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The secret behind how Chinese characters work - Gina Marie Elia

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524 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

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According to legend, in the 27th century BCE, the Yellow Emperor of China charged his historian, Cangjie, to develop a system of writing. Sitting alongside a riverbank, Cangjie noted the imagery that surrounded him. From this, he created the first Chinese characters. So, how has Chinese evolved in the last 3,000 years? Gina Marie Elia explores the history of one of the earliest written languages.

On what kind of artifact were the first Chinese characters written? What were such artifacts used for?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Gina Marie Elia
  • Director Peihsin Cho
  • Narrator Pen-Pen Chen
  • Composer Zing Audio
  • Sound Designer Zing Audio
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Produced by Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Shannon Odell
  • Script Editor Vivian Jiang

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