Left-to-Right or Right-to-Left? An Inquiry into the Text Direction of Chinese Characters

Abstract

A while ago a scholarly book published by the East Asia Program of Cornell University in 2008 came to my desk for adding to the library collection. The book caught my attention because it is bound in the East Asian style with the spine on the right-hand side and opens from the left side. As usual with East Asian publications that open from the left, I affixed a note on the front cover of this American publication to alert staff so that the book would be processed properly and the library ownership plate would be pasted correctly. This book, Teishinkōki : The Year 939 in the Journal of Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, includes a reproduction and transcription of the original text of Teishinkōki in classical Japanese (kanbun). Even though the book is an English publication, the book designer probably intended to preserve the heritage of traditional texts with their vertical columns progressing from right to left on the medium.