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Ask HN: Why do Chinese datasheets have these iconic serif fonts?

4 pointsby npgatechover 7 years ago
I&#x27;ve compiled a few random screenshots here: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;imgur.com&#x2F;a&#x2F;S5PyL<p>I&#x27;ve always wondered this. Sometimes the font is Times New Roman (perhaps a default in Chinese operating systems?) and sometimes it is this iconic font (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;2OX6RgY.png) that is not to be found in the west.<p>It is so prevalent that Shenzhen I&#x2F;O, an assembly programming game used same fonts in their mock datasheets: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pdf-archive.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;10&#x2F;10&#x2F;shenzhen-io-manual&#x2F;preview&#x2F;page&#x2F;30&#x2F;

3 comments

lurenjiaover 7 years ago
The font is SimSun. It is the default font in Windows XP simplified Chinese version and is ubiquitously used in China.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;zh.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;中易宋体" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;zh.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;中易宋体</a>
arkitaipover 7 years ago
I&#x27;ve wondered about this for years! Japanese tends to have similar class of fonts, e.g. plain&#x2F;old school looking serif fonts. Metafilter seems to have pretty good answers [0].<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ask.metafilter.com&#x2F;87263&#x2F;Why-does-Chinese-printing-of-Latin-characters-always-use-the-same-font" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ask.metafilter.com&#x2F;87263&#x2F;Why-does-Chinese-printing-o...</a>
billconanover 7 years ago
because times new roman doesn&#x27;t support Chinese characters. there are other Chinese fonts do support english characters. you are probably looking at the english characters rendered by a default Chinese font.