Can't display *proper* Chinese char in v3.0.04 connecting to MySQL

Question

Hello to all guru,
I am having some trouble on displaying Chinese characters on SQLDeveloper connecting MySQL database...
Database: MySQL 5.5.17, for Win32 (x86)
SQLDeveloper: 3.0.04
JDBC: Connector/J 5.1.18 from MySQL
Connection has no problem, retrieving data also great.
Using mysql.exe at Windows Command Prompt, it could display the proper Chinese characters perfectly...
mysql> SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character_set_system';
-----------------------------+
| Variable_name | Value |
-----------------------------+
| character_set_system | utf8 |
-----------------------------+
1 row in set (0.09 sec)
mysql> select display_name, display_name_chi
-> from contact
-> where display_name = 'David Chan';
--------------------------------+
| display_name | display_name_chi |
--------------------------------+
| David Chan | 陳大衛 |
--------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Run the same select query on SQLDeveloper, it shows...
display_name     display_name_chi
David Chan     ³¯¤j½Ã
On SQLDeveloper, Tools > Preferences > Database > NLS, there seems to have some NLS settings to play with, and default settings are:
Language: AMERICAN
Territory: AMERICA
Tried changing to the followings...
Language: TRADITIONAL CHINESE
Territory: TAIWAN
Still displaying the monster characters... I haven't tested to see if SQLDeveloper would behave the same while connecting to Oracle Database, and I am thinking maybe just the Java GUI's issue?!
Can anyone give me some idea?

Answer 1

Hi,
Here is a post that provides a solution for a similar Chinese language situation related to the Oracle JDBC driver:
Re: Can't select using special characters (symbols)
Perhaps you will be able to find something equivalent for the MySQL driver.
Regards,
Gary
SQL Developer Team