The archaism words is Chinese language are the words used in the modern written Chinese but originated from the books and records of the ancient times. When you come to Chinese school to study Chinese, you mat be told there are usually two types, the ancient words in the complex Chinese and the historic words. However, the archaism words are not equal with the words in ancient times. During the period when you study Chinese, you should know many words in ancient China are not used in today’s spoken and written Chinese. Therefore, the two types of words are different.

Besides, the Chinese words in modern Chinese language are mostly inherited from the ancient China. If you learn the words 天, 地, 火 and 山 when you learn to speak Chinese, you should know these words have a long history in use. However, we do not regard them as archaism words because they still widely used today, in spoken or written Chinese. When you study Chinese, you should know some archaism words indicate the things ever appeared in the ancient China but no longer exist today. Therefore, most of them are used in the history books like 天子, 诸侯 and 朝廷.