregorian calendar birthdays; some older generation of Chinese still prefer to celebrate Lunar Calendar birthdays instead of the Gregorian (like my mother).

3. Drinking hot water

“Any hot water?” Chinese people are used to drinking hot water, and many prefer the water to be burning hot. This is because they believe hot water can cure ailments and prevent disease.

4. Drink before saying “ganbei”

If you don’t drink up your alcohol after “ganbei”, instead of just taking a gentle sip, you might be regarded as impolite in China.

5. Offering and receiving business cards both hands

Chinese people tend to hand business cards or name cards to others with both hands. It is a Chinese courtesy to show respect to others, using both hands as a sign of respect.

6. Wearing red underwear

Chinese people usually wear red underwear on Ben Ming Nian (Zodiac Year of Birth), which is the current year in a cycle of 12 zodiac years. It is believed that wearing red underwear during the whole year may prevent misfortunes from befalling them in the year to come. Why so? There are 12 animals,  representing the 12 zodiac years. Legend has it that the current animal is on duty in heaven, so it cannot take care of the people of its sign in the human world. That’s when the red underwear comes to the rescue.

7. Sharing an apple or an orange, but never a pear

“cutting a pear” in Chinese is “Fen Li” (分梨), which is a homophone to “分离,” meaning “departure” in Chinese.

8. Having superstitions about gifting clocks

It’s important not to give a clock to a Chinese person as a gift. This is because the phrase “giving a clock” in Chinese – “Song Zhong” (送钟) – is a homophone to “送终,” which means “looking after a dying person” or “burying a person.”

9. Why Chinese dislike number 4

The number 4 (四, pinyin: sì; Cantonese Yale: sei) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearly homophonous to the word "death" (死 pinyin: sǐ; Cantonese Yale: séi).