View source for Chinese telegraph code

The '''Chinese Telegraph Code''', '''Chinese Telegraphic Code''', or '''Chinese Commercial Code''' ({{zh|t=中文電碼|s=中文电码|p=Zhōngwén diànmǎ}} or {{zh|t=中文電報碼|s=中文电报码|p=Zhōngwén diànbàomǎ}})<ref>Simply ''diànmǎ'' or ''diànbàomǎ'' may refer to the “Chinese telegraph code” whereas ''diànmǎ'' is a general term for “code,” as seen in ''Móěrsī diànmǎ'' ({{zh|t=摩爾斯電碼|s=摩尔斯电码}}) for the “[[Morse code]]” and ''Bóduō diànmǎ'' ({{zh|t=博多電碼|s=博多电码}}) for the “[[Baudot code]].”</ref> is a four-digit decimal code ([[character encoding]]) for [[Electrical telegraph|electrically telegraphing]] messages written with [[Chinese character]]s.

== Encoding and decoding ==
A codebook is provided for encoding and decoding the Chinese telegraph code. It shows one-to-one correspondence between Chinese characters and four-digit numbers from <code>0000</code> to <code>9999</code>. Chinese characters are arranged and numbered in dictionary order according to their [[Radical (Chinese character)|radicals]] and strokes. Each page of the book shows 100 pairs of a Chinese character and a number in a 10×10 table. The most significant two digits of a code matches the page number, the next digit matches the row number, and the least significant digit matches the column number, with 1 being the column on the far right. For example, the code <code>0022</code> for the character {{lang|zh|中}} (zhōng), meaning “center,” is given in page 00, row 2, column 2 of the codebook, and the code <code>2429</code> for the character {{lang|zh|文}} (wén), meaning “script,” is given in page 24, row 2, column 9. The PRC’s ''Standard Telegraph Codebook'' (Ministry of Post and Telecommunications 2002) provides codes for approximately 7,000 Chinese characters.

Senders convert their messages written with Chinese characters to a sequence of digits according to the codebook. For instance, the phrase {{lang|zh|中文信息}} (Zhōngwén xìnxī), meaning “information in Chinese,” is rendered into the code as <code>0022 2429 0207 1873</code>. It is transmitted using the [[Morse code]]. Receivers decode the Morse code to get a sequence of digits, chop it into an array of quadruplets, and then decode them one by one referring to the book.

The codebook also defines codes for [[Zhuyin]] alphabet, Latin alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet, and various symbols including special symbols for months, days in a month, and hours.

Senders may translate their messages into numbers by themselves, or pay a small charge to have them translated by a telegrapher.<ref>The Tianjin Communications Corporation (2004) in the PRC charges [[RMB]] 0.01 per character for their encoding service, compared to their domestic telegraph rate of RMB 0.13 per character.</ref> Chinese expert telegraphers used to remember several thousands of codes of the most frequent use.

The ''Standard Telegraph Codebook'' gives alternative three-letter code (<code>AAA</code>, <code>AAB</code>, …) for Chinese characters. It compresses telegram messages and cuts international fees by 25% as compared to the four-digit code.<ref>Domestic telegrams are charged by the number of Chinese characters, not digits or Latin characters, hence this compression technique is only used for international telegrams.</ref>

===Use===
Looking up a character given a number is straightforward: page, row, column.
However, looking up a number given a character is more difficult, as it requires analyzing the character. The [[four corner method]] was developed in the 1920s to allow people to more easily look up characters by the shape, and remains in use today as a [[Chinese input methods for computers|Chinese input method for computers]].

== History ==
[[Image:Obsolete chinese telegraph code.jpg|thumb|Viguier’s Chinese telegraph codes from <code>0001</code> to <code>0200</code> (Viguier 1872). These codes are now obsolete.]]
The first telegraph code for Chinese was brought into use soon after the [[Great Northern Telegraph Company]] ({{lang|zh|大北電報公司}} / {{lang|zh|大北电报公司}} Dàběi Diànbào Gōngsī) introduced telegraphy to China in 1871. Septime Auguste Viguier, a Frenchman and customs officer in Shanghai, published a codebook (Viguier 1872), succeeding Danish astronomer [[Hans Carl Frederik Christian Schjellerup]]’s earlier work.

