{"product_id":"9780241295854","title":"Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern - Jing Tsu","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world's most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. In \u003ci\u003eKingdom of Characters\u003c\/i\u003e, Jing Tsu argues that China's most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKingdom of Characters\u003c\/i\u003e follows the bold innovators who adapted the Chinese language to a world designed for the Roman alphabet and requiring standardization, from an exiled reformer who risked a death sentence to advocate for Mandarin as a national language to the imprisoned computer engineer who devised input codes for Chinese characters on the lid of a teacup. Without their advances, China might never have become the dominating force we know today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith larger-than-life characters and an unexpected perspective on the major events of China's tumultuous twentieth century, Tsu reveals how language is both a technology to be perfected and a subtle, yet potent, power to be exercised and expanded.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44730584957155,"sku":"9780241295854","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1701\/6275\/files\/9780241295854.jpg?v=1712669546","url":"https:\/\/www.harbourbookshop.co.uk\/products\/9780241295854","provider":"The Harbour Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}