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Re:I learned 1500 Chinese Characters in a Month by magicsmoke on Thursday May 14, 2020 @05:09PM (#23185483)
> this book doesn't teach you how to read -- or speak -- but that doesn't mean it isn't useful

That's how chinese characters became a lingua franca between diplomats in ancient East Asia. They didn't have to speak each others languages, they just had to know the same character and communicate their ideas effectively enough on paper.

Re:I learned 1500 Chinese Characters in a Month by _hao on Thursday May 14, 2020 @05:16PM (#23185587)
I've shared an excerpt from the book as an answer to @jmchuster below confirming this exact same thing.