In consideration of the former code’s insufficiency and disorder of characters, [[Zheng Guanying]] ({{lang|zh|鄭觀應}} / {{lang|zh|郑观应}} Zhèng Guānyīng) compiled a new codebook in 1881. It remained in effect until the Ministry of Transportation and Communications printed a new book in 1929. In 1933, a supplement was added to the book.

After the establishment of the [[People’s Republic of China]] in 1949, the codebook forked into two different versions, due to revisions made in the Mainland China and Taiwan independently from each other. The Mainland version, the ''Standard Telegraph Codebook,'' adopted the [[simplified Chinese character]]s in 1981.

== Application ==
The Chinese telegraph code can be used for a [[Chinese input methods for computers|Chinese input method for computers]]. Ordinary computer users today hardly master it because it needs a lot of rote memorization. However, the related [[four corner method]], which allows one to look up characters by shape, is used.

The [[Hong Kong Identity Card|Hong Kong residents’ identification cards]] have the Chinese telegraph code for the holder’s Chinese name (Immigration Department of Hong Kong 2006). Business forms provided by the government and corporations in Hong Kong often require filling out telegraph codes for Chinese names. The codes help inputting Chinese characters to a computer.

Chinese telegraph code is used extensively in law enforcement investigations worldwide that involve ethnic Chinese subjects where variant phonetic spellings of Chinese names can create confusion.  Dialectical differences (Mr. Wu in Mandarin becomes Mr. Ng in Cantonese) and differing [[romanization]] systems (Mr. Xiao in the [[Hanyu pinyin]] system, and Mr. Hsiao in the [[Wade Giles]] system) can create serious problems for investigators, but can be remedied by application of Chinese telegraph code.  For instance, investigators following a subject in Taiwan named Hsiao Ai-Kuo might not know this is the same person known in mainland China as Xiao Aiguo and Hong Kong as Siu Oi-Kwok until codes are checked for the actual Chinese characters to determine all match as CTC: 5618/1947/0948 for 萧爱国(simplified) / 蕭愛國(traditional).<ref>For more information, refer to: ''A Law Enforcement Sourcebook of Asian Crime and Cultures: Tactics and Mindsets'', Author Douglas D. Daye, Chapter 20</ref>

Chinese telegraph code is also used on occasion in U.S. and Australian Immigration documents. For example, the DS-230 form for K1/K2 visa applicants requires the telegraph code of the applicant's name (as of 8 March 2009).

== See also ==
* [[Code point]]
* [[Telegraph code]]
* [[Four corner method]], a 4-digit structural encoding method designed to aid lookup of telegraph codes

