The Chinese console layer

chinese/ renders CJK user content while the system's own strings stay ASCII:

Pieces

• chinese_font_data.c - the 16x16 bitmap glyphs
• encoding.c - gb2312 / utf-8 / ascii codecs (round-trip tested)
• console_cn.c - CJK console rows on the framebuffer
• render_cn.c - glyph raster pipeline
• pinyin_data.c + the IME - syllable resolution, interactive line
• tui_cn_*.c - CN hardware/net/sysinfo TUI apps

Why both worlds work

The ASCII contract is about system strings (prompts, command names, help, boot messages) - hardware-terminal compatibility. User content (filenames, file bodies, editor buffers) flows through the codecs and renders on the CJK font when the layer is active. With CONFIG_CHINESE=n the console routes to the ASCII equivalents in screen_console - real code, both paths, one contract.

Tests

chinesetest (full regression), encoding-test (codec round-trip), font-test (mixed-row render), ime-test (syllable resolution).