Strictly speaking, Classical Chinese refers to the written language of the classical period of Chinese literature, from the end of the Spring and Autumn period (early 5th century BC) to the end of the Han Dynasty (220 AD), while Literary Chinese is the form of written Chinese used from the end of the Han Dynasty to the early 20th century, when it was replaced by vernacular written Chinese. It is often also referred to as "Classical Chinese", but sinologists generally distinguish it from the language of the early period. During this period the dialects of China became more and more disparate and thus the Classical written language became less and less representative of the varieties of Chinese (cf. Classical Latin, which was contemporary to the Han Dynasty, and the Romance languages of Europe). Although authors sought to write in the style of the Classics, the similarity decreased over the centuries due to their imperfect understanding of the older language, the influence of their own speech, and the addition of new words.
This situation, the use of Literary Chinese throughout the Chinese cultural sphere despite the existence of disparate regional vernaculars, is called diglossia. It can be compared to the position of Classical Arabic relative to the various regional vernaculars in Arab lands, or of Latin in medieval Europe. The Romance languages continued to evolve, influencing Latin texts of the same period, so that by the Middle Ages, Medieval Latin included many usages that would have baffled the Romans. The coexistence of Classical Chinese and the native languages of Japan, Korea and Vietnam can be compared to the use of Latin in nations that natively speak non-Latin-derived Germanic languages or Slavic languages, to the position of Arabic in Persia or the position of the Indic language, Sanskrit, in South India and Southeast Asia. However, the non-phonetic Chinese writing system causes a unique situation where the modern pronunciation of the classical language is far more divergent (and heterogeneous, depending on the native – not necessarily Chinese – tongue of the reader) than in analogous cases, complicating understanding and study of Classical Chinese further compared to other classical languages.
Christian missionaries coined the term Wen-li (Chinese: 文理; pinyin: wénlǐ; Wade–Giles: wen-li) for Literary Chinese. Though composed from Chinese roots, this term was never used in that sense in Chinese, and was rejected by non-missionary sinologues
Chinese characters are not alphabetic and only palely reflect sound changes. The tentative reconstruction of Old Chinese
is an endeavor only a few centuries old. As a result, Classical Chinese
is not read with a reconstruction of Old Chinese pronunciation;
instead, it is always read with the pronunciations of characters
categorized and listed in the Phonology Dictionary (韻書; pinyin: yùnshū, "rhyme book") officially published by the Governments, originally based upon the Middle Chinese pronunciation of Luoyang
in the 2nd to 4th centuries. With the progress of time, every dynasty
has updated and modified the official Phonology Dictionary. By the time
of the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, the Phonology Dictionary was based on early Mandarin. But since the Imperial Examination required the composition of Shi genre, in non-Mandarin speaking parts of China such as Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian, pronunciation is either based on everyday speech as in Cantonese; or, in some varieties of Chinese (e.g. Southern Min),
with a special set of pronunciations used for Classical Chinese or
"formal" vocabulary and usage borrowed from Classical Chinese usage. In
practice, all varieties of Chinese combine these two extremes. Mandarin
and Cantonese, for example, also have words that are pronounced one way
in colloquial usage and another way when used in Classical Chinese or in
specialized terms coming from Classical Chinese, though the system is
not as extensive as that of Southern Min or Wu. (See Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters)
Well-conducted, and with good health status.
1. Application Form
Please upload your finished application form here.
2. Health certificate
Photocopy of notarized foreigner physical examination record (for durations of study over 6 months)
3. Photocopy of valid passport
With name, passport number & expiration date, and photo included
4. Passport photo
A recent passport-sized photo of the applicant
5. Undergraduate school transcript
6. Bachelor's degree diploma
Graduation
certificate in languages other than Chinese or English should be
translated into Chinese or English and be certified by notarization.
7. Two letters of recommendation
From professor or associate professor or equivalents
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Answer: Yes. ACASC gives the applicants, the chance to directly apply to their desired universities through our online application portal. We have synchronized our system to create a simple platform that connects universities and colleges in China to international students all around the world.
Answer: To track the application status, please log in your ACASC personal account. Whenever there’s an update, you will be informed on your application status through ACASC system within a day as soon as we receive university’s notification. You will simultaneously receive ACASC auto-email about the application status. To directly inquire about your application status, feel free to send us an email to admission@acasc.cn and our team will keep you updated.
Answer: When an application is pending a decision it means that your school has received it and no admissions decision has been made yet. The admissions office may have reviewed your application package or may not have.
The main cause of a pending application is usually incomplete application documents. As a result you will be requested by the school’s admission office to re-check and modify all submitted application documents or perhaps even add extra documents and then re-submit them.
To avoid further delays, carefully read the university’s comments, modify your application form on ACASC, and re-upload the required application documents. You can contact ACASC on admission@acasc.cn for any help with regards to your pending application
Processing time varies for different applications. For example to process a degree program application requires more time than a Chinese language application. Confirmation for Chinese language application by the admission office usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. However, time for degree programs application differs. For example fall semester application processing is after March, and it takes a period of 1 to 2 months. This also depends on your qualification and the number of applicants.
