History of Chinese

Chinese descends from a family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northern China and adjacent areas. Early forms were used in inscriptions and oracle bones dating to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE).

Old Chinese (上古漢語 shànggǔ hànyǔ) is the language of early texts like the Shijing 詩經 and bronze inscriptions. It had more complex phonology and morphology than modern Mandarin.

Middle Chinese (中古漢語 zhōnggǔ hànyǔ) was spoken during the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties and is recorded in rhyme dictionaries and Buddhist texts. Its sounds underlie the pronunciations of Cantonese, Hakka, and other southern varieties.

Late Imperial Chinese (晚清漢語 wǎnqīng hànyǔ) refers to the language of novels, drama, and official documents from the Ming and Qing periods. It shows the transition toward the vernacular style that became modern written Chinese.

Vernacular Chinese (白話 báihuà) emerged in the 20th century as writers adopted spoken grammar and vocabulary for literature, journalism, and education. It forms the basis of Standard Written Chinese today.

Mandarin (官話 guānhuà) developed from northern dialects and was promoted as the national standard. Modern Standard Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect and used in media, schools, and government.

Other major Chinese dialect groups include Cantonese (粵語 yuèyǔ), Shanghainese (吳語 wúyǔ), Min (閩語 mǐnyǔ), Hakka (客家話 kèjiāhuà), and Gan (贛語 gànyǔ). They differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

The Chinese writing system uses characters (漢字 hànzì) that represent meaning and sound. It has remained relatively stable even as spoken language changed. Simplified characters were introduced in the 20th century to increase literacy.

Chinese has a long recorded history from Old Chinese through Middle Chinese to the modern vernacular. Mandarin is the national standard, but many diverse dialects continue to thrive. The character-based writing system links past and present.