In a recent episode of the New Books Network podcast, Prof. Zev Handel sits down with Dr. Miranda Melcher of Kings College, London to discuss his new book, Chinese Characters across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese (University of Washington Press, 2025). Prof. Handel's book explores the spread and adaptation of the Chinese script across two millennia and thousands of miles, offering insights into human cognition and culture as it examines critical questions about the origins and nature of Chinese characters: Where does this writing system, so different in form and function from alphabetic writing, come from? How does it really work? How did it come to be used to write non-Chinese languages? And why has it proven so resilient?
Listen to the episode, "Chinese Characters Across Asia," via the New Books Network podcast, and learn more about Prof. Handel's book via the University of Washington Press.