Try upgrading to PhpDig 1.8.9 RC1 as a couple of the default settings have changed. Check
here for how to upgrade from PhpDig 1.8.8 RC1 to PhpDig 1.8.9 RC1. Also check out the LANGUAGE FILES section of the UPGRADE.txt file, as it has instruction for how to make a UTF-8 encoded cn-language.php file. Once you make the UTF-8 encoded cn-language.php file, just set $phpdig_language = "cn"; in the config file.