History of education
Although there are more than 40,000 Chinese characters in written Chinese, many are rarely used. Studies have shown that full literacy in the Chinese language requires a knowledge of only between three and four thousand characters.
Chengyu
Chengyu () are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, most of which consist of four characters. Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today. According to the most stringent definition, there are about 5,000 chéngyǔ in the Chinese language, though some dictionaries list over 20,000. Chéngyǔ are considered the collected wisdom of the Chinese culture. Through the insights learned from chéngyǔ, you'll discover the experiences, moral concepts, or admonishments from the older generations of Chinese. Nowadays, chéngyǔ still plays an important role in Chinese conversations and education. It is therefore important to know some common chéngyǔ as you learn the language.