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Chinese > Literary Chinese

Preferred term

Literary Chinese  

Definition

  • Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from c. the 5th century BC. For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary Chinese, which was used for almost all formal writing in China until the early 20th century. Each written character corresponds to a single spoken syllable, and almost always to a single independent word. As a result, the characteristic style of the language is comparatively terse.

Broader concept

Entry terms

  • Classical Chinese

Identifier

  • LZH

Notation

  • lzh

In other languages

  • литературен китайски

    Bulgarian

  • književni kineski

    Croatian

  • literární čínština

    Czech

  • litterær kinesisk

    Danish

  • Klassiek Chinees

    Dutch

  • klassikaline hiina

    Estonian

  • klassinen kiina

    Finnish

  • chinois littéraire

    French

  • klassisches Chinesisch

    German

  • Λόγια κινεζικά

    Greek

  • irodalmi kínai

    Hungarian

  • Sínis Liteartha

    Irish

  • cinese letterario

    Italian

  • ķīniešu literārā valoda

    Latvian

  • wényán

    Literary Chinese

  • 文言
  • klasikinė kinų

    Lithuanian

  • Ċiniż Letterarju

    Maltese

  • literacki chiński

    Polish

  • chinês literário

    Portuguese

  • chineză literară

    Romanian

  • literárna čínština

    Slovak

  • knjižna kitajščina

    Slovenian

  • chino literario

    Spanish

  • klassisk kinesiska

    Swedish

URI

http://publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/LZH

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