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References and bibliography ==
<!-- Citation templates are not useful for citing foreign works. Italicization of Chinese characters harms their readability. Author names and titles need romanization and/or translation. -->
* Baark, Erik. 1997. ''Lightning Wires: The Telegraph and China’s Technological Modernization, 1860–1890.'' Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30011-9.
* Baark, Erik. 1999. “Wires, codes, and people: The Great Northern Telegraph Company in China.” In ''China and Denmark: Relations Since 1674,'' edited by Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard and Mads Kirkebæk, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, pp.&nbsp;119–152. ISBN 87-87062-71-2.
* Immigration Department of Hong Kong. 2006. [http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/hkid_cardface.htm ''Card face design of a smart identity card.''] Hong Kong Special Administrative District Government. Accessed on December 22, 2006.
* Jacobsen, Kurt. 1997. “Danish watchmaker created the Chinese Morse system.” ''Morsum Magnificat,'' 51, pp.&nbsp;14–19.
* Lín Jìnyì ({{lang|zh|林 進益}} / {{lang|zh|林 进益}}), editor. 1984. {{lang|ja|漢字電報コード変換表}} ''Kanji denpō kōdō henkan hyō'' [Chinese character telegraph code conversion table] (In Japanese). Tokyo: KDD Engineering & Consulting.
* Ministry of Post and Telecommunications ({{lang|zh|中央人民政府郵電部}} / {{lang|zh|中央人民政府邮电部}} Zhōngyāng Rénmín Zhèngfǔ Yóudiànbù), editor. 1952. {{lang|zh|標準電碼本}} / {{lang|zh|标准电码本}} ''Biāozhǔn diànmǎběn'' [Standard telegraph codebook], 2nd edition (In Chinese). Beijing: Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
* Ministry of Post and Telecommunications ({{lang|zh|中华人民共和国邮电部}} Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Yóudiànbù), editor. 2002. {{lang|zh|标准电码本}} ''Biāozhǔn diànmǎběn'' [Standard telegraph codebook], {{lang|zh|修订本}} xīudìngběn [revised edition] (In Chinese). Beijing: {{lang|zh|人民邮电出版社}} Rénmín Yóudiàn Chūbǎnshè [People’s Post and Telecommunications Publishing]. ISBN 7-115-04219-5.
* Reeds, James A. 2004. [http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~reedsj/ctc.html ''Chinese telegraph code (CTC).''] Accessed on December 25, 2006.
* Shanghai City Local History Office ({{lang|zh|上海市地方志办公室}} Shànghǎi Shì Dìfāngzhì Bàngōngshì). 2004. [http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node2245/node67155/node67168/node67268/node67280/userobject1ai63862.html {{lang|zh|专业志: 上海邮电志}} ''Zhūanyèzhì: Shànghǎi yóudìanzhì''] [Industrial history: Post and communications history in Shanghai] (In Chinese). Accessed on December 22, 2006.
* Stripp, Alan. 2002. ''Codebreaker in the Far East.'' Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280386-7.
* Tianjin Communications Corporation. 2004. [http://www.tjnetcom.com/04zfbzh/gndb.htm {{lang|zh|资费标准: 国内公众电报业务}} ''Zīfèi biāozhǔn: Guónèi gōngzhòng diànbào yèwù''] [Rate standards: Domestic public telegraph service] (In Chinese). Accessed on December 26, 2006.
* Viguier, Septime Auguste ({{lang|zh|威基謁}} / {{lang|zh|威基谒}} Wēijīyè). 1872. [http://base.kb.dk/manus_pub/cv/manus/ManusIntro.xsql?nnoc=manus_pub&p_ManusId=340&p_Lang=alt {{lang|zh|電報新書}} / {{lang|zh|电报新书}} ''Diànbào xīnshū''] [New book for the telegraph] (In Chinese). Published in Shanghai.
* Viguier, Septime Auguste ({{lang|zh|威基謁}} / {{lang|zh|威基谒}} Wēijīyè) and Dé Míngzài ({{lang|zh|德 明在}}). 1871. [http://base.kb.dk/manus_pub/cv/manus/ManusIntro.xsql?nnoc=manus_pub&p_ManusId=350&p_Lang=alt {{lang|zh|電信新法}} / {{lang|zh|电信新法}} ''Diànxìn xīnfǎ''] [New method for the telegraph] (In Chinese).
* Yasuoka Kōichi ({{lang|ja|安岡 孝一}}) and Yasuoka Motoko ({{lang|ja|安岡 素子}}). 1997. [http://fw8.bookpark.ne.jp/cm/ipsj/search.asp?flag=6&keyword=IPSJ-CH97035009&mode=PDF Why is “{{lang|zh|唡}}” included in JIS X 0221?] (In Japanese). ''IPSJ SIG Technical Report,'' 97-CH-35, pp.&nbsp;49–54.
* Yasuoka Kōichi ({{lang|ja|安岡 孝一}}) and Yasuoka Motoko ({{lang|ja|安岡 素子}}). 2006. {{lang|ja|文字符号の歴史: 欧米と日本編}} ''Moji fugō no rekishi: Ōbei to Nippon hen'' [A history of character codes in Japan, America, and Europe] (In Japanese). Tokyo: {{lang|ja|共立出版}} Kyōritsu Shuppan ISBN 4-320-12102-3.

== External links ==
* [http://www.njstar.com/tools/telecode/ Chinese Commercial/Telegraph Code Lookup by NJStar]
* [http://code.web.idv.hk/cccode/cccode.php {{lang|zh|標準電碼本 (中文商用電碼)}}] Standard telegraph code (Chinese commercial code) {{zh icon}}
* [http://dianma.org/ {{lang|zh| 中文电码查询}}] Standard telegraph code (Chinese commercial code)Search  {{zh icon}}

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{{Morse code}}
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[[Category:Encodings]]
[[Category:Morse code]]
[[Category:Telegraphy]]