PRINT 印

Brief notes on Chinese characters and typesetting.

Characters 繁體與簡體

Depending on how and where you learnt to read Chinese, you may be familiar with either traditional 繁體字 or simplified characters 簡體字.

The latter are officially used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore; traditional characters are still going strong in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and across much of the diaspora.

Wu Shanzhuan's 1988 piece, Swearing in Front of the Flag with False Chinese Characters

Swearing in Front of the Flag with False Chinese Characters 錯別字旗幟前的宣誓, 1988, Wu Shanzhuan 吳山專, courtesy of the M+ Collection

I recommend learning traditional characters to get the most out of the written language in its intended form.

If like me, you began with simplified characters and want to learn traditional, or vice versa, flashcard apps can get you up to speed with the other form in a short period of time. See the Tools section of SOURCES for details.

Text Direction 横排與竖排

Simplified books are usually set horizontally 橫排 in the same way as English-language books — spine on the left-hand side of the front cover, text printed in rows from left to right, like this:

折疊城市分三層空間。大地的一面是第一空間，五百萬人口，生存時間是從清晨六點到第二天清晨六點。空間休眠，大地翻轉。翻轉后的另一面是第二空間和第三空間。第二空間生活著兩千五百萬人口，從次日清晨六點到夜晚十點，第三空間生活著五千萬人，從十點到清晨六點，然后回到第一空間。時間經過了精心規劃和最優分配，小心翼翼隔離，五百萬人享用二十四小時，七千五百萬人享用另外二十四小時。

大地的兩側重量並不均衡，為了平衡這種不均，第一空間的土地更厚，土壤裡埋藏配重物質。人口和建筑的失衡用土地來換。第一空間居民也因而認為自身的底蘊更厚。

Books in traditional characters may also be printed this way, but often are set vertically 豎排 in the traditional style — spine on the right-hand side of the front cover, text printed in columns from right to left, like this:

折疊城市分三層空間。大地的一面是第一空間，五百萬 人口，生存 時間是從清晨六點到第二天清晨六點。空間休眠，大地翻轉。翻轉后的 另一面是第二空間和第三空間。第二空間生活著兩千五百萬人口，從次 日清晨六點到夜晚十點，第三空間生活著五千萬人，從十點到清晨六 點，然后回到第一空間。時間經過了精心規劃和最優分配，小心翼翼隔 離，五百萬人享用二十四小時，七千五百萬人享用另外二十四小時。

大地的兩側重量並不均衡，為了平衡這種不均，第一空間的土地更 厚，土壤裡埋藏配重物質。人口和建筑的失衡用土地來換。第一空間居 民也因而認為自身的底蘊更厚。

The excerpts above are from Hao Jingfang's 郝景芳 Folding Beijing 北京摺曡.