How Did The Chinese Writing System Affect The Cultural Development Of Japan?

The Chinese writing system was introduced in the fifth century. Prior to this period, the Japanese did not develop a systematic writing system of their own; instead, they only spoke Japanese. A reason why the Japanese did not develop a writing system was “they became aware of the sophisticated writing system of China and, as they advanced in the ways of civilisation, were content to use Chinese for purposes other than speech” (Varley, 2000: 36). This subsequent adoption of a writing system became an “epoch-making event” (Hane, 1991: 26) which affected the cultural developments of Japan. Therefore, the cultural dynamics of Japanese society changed in two important ways.