The crisis of Chinese characters is not an exaggeration. Since the TV program Chinese Characters Dictation Competition was aired in 2013, the topic has been under heated debate. Later, similar programs changed their focus from rarely used words to commonly used ones. Still, there are a lot of mistakes made by participants in writing characters.

The popularization of digital writing equipment is already an irreversible trend, and as a result, the habit of handwriting is undergoing subtle changes—more and more people find they don't remember how to write even common words.

Since digital input is gaining ground, why is the importance of standardizing Chinese characters writing repeatedly stressed? Characters are not only a tool of writing, but they also carry cultural information and keys to decoding the wisdom of ancient Chinese people, fully displaying the beauty of the Chinese culture.

The confidence of China ultimately comes from the confidence in the Chinese culture. If we are to sustain smooth heritage of Chinese characters amid digital expansion, the kind of cultural confidence embedded in these characters must be internalized in China's elementary education.

Since September 1, newly-compiled Chinese textbooks have reversed the old way of teaching characters. Learning characters will come ahead of learning pinyin, a system of representing Chinese words in the Latin alphabet.

Today innovative designs centering on Chinese characters has stirred up the interest of many domestic designers. Chinese character-related designing and relevant products are becoming increasingly popular. To inherit Chinese characters on the basis of fully understanding their beauty and wisdom will in turn consolidate the confidence in the Chinese culture.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article published in Oriental Outlook on October 12)