Chinese is one of the oldest languages in the world and has a great tradition spanning many centuries. Indeed, it was the Chinese who taught the world how to print as they invented the first form of printing plate in 868 BCE. This was developed for the Emperor Renzong of Song (Zhen Zhao) to put down his thoughts and over time, it spread to the common people.  Without this innovation, education as we know it could not exist for there would have been no books until someone invented it later. Unlike “western” languages such as English which is quite direct and specific, the Chinese language is deeply symbolic and poetic and full of analogies, idioms, and wisdom that has carried on through time and across cultures. In fact, many idioms and expressions people use these days originated in Chinese such as “kill two birds with one stone” and “love at first sight.”