* No single "origin": Chinese is a language family, much like Indo-European. It has evolved over millennia with different dialects and written forms.
* Earliest written records: The earliest known written Chinese characters date back to the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), found on oracle bones.
* Spoken language: However, the spoken language predates these written records, likely by centuries.
* Constant evolution: Like all languages, Chinese has undergone constant change, with new words, pronunciations, and grammatical structures emerging over time.
Therefore, instead of a definitive age, we can say:
* The Chinese language has a history spanning thousands of years.
* The earliest written records are from the Shang dynasty, about 3,000 years ago.
* The spoken language is older than that, but its precise origins are unknown.
It's important to remember that the Chinese language is not static but a living entity that continues to evolve even today.