Chinese language case

Author: Mi Jinlong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Do you know the past and present of Mandarin? In ancient times, people spoke in various local dialects, with a mix of southern and northern accents, making communication difficult. During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Beijing became the political and cultural center of the nation. As people interacted, Beijing dialect spread across the country. At that time, this Beijing dialect was primarily used in official circles, so it was also called "Mandarin." Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty once ordered officials to "ensure their language is clear and easy to understand, avoiding the continued use of local dialects." This "Mandarin" was not only used among officials but was also gradually adopted and used by people across the regions. At the time, scholars wrote in both classical Chinese, which was detached from spoken language, and vernacular Chinese, which was closer to spoken language. Water Margin and Dream of the Red Chamber are representative works of the latter. In the late Qing Dynasty, some scholars dedicated themselves to promoting and popularizing "Mandarin." Among them, Wang Zhao made significant contributions. After careful research, Wang Zhao concluded that "from the north to Heilongjiang, west to Long, southwest to Yunnan, south to Jiang, and east to the sea, all regions are largely similar to Beijing dialect." He proposed using "Beijing dialect" as the official "Mandarin" as a common language. He also modeled his creation of the "Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet" (50 symbols, also known as "Jingyin Alphabet") after the Japanese syllabary "kana," taking parts of Chinese characters to serve as letter symbols. This laid the foundation for the development of phonetic symbols for Chinese. During the May Fourth Movement, vernacular Chinese gradually replaced classical Chinese in written language. In spoken language, based on the historically popular "Mandarin," the so-called "National Language Movement" was launched, designating Beijing dialect as the standard "National Language" to be promoted as a common language for the nation. On October 15, 1955, the National Language Reform Commission and the Ministry of Education jointly held a national language reform conference, proposing a clear requirement: "to use the Beijing accent as the standard pronunciation, the northern dialect as the basis for vocabulary, and the grammar norms of modern exemplary vernacular literature as the standard for the common language of the Chinese nation." Only by meeting this requirement can Mandarin be considered standardized. P2-3