Writing Basics
Chinese writing is non-alphabetic and non-phonetic. The meaning of a character can be learnt without knowing its pronunciation.
Towards the end of the 1950's, the People's Republic of China began to simplify a certain number of characters by reducing the number of strokes. Simplified writing is written horizontally from left to right. In Hong Kong, Taiwan and most Chinatowns around the world, traditional characters are used. They are written vertically from right to left.
Chinese characters must be centered in an imaginary square without filling the entire square.
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