The Chinese language has existed for over 6,000 years and is the oldest written language in the world. Chinese character inscriptions dating back to the Shang Dynasty between 1766-1123 BC prove the written language has been used for over 3,000 years. While modern Chinese (Mandarin) uses a simplified writing system compared to traditional characters, Chinese characters have heavily influenced other Asian languages such as Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. Over 1.5 billion people around the world can speak Chinese, including native speakers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Chinese language learners abroad.