There is no exact figure for the number of Chinese characters, but it is probably close to 100,000.
If learning and using Chinese characters really requires mastering the pronunciation, shape, and meaning of 70,000 to 80,000 Chinese characters, then Chinese characters will be a language that no one in the world can and no one is willing to learn and use. Fortunately, like " Most of the Chinese characters included in calligraphy books such as "The Sea of ??Chinese Characters" are "dead characters", that is, characters that existed in history but are no longer used in today's written language.
Chinese characters have beautiful characteristics, and it has become an art - the art of calligraphy. The art of calligraphy of Chinese characters is unmatched by any other writing. The following ancient calligraphy works have become priceless treasures. Famous works include the Orchid Pavilion Preface, the Monument of Shence's Military Monument and the Monument of Saint Merits, the Mysterious Pagoda Monument, and the Nephew Memorial Manuscript.
The development of Chinese characters
According to statistics, 1,000 commonly used characters can cover about 92% of written materials, 2,000 characters can cover more than 98%, and 3,000 characters have reached 99%. Simplified There is not much difference with the traditional statistical results. The number of Chinese characters has changed differently with the development of history. The three chapters of "Cangjie", "Boxue" and "Yanli" in the Qin Dynasty have 3,300 characters.
In the Han Dynasty, Yang Xiong's "Xun Zhuan" had 5340 words, and by Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" it had 9353 words. According to the Tang Dynasty Feng Yan's "Wen Jian Ji Zi Zi Chapter", "Zi Lin" written by Lu Chen of the Jin Dynasty has 12,824 words, "Zi Tong" written by Yang Chengqing of the later Wei Dynasty has 13,734 words, and "Yu" written by King Gu Ye of the Southern Dynasty has 12,824 words. "Pian" is recorded to contain 16,917 words, and the "Da Guangyi Huiyu Pian" revised on this basis is said to have 22,726 words.
The Chinese version of "Yupian" written by Dai Sun Qiangzeng has 22,561 words. "Lei Pian" compiled by Sima Guang in the Song Dynasty has 31,319 words, and "Ji Yun" compiled by officials in the Song Dynasty contains 53,525 words, which was once the book with the most words.