A language with a long history

Chinese Language Day is on April 20. This event was established by the UN Department of Public Information in 2010, to celebrate languages throughout the organization. According to Wikipedia, it was first designated in November, but was later moved to be celebrated in April.

Ancient people of China have honored Cangjie, a figure in ancient China who was known for being the inventor of Chinese characters. The day of his celebration, known as Guyu, is close to April 20 on the Gregorian calendar. (UN.org/zh)

Chinese Language Day also celebrates multiculturalism and cultural diversity.

According to UN.org, “Chinese was established as an official language of the United Nations in 1946,” but it was not commonly used until 1973, when the General Assembly included Chinese as a working language. “Today, many members of the United Nations work with Chinese as a functional language. They also aim to teach people around the world the benefits that learning Chinese language can have” (Days of the Year).

You can celebrate this day by learning a few characters in Chinese or finding out more about Cangjie and his creation of a language that changed the world.