How did Mandarin change from a local dialect to a representative of Chinese?

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-26

The glory of Chinese history is recorded and embodied in the Chinese language, and the history of the development of the Chinese language is also a microcosm of Chinese history. The ancients attached great importance to the unity of local dialects.

As a result, the Chