The quick quick version
-----------------------
A long time ago they looked like this:
Today they look like this but inbetween they looked like this:
Some people used them like this:
之乎路可良
Some people used them like this:
之乎路可良
... which was simplified by some people to look like this:
シヲヂカラ
之乎路可良
... which was simplified by some people to look like this:
シヲヂカラ
... but simplified by others to look like this:
しをぢから
Shift JIS
---------
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
GB-2312
-------
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
others thought it was a [0x313E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GB_2312),
Big5
----
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
others thought it was a [0x313E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GB_2312),
still others figured it looked like a [0xA5BB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big5),
EUC-JP
------
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
others thought it was a [0x313E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GB_2312),
still others figured it looked like a [0xA5BB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big5),
or maybe a [0xCBDC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Unix_Code#EUC-JP),
ISO-2022-JP
-----------
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
others thought it was a [0x313E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GB_2312),
still others figured it looked like a [0xA5BB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big5),
or maybe a [0xCBDC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Unix_Code#EUC-JP),
unless you went for [0x4B5C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_2022#ISO-2022-JP) (same thing really),
Unicode / ISO 10646
-------------------
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
others thought it was a [0x313E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GB_2312),
still others figured it looked like a [0xA5BB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big5),
or maybe a [0xCBDC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Unix_Code#EUC-JP),
unless you went for [0x4B5C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_2022#ISO-2022-JP) (same thing really),
but today all sane people agree it's really a [U+672C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode).
UTF-8
-----
Then computers came and some people thought a 本 was a [0x967B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_JIS),
others thought it was a [0x313E](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GB_2312),
still others figured it looked like a [0xA5BB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big5),
or maybe a [0xCBDC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Unix_Code#EUC-JP),
unless you went for [0x4B5C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_2022#ISO-2022-JP) (same thing really),
but today all sane people agree it's really a [U+672C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode).
Which sometimes makes more sense to spell [0xE69CAC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8).
Quick history – analog
----------------------------
* 1600 BCE – [Shang dynasty](http://enwp.org/Shang_dynasty) – [Oracle bone script](http://enwp.org/Oracle_bone_script)
* 500 BCE – [Spring & Autumn](http://enwp.org/Spring_and_Autumn_period), [Qin](http://enwp.org/Qin_%28state%29) – [Small seal script](http://enwp.org/Small_Seal_Script)
* 500 CE – [Southern & Northern dynasties](http://enwp.org/Southern_and_Northern_Dynasties) – **[Traditional](http://enwp.org/Traditional Chinese characters)**
* 650 CE – [Asuka period](http://enwp.org/Asuka_period) (Japan) – [Manyōgana](http://enwp.org/Man'yōgana)
* 800 CE – [Heian period](http://enwp.org/Heian_period) (Japan) – [Hiragana](http://enwp.org/Hiragana), [Katakana](http://enwp.org/Katakana)
* 800 CE – Heian period (Japan) – [Kanbun](http://enwp.org/Kanbun) ([kunyomi](http://enwp.org/Kanji#Kun.27yomi_.28Japanese_reading.29))
* 1600 CE – [Written vernacular Chinese](http://enwp.org/Written_vernacular_Chinese)
* 1900 CE – **[Japanese script standardization](http://enwp.org/Japanese_script_reform#Pre-War_reforms)** (first attempt)
* 1915—20 CE – [Modern Written Chinese](http://enwp.org/Standard_Chinese)
* 1946 CE – [Tōyō kanji](http://enwp.org/Tōyō_kanji) (1850 characters)
* 1956 CE – **[Simplified](http://enwp.org/Simplified_Chinese_characters)**
* 1981 CE – **[Jōyō kanji](http://enwp.org/Jōyō_kanji)** (1945 characters)
Quick history – digital
-----------------------------
* 1978 CE – [JIS C 6226](http://enwp.org/JIS_X_0208) (6802 characters)
* 1981 CE – [GB 2312](http://enwp.org/GB_2312)
* 1984 CE – [Big5](http://enwp.org/Big5)
* 1987 CE – [JIS X 0208](http://enwp.org/JIS_X_0208)
* 1991 CE – [Unicode](http://enwp.org/Unicode) 1.0 (Han unification)
* 1993 CE – [ISO/IEC 10646](http://enwp.org/Universal_Coded_Character_Set), Unicode 1.1
* 1999 CE – [HKSCS](http://enwp.org/Hong_Kong_Supplementary_Character_Set)
* 2000 CE – Unicode 3.2 (Variation selectors)
* 2004 CE – [JIS X 0213](http://enwp.org/JIS_X_0213)
500 BCE – Qin – Small seal script
(Public Domain by Gsklee at en Wikipedia)
### Simplified
* PRC
* Singapore
### Traditional
* ROC
* Hong Kong
* Macau
### Japanese
* Yeah
### Korean
* Gone, with exceptions
* Coming back \[citation needed]
### Vietnamese
* Nah
Pictogram?
----------
[木](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=木)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[本](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=本)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[人](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=人)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[中](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=中)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[仲](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=仲)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[力](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=力)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[加](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=加)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[非](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=非)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[咖](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=咖)[啡](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=啡)
----
Pictogram?
----------
[嘉](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=嘉)
--
[䕒](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=䕒)
--
Pictogram?
----------
[吾](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=吾)
--
[唔](http://cojak.org/index.php?function=character_lookup&term=唔)
--
Universal?
----------
是不是他們的？
--------------
Shì búshì tāmende?
Si6 bat1si6 taa1mun4dik1?
[係唔係佢哋嘅？](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Written_Cantonese#Vocabulary)
--------------
Hai6 ng4hai6 keui5dei6ge3?
Written Cantonese
-----------------
* Court/police transcripts
* Opera scripts
* SMS/chat
* Ads/restaurant menus
### Kunyomi
東京
[higashimiyako](http://enwp.org/Tokyo)
京都
[miyakosubete](http://enwp.org/Kyoto)
### Onyomi
大阪
[taihan](http://enwp.org/Osaka)
Chinese writing reform
----------------------
* [Zhuyin/Bopomofo](http://enwp.org/Bopomofo) (1910)
* Simplified (1956)
* [Hanyu Pinyin](http://enwp.org/Pinyin) (1958)
Chinese writing reform
----------------------
### Pro
* Education
* Cost
Chinese writing reform
----------------------
### Con
* Inertia
* [Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eating_Poet_in_the_Stone_Den)
Chinese writing reform
----------------------
### Pro
* [Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eating_Poet_in_the_Stone_Den)
