Why read Kingdom of Characters?

Book cover of Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern

Book description

A PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST

A riveting, masterfully researched account of the bold innovators who adapted the Chinese language to the modern world, transforming China into a superpower in the process

What does it take to reinvent the world's oldest living language?

China today is one of the world's most powerful…

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Asian history

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Kingdom of Characters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Chris Ruffle

Author

An insight into China was gained through an analysis of the development of its written language. How was the modern “simplified” set of characters developed? In a country with many dialects, the story of how the Beijing dialect was chosen as standard is particularly interesting. We could all be speaking Cantonese if more Southerners had turned up to a meeting in 1916.

From Chris' list on The best books showing China from an angle that Westerners don’t normally see.

Sydney Calkin

Author

I love to study foreign languages and learn about their histories. I do not speak Chinese, but Jing Tsu’s book was fascinating and accessible anyway.

Her book is ambitious: she explores the history of modern China through the relationship between the Chinese language and communication technologies, like the telegram, the typewriter and the smartphone. As China changes, and its position in the world changes, these changes are reflected in efforts to make the Chinese language a global digital force.

I found the reading experience similar to studying a foreign language. It was challenging and brain-bending in parts, trying to get…

From Sydney's 3 favorite reads in 2023.