The writing of Chinese characters dates back almost 4,000 years and around 40,000 characters exist. Chinese children in the fourth grade are expected to know around 2,000, and the knowledge of 3,000 symbols is required for everyday living. In order to read a Chinese newspaper, you’ll need to know about 7,000 characters. China’s first books were made of bamboo slips sewn together, side by side, and characters were written in columns down each piece of bamboo.
