Chinese Language Day

Chinese Language Day, is celebrated annually on 20^th April. This is a day to commemorate Chinese culture, language, poetry, and literature. Continue reading this post to learn everything you need to know about international Chinese Language Day.

20th April, But Why?

This date was selected to honour Cangjie – a well-known historical figure in ancient China.

Legend has it that Cangjie created the Chinese characters, and when he invented them, the ghosts and deities cried with heavy tears, and the sky rained millets. From then on, the people of China celebrate this auspicious day to honour Cangjie.

Fun Chinese Trivia

1. Did you know that one in six people speak Chinese? This means that approximately 15% of the world’s population speaks Chinese as their native language. That’s more than English, French, Spanish, and German in total!
2. Chinese is an official UN language which is a part of the reason why it is celebrated by the UN all over the world. It became an official language of the UN in 1946.
3. Chinese writing contains more than 50,000 characters. However, only 20,000 of them are used on a daily basis.
4. English words such as “tea”, “tycoon”, and “brainwashing” are derived from Chinese.