History of Chinese

Old Chinese was spoken during the Zhou dynasty and is the language of early classics like the Shijing. It is reconstructed from rhyme patterns and phonetic clues in ancient texts and inscriptions.

Middle Chinese dates to the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties and is known from rhyme dictionaries and poetry. It forms the basis for later pronunciations in various dialects and for Sino-Vietnamese, Sino-Korean, and Sino-Japanese readings.

Early Mandarin emerged in the Yuan and Ming dynasties as a common speech in northern China. It influenced the language of administration and popular literature and set the stage for modern standard Mandarin.

From the late Ming and especially the Qing, vernacular Chinese bái huà became dominant in novels, drama, and essays. Writers used more colloquial grammar and vocabulary, making literature accessible to a wider audience.

Modern Standard Chinese pǔtōnghuà is based on the Beijing dialect and was promoted in the 20th century for education, media, and government. It uses simplified characters on the mainland and serves as a lingua franca for China.

Regional dialects like Cantonese, Shanghainese, Hokkien, and Hakka preserve older features and have their own media and literature. They reflect China's linguistic diversity and local identities even as standard Mandarin spreads.

The Chinese writing system evolved from oracle bone script to seal script to clerical and regular script. Simplified characters were introduced in the 20th century to boost literacy, while traditional characters remain in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas communities.

Chinese has a long documented history from Old Chinese through Middle Chinese to the modern standard and regional dialects. Changes in language reflect broader cultural and political shifts, and both spoken varieties and writing systems continue to evolve.