Traditional Chinese denotes the form of written Chinese characters that was standardized in the late Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and used for written Chinese until 1949, when it was replaced in the People's Republic of China by a simplified script. The traditional script remains predominant among Chinese language users outside the PRC proper and Singapore (i.e., in Taiwan, and among the worldwide Chinese diaspora) as well as in Hong Kong and Macau. Traditional Chinese characters are also employed as Hanja in Korean.
Traditional characters are used sometimes by highly educated people in mainland China, especially with those who hold degrees in history or linguistics. Using traditional characters is seen as a sign of intelligence. Classes for traditional characters are popular among wealthy parents.
References
- "Chinese" at Omniglot.com