WIP. Last updated: March 22, 2025 pls check back in a few weeks.

Classical Chinese, also called Literary Chinese, 文言文, 文言, 漢文, or 古文 was the primary language in which the people of the Sinosphere (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam) communicated in writing, and composed most of their literature prior to the 20th century. This language continues to hold an important place in modern society, continuing to be the language of poetry, the language of nearly all idioms in East Asian languages, the language of religion, and continues to serve an important role for anyone interested in traditional culture in the region.

Classical Chinese is vastly different from Modern Standard Chinese, as it was spoken as a language around 2500 years ago, and has become fossilized in writing much like Latin. We do not really know what spoken Classical Chinese was like, though we have vague ideas about the relationships between certain words and rhymes.

Any ability in an East Asian language can be leveraged to help you learn as there are