Chinese Writers Forget Familiar Characters

In April 2010, China Youth Daily surveyed 2,072 people and found that 83% had trouble writing Chinese characters. A separate 2008 Chinese Ministry of Education survey of 3,000 teachers found that 60% had noticed declining writing ability. Known as "character amnesia," or tibi wangzi, the phenomenon leaves people able to recognize familiar characters but unable to write them by hand, often after prolonged reliance on phonetic input methods. In 2011, the ministry responded by promoting weekly calligraphy lessons for younger students and optional classes for older students.

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