Chinese Characters

Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture, including Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars (Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese characters and Maya script), they are the only one that has remained in continuous use, and over a documented history spanning more than three millennia the function, style and means of writing characters have changed greatly. Unlike the letters of an alphabet, which reflect the sounds of speech, Chinese characters generally represent morphemes, the units of meaning in a language.