Kanbun

Kanbun refers to a classical Chinese literary style that was adopted and adapted by scholars in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It is not a separate language but rather a system of annotation and reading for Classical Chinese texts. Kanbun allowed speakers of these languages, who did not necessarily speak Mandarin, to read and understand Chinese writings.

The core of Kanbun lies in the use of kanbun kundoku, or "Kanbun re-readings." These are auxiliary marks or characters inserted into Chinese texts to indicate the correct order of words and grammatical particles according to the native language of the reader. For example, Japanese scholars developed a system of inserting specific kana characters or punctuation marks to reorder Chinese sentences into Japanese syntax. This enabled them to read Chinese texts as if they were written in their own language, albeit with a vocabulary heavily influenced by Chinese.

Kanbun played a crucial role in the transmission of knowledge, philosophy, and literature throughout East Asia for centuries. It facilitated scholarship, government administration, and cultural exchange. While its prominence has waned with the rise of modern vernacular languages and contemporary education systems, Kanbun remains an important aspect of understanding historical East Asian intellectual traditions and literature.