Can a modern Chinese person understand and read Chinese from the Tang Dynasty?  If not, how far back in time can you understand?

现代中国人能读懂唐代汉语吗？如果不能，你能读懂多早之前的文字？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Susanna Viljanen

Yes. The hanzi haven’t changed in the past 1300 years, and their meanings are the same. But he would not have the faintest idea on how to pronounce the hanzi. Some of them would be pronounced the same way they are pronounced today, and some would be pronounced in a completely different way.

是的。在过去的1300年里，汉字没有变化，意思不变。但我们无法得知当时如何发音。其中有些汉字的发音和今天的发音相同，但另一些的发音则完全不同了。

Nguyễn Đình Quý

The Tang dynasty used the very Chinese writing that Taiwan uses today: traditional Chinese. Every Taiwanese understands the Tang script, and Mainlanders read them with ease.

Still Chinese can read the script before Tang. The Han script was essentially the modern one with curved, long strokes. However the syntax and grammar during Han was somewhat different so the modern Chinese would have to study a bit before reading.

唐朝使用的正是台湾地区现在使用的中文：繁体中文。每个台湾人都懂唐代文字，大陆人读起来也很轻松。

现在中国人还能读懂唐代以前的文本。汉字本质上就是现代文字。但汉代的句法和语法跟现代有些不同，所以现代中国人在阅读之前必须先进行一些学习。

The earliest examples of Chinese writing date to 1250 BCE, during the Shang dynasty. If one is not an expert who has spent years on the Shang script, he couldn’t make anything out. The Shang spoke Old Chinese, a version very different from modern Chinese, so the characters also differ a lot. Additionally, 60% of Shang writing are words for things only used by the Shang people, so we don’t know what is their specific meaning.

最早的汉字可以追溯到公元前1250年的商朝。如果一个人不是花费多年时间研究商代文字的专家，他什么也看不出来。商代时期人们说的是古汉语，和现代汉语有很大的不同，所以汉字也有很大的不同。此外，商代文字中有60%是商代人使用的词语，所以我们也不知道它们的具体含义是什么。

Taishi Qian

You can say yes，and you can say no.

前不见古人，后不见来者。

念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下。

No word is different from modern Chinese language（白话，普通话）

Translation.

I can’t live with ancient great peoples,and there is no such great successors.

But the universe is always last forever，only me despair about it.

说能也可以，说不能也可以。

前不见古人，后不见来者。

念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下。

这些字和现代汉语完全相同(白话，普通话)

翻译如下：

往前看，看不见古代礼贤下士的圣君，向后看，也看不见后世求才的明君。

一想到只有苍茫天地悠悠无限，我就止不住满怀悲伤，热泪纷纷。

Tang（7–9 centuries） is seen as last great Dynasty of China，and culture faded at Song dynasty（10–13 centuries）.

This poetry may be publish too soon which was written by Chenziang（陈之昂）at 7 centuries.

And the most important word is 独（only），it’s most culture mean from Quyuan’s (屈原) poetry Lisao(离骚).

众人独醉我独醒（everyone is confused，only me is sober）.

This lord，living at 4–3 centuries BC，failed to prevent king Huai （怀 missing）of Chu stop ally with Qi（313 BC）.The stupid king believe that Qin will use many fertile territory to offset his lost ally.

Of course，Qin never keep it’s promise.

Even so，king Huai，ignoring warning from Quyuan，went to Qin’s territory for negotiation and was detained by Qin.

唐代(7-9世纪)被认为是中国最后一个伟大的王朝，宋代(10-13世纪)时期文化开始衰落。

这首诗是陈子江(陈之昂)在公元7世纪创作的。

诗中最重要的一个字就是“独”，它是屈原的诗歌《离骚》中最具文化意味的词。

众人独醉我独醒(大家都糊里糊涂，只有我独自清醒)

屈原生活在公元前4-3世纪，没能阻止楚怀王与齐国（公元前313年）结盟。愚蠢的国君相信秦国会用许多肥沃的土地来弥补他失去的盟友。

当然，秦国没有遵守诺言。

楚怀王不顾屈原的劝谏，前往秦国谈判，被秦国扣押了。

Philip Z

Quite an interesting question.

Here is a copybook（calligraphy）

Author name: Pu Tianyou, 12 years old

History: Tang Dynasty, around 1300 years ago

这是一个很有趣的问题。

这是一本书法字帖。

作者姓名：蒲天佑，12岁

历史：唐朝，约1300年前

Chinese written as

写书今日了，先生莫鹹池(嫌迟)。

明朝是贾日(假日)，早放学生归。

Translation in English:

“The books are finished for today, teacher, let’s not delay. Tomorrow is a holiday, so let the students go home early.”

字帖上的中文是：

写书今日了，先生莫鹹池(嫌迟)。

明朝是贾日(假日)，早放学生归。

英文翻译：

“今天的作业都写完了，老师，我们别耽搁了。明天放假，让学生们早点回家吧。”

Anybody in middle school in China can read and understand the meaning a student is wondering to leave school early at Friday. Because it is exactly the same as people speaking today, even after 1300 years.

中国任何一个中学生都能读懂并理解这个学生想要在周五早点放学的意思。因为即便是在1300年后的今天，中国人还是这么说。

Elk Crypto

I have never seen the Tang Dynasty, but let me give you my opinion.

Chinese people learn Chinese characters from childhood, so we have some rudimentary understanding of ancient culture, and we will encounter questions about ancient Chinese in middle school.

Since we experienced the New Culture Movement in 1919, we have introduced modern Chinese, allowing me to gain more knowledge.

我反正是不可能回到唐朝的，但我还是想谈谈我的看法。

中国人从小就学习汉字，所以我们对古代文化有一些初步的了解，中学时我们也会遇到关于古代汉语的问题。

自1919年新文化运动以来，我们引入了现代汉语，让我获得了更多的知识。

BambooExpat

A modern Chinese individual, equipped with the necessary education and background, possesses the capability to comprehend and decipher Chinese texts dating back to the Tang Dynasty.

Chinese, being a language that has been continuously utilized for several thousand years, has indeed undergone changes in vocabulary, grammar, and writing systems throughout its history. Despite these alterations, the fundamental structure of the language and numerous characters utilized in Tang Dynasty texts remain recognizable and comprehensible to modern Chinese speakers.

一个现代的中国人，只要具备必要的教育和背景，就有能力理解和解读唐朝的中文书籍。

汉语作为一种连续使用了数千年的语言，在其历史上确实经历过词汇、语法和文字系统的变化。虽然经历了这些变化，语言的基本结构和唐代书籍中使用的许多字符仍然可以被现代汉语使用者识别和理解。

However, the ability to comprehend older texts is not universal but rather depends on the individual's level of education and familiarity with the language. Those who have delved deeply into Chinese history, literature, or language, particularly at an advanced level, are more prone to read and understand Tang Dynasty Chinese compared to those who have had limited exposure to these fields.

Modern Chinese speakers can comprehend Chinese from earlier periods, albeit to a certain extent. The precise timeline varies among individuals, but the majority of modern Chinese individuals are typically able to understand Chinese texts from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) and earlier eras. Comprehension of texts from later dynasties, such as the Ming (1368-1644 CE) and Qing (1644-1912 CE), might necessitate more specialized knowledge and training.

但读懂古籍的能力并不是人人都有的，而是取决于个人的教育水平和对语言的熟悉程度。那些深入研究过中国历史、文学或语言的人，尤其是达到高级水平的人，比那些对这些领域接触较少的人更容易阅读和理解唐代的文字。

现代说汉语的人多少都能够读懂早期的汉语。具体的时间线因人而异，但大多数现代中国人通常能看懂宋代(公元960-1279年)和更早时代的文字。若要理解宋代之后，如明(公元1368-1644年)和清(公元1644-1912年)的文字，可能就需要更多的专业知识和练习了。

菁涵 王

Yes we can

and sometimes it’s scary

once when I was in the British museum, in a certain area, no Chinese around me only locals

I suddenly realised I am the only person in that area who really understands the words from 2000 years ago…

是的，我们可以读得懂

有时，这让人觉得有点可怕

有一次我在大英博物馆的某个角落，周围没有中国人，全都是当地人

我突然意识到，我是那一片唯一一个能真正读懂2000年前文字的人……

Dawei Chen

Did you know Confucius♪ Records of his remarks《论语》,which is 1000years earlier than tang dynasty. Most Chinese can read it and Recite part of the content.

