Chinese characters, known as 汉字 (hànzì) in Mandarin, have a fascinating history dating back over 3,000 years. The oldest Chinese characters were found on oracle bones and date back to the Shang Dynasty. Over time, characters evolved, leading to the standardization that we see in modern Chinese writing. There are two main types of Chinese characters: pictograms, which represent objects or concepts, and ideograms, which represent abstract ideas or actions. For example, the character 木 (mù) means tree, and the character 人 (rén) means person. Chinese characters are written in strokes, and the order of strokes is important in forming characters correctly. There are also rules for stroke order, such as starting from top to bottom and left to right. Today, there are over 50,000 Chinese characters in existence, but only around 8,000 are commonly used. To be considered literate in Chinese, one must know about 3,000 characters. Understanding the history of Chinese characters can provide valuable insights into the culture and thought processes of the Chinese people throughout history. It is a key aspect of studying the Chinese language and contributes to a deeper appreciation of Chinese literature and calligraphy.