FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
java version "1.4.2_11"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_11-b06)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2_11-b06, mixed mode)

ADDITIONAL OS VERSION INFORMATION :
Windows XP SP2

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
Using standard Sun provided Collator does not sort Simplified Chinese characters in the proper order. Using Oracle, Microsoft Excel and Java with ICU all produce the correct order. Also some documentation on how collations are implemented for each locale would be helpful.

STEPS TO FOLLOW TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM :
Run the source code provided below.

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
å??a æ??b æ?¦c 大d å??f å??h å? j å?¡k å?¯n å?¦o æ??p
ACTUAL -
å??a æ??b æ?¦c 大d å??f å??h å? j å?¡k å?¦o æ??p å?¯n

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.

---------- BEGIN SOURCE ----------
use the following three files.

--Sort.java--
import java.text.*;
import java.util.*;
public class Sort {
    public static void main(String s[]) {
        Vector list = new Vector();
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.0")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.1")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.2")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.3")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.4")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.5")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.6")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.7")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.8")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.9")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        list.add(Messages.getString("Sort.10")); //$NON-NLS-1$
        // Obtain a Chinese collator
        Collator collate = Collator.getInstance(new Locale(Messages.getString("Sort.11"), Messages.getString("Sort.12"))); //$NON-NLS-1$ //$NON-NLS-2$
        Collections.sort(list, collate);
        StringBuffer result = new StringBuffer();
        for (int i = 0; i < list.size(); i++) {
            result.append(list.elementAt(i));
            result.append(" "); //$NON-NLS-1$
        }
        System.out.println(result.toString());
    }
}

--Messages.java--
import java.util.MissingResourceException;
import java.util.ResourceBundle;
public class Messages {
    private static final String BUNDLE_NAME = "messages"; //$NON-NLS-1$
    private static final ResourceBundle RESOURCE_BUNDLE = ResourceBundle.getBundle(BUNDLE_NAME);
    private Messages() {
    }
    public static String getString(String key) {
        try {
            return RESOURCE_BUNDLE.getString(key);
        } catch (MissingResourceException e) {
            return '!' + key + '!';
        }
    }
}

--messages.properties--
Sort.0=\u554Aa
Sort.1=\u628Ab
Sort.2=\u64E6c
Sort.3=\u5927d
Sort.4=\u53D1f
Sort.5=\u54C8h
Sort.6=\u51E0j
Sort.7=\u5361k
Sort.8=\u55EFn
Sort.9=\u54E6o
Sort.10=\u6015p
Sort.11=zh
Sort.12=CN
---------- END SOURCE ----------

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
use the ICU libraries.