Quote:
Originally Posted by ahi
The existence of poorly typeset books is no proof that typography (or typographic correctness) are non-existent concepts.
Also, LDBoblo did not say English typographic rules applied to Chinese--but rather that Chinese, along with all other written languages, had typographic rules of its own that higher quality publications would strive to obey in order to maximize readability.
- Ahi
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Thanks Ahi, for bringing up this topic.
I have worked in publishing and can say that though unwritten, it is understood that printed lines should not begin with a punctuation mark.
Even though Eric does not seem to mind, I find it jarring to see poorly typeset Chinese text with commas and full stops beginning a line.
Curiously, Japanese publications do not seem to have this problem at all. When a punctuation mark threatens to begin a line, they either use strict justified text and squeeze the punctuation mark within the margin of the previous line (thus breaking the grid), or they put it outside the margin (thus keeping the grid) and avoid it becoming the first character on the next line.
Thank you, Lionfish, for digging out the Chinese government rules on typesetting. I also agree with your other comments which I find very useful.