Traditional Chinese characters

Traditional Chinese characters are the standard forms of Chinese characters used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and many overseas Chinese communities. They contrast with simplified forms standardized in mainland China and Singapore.

Chinese characters: Logographic characters used to write Chinese and adapted for several other languages. Traditional forms are one set of forms within the broader Chinese character system.
Simplified Chinese characters: Chinese character forms officially standardized in mainland China during twentieth-century script reform. These are the most prominent alternative forms to traditional characters.
Oracle bone script: The earliest known Chinese writing, inscribed on bones and shells during the late Shang dynasty. Its inscriptions document early stages in the long development of Chinese character forms.
Taiwan: An island in East Asia governed by the Republic of China, where traditional characters are the standard in public writing. Taiwan maintains traditional characters in government, education, publishing, and everyday communication.
Digraphia: The use of two or more writing systems or script standards for the same language. Traditional and simplified standards make written Chinese a prominent case of parallel script standards.
Radical (Chinese characters): A component used to classify Chinese characters and often to suggest meaning. Many traditional character entries are organized by their radicals in dictionaries.
Chinese script reform: Efforts to change Chinese writing conventions, including character simplification and romanization. Script reform produced modern standards that distinguish simplified and traditional forms.
Seal script: An ancient Chinese script style standardized during the Qin dynasty and retained in ceremonial uses. Its forms preserve an earlier stage behind many characters used today.
Hong Kong: A special administrative region of China where traditional characters are standard in public writing. Hong Kong uses traditional forms alongside Cantonese in much local written culture.
Chinese calligraphy: The artistic practice of writing Chinese characters with controlled brush strokes. Traditional forms preserve complex structures central to many calligraphic styles.

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