China, Japan and South Korea to release joint list of countries' most-used Chinese characters
Mainland China, Japan and South Korea will jointly release a standardised list of the most widely used Chinese characters in the three countries, it has been announced.
Topping the list of 808 traditional characters will be simple characters including “one”, “seven”, and “three”. More complicated characters with more strokes and cultural significance will also be part of the list, including “filial”, “respect”, and “moral”, to name a few.
The Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum, sponsor of the project, described the list as the “foundation for better communication among younger generations”.
But scholars, including those taking a leading role in the making of the list, have been divided over the value of such a standardised list.