《诗经》, which is at least 500years early than 《论语》, is still in Chinese high school text book.

你知道孔子吗？他说过的话被后人集合成《论语》，面世时间比唐代早了1000年。大多数中国人都能朗读并背诵《论语》中的部分内容。

《诗经》出现的时间比《论语》至少还要再早500年，至今仍出现在中国高中的教科书中。

DD BIBI

As long as an authentic Chinese has a secondary education, he can understand an ancient text from the Tang Dynasty and even the Qin Dynasty. Even if he can't read it, he can fully understand the meaning through a few keywords in the full text. This is thanks to China's cramming-style basic education. To put it bluntly, China's basic language education is the best in the world. On the streets of any city in China, you can randomly find a young man and recite a few ancient poems.

只要是受过中等教育的中国人，就能读懂唐代甚至秦代的古文。即便他看不懂，也可以通过全文中的几个关键词来理解其中的意思。这要归功于中国的填鸭式的基础教育。说白了，中国的基础语言教育是全世界最好的。在中国任何一个城市的街道上，你都可以随机找到一个年轻人，张口就能背诵出几首古诗来。

Merciless Man

Of course, actually every Chinese people who have ever accept the obligatory e ducation from the Chinese traditional school easy doing that.

当然了，实际上，凡是接受过中国传统学校义务教育的中国人，都能很轻松地做到这一点。

Miz Du

Chinese characters are called HanZi（漢字）because it is pretty much settled during the Han dynasty, which is approxmately2000 years ago, and 唐 Tang dynasty is just 1000 years ago so no issue at all.

Take a few months training to recognize Oracles from 商 Shang which is 3000 years ago.

中文字符被称为汉字(漢字)，是因为它基本上是在大约2000年前的汉代确立的，而唐代只有1000年的历史，所以根本不会有任何问题。

花上几个月的时间，就能学会如何辨认3000年前商代的甲骨文。

Feng Lu

Chinese primary school students read ancient poetry. The earliest is the Classic of Poetry《诗经》, written 3,000 years ago，before the Tang Dynasty 1,500 years.

Chinese classes have classical Chinese classes. Famous poems and articles from ancient times should be memorized.

中国小学生会读古诗。最早的诗歌出自《诗经》，于3000年前出现，比唐代早了1500年。

语文课里还有文言文。学生们要背诵古代的名诗名篇。

Michael Ciao

Yes, Chinese can. A simple example is poems by the famous poet LiBai, every Chinese and child can read and understand them. They talk the same as today.

Most people can read Confucius books from 1500 years ago, it is taught in primary schools, at least when I was a kid. The writings there were more strict and ancient, but I personally think normal day to day they talked the same way, as proven in novels.

是的，中国人是能读懂的。我举一个简单的例子，每个中国人和儿童都能朗读并读懂著名诗人李白的诗。他们说的话和今天一样。

大多数人都能读懂1500年前的孔子著作，这是小学里教科书里的内容，至少在我小时候是这样的。当时的文字更严谨，更古老，但我个人认为，在日常生活中，他们的说话方式和我们是一样的，就像我们在小说里看到的那样。

Norah Ty

Chinese in writting divided into a few kinds ,whereas I can tell that a normally literate Chinese must be able to recognise one serie of an ancient Chinese handwritting (楷书).It’s literally similar to modern Chinese handwritting.

汉字书写字体分为几种类型，我可以这么说，一个文化水平正常的中国人肯定能够辨认某种古代汉字字体(楷书)。它与现代汉字的字体十分相似。

索菲亚

The official script of the Tang Dynasty itself is regular script. If you want to learn Chinese without foundation, you can contact me. The problem should not be great if you read it. You can watch and observe the authentic works of the Tang Dynasty on Baidu, but you may not understand what you hear.

唐代的正楷本身就是楷书。如果你想零基础学习汉语，你可以联系我。如果你看过这个，问题应该就不大了。你可以在百度上观看和观察唐代的真迹，但你有可能听不懂在说什么。