Chinese script, also known as Hanzi, is a writing system used for the Chinese language. It consists of thousands of characters, each representing a word or a meaningful part of a word. Unlike alphabetic systems, where letters combine to form words, each character in Chinese has its own unique meaning and pronunciation. The script has a long history, dating back over 3,000 years, and has evolved through various styles, including seal script, clerical script, and simplified characters. Today, simplified characters are commonly used in mainland China, while traditional characters are still prevalent in regions like Taiwan and Hong Kong.