Pandoc with Chinese

Prerequisite

Install a LaTeX distribution

Make sure first that LaTeX engine with support for xelatex is installed. You can install Tex Live. On Windows systems, MikTex is also an viable option. But TeX Live is prefered.

Find a valid Chinese font

You can use fc-list :lang=zh to find valid Chinese font on your system, an example output is shown below:

[~]$ fc-list :lang=zh
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-ExtraLight.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN,Source Han Serif CN ExtraLight,思源宋体 CN ExtraLight:style=ExtraLight,Regular
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-Bold.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN:style=Bold
/usr/share/fonts/wqy-microhei/wqy-microhei.ttc: WenQuanYi Micro Hei Mono,文泉驛等寬微米黑,文泉驿等宽微米黑:style=Regular
/usr/share/fonts/wqy-zenhei/wqy-zenhei.ttc: WenQuanYi Zen Hei Sharp,文泉驛點陣正黑,文泉驿点阵正黑:style=Regular
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-SemiBold.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN,Source Han Serif CN SemiBold,思源宋体 CN SemiBold:style=SemiBold,Regular
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-Medium.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN,Source Han Serif CN Medium,思源宋体 CN Medium:style=Medium,Regular
/usr/share/fonts/wqy-microhei/wqy-microhei.ttc: WenQuanYi Micro Hei,文泉驛微米黑,文泉驿微米黑:style=Regular
/usr/share/fonts/cjkuni-uming/uming.ttc: AR PL UMing TW MBE:style=Light
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-Light.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN,Source Han Serif CN Light,思源宋体 CN Light:style=Light,Regular
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-Heavy.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN,Source Han Serif CN Heavy,思源宋体 CN Heavy:style=Heavy,Regular
/usr/share/fonts/wqy-zenhei/wqy-zenhei.ttc: WenQuanYi Zen Hei Mono,文泉驛等寬正黑,文泉驿等宽正黑:style=Regular
/usr/share/fonts/wqy-zenhei/wqy-zenhei.ttc: WenQuanYi Zen Hei,文泉驛正黑,文泉驿正黑:style=Regular
/usr/share/fonts/cjkuni-uming/uming.ttc: AR PL UMing TW:style=Light
/usr/share/fonts/cjkuni-uming/uming.ttc: AR PL UMing HK:style=Light
/usr/share/fonts/cjkuni-uming/uming.ttc: AR PL UMing CN:style=Light
/usr/share/fonts/source_han_serif/SourceHanSerifCN-Regular.otf: Source Han Serif CN,思源宋体 CN:style=Regular

Methods

First way

Use the following command to produce your pdf file (reference here):

pandoc  srs.md -o srs.pdf --pdf-engine=xelatex -V mainfont='WenQuanYi Micro Hei Mono'

Note that in the above command, it should be mainfont not CJKmainfont.

Second way

Add the following setting to your markdown file,

---
mainfont: WenQuanYi Micro Hei Mono
---

Then use pandoc --pdf-engine=xelatex test.md -o test1.pdf to generate the pdf file.

Third way

You can use ctexart class and do not need to manually designate a font (the package will do it for you). Add the following setting to your markdown file,

---
documentclass:
    - ctexart
---

The pdf-generating command is the same as second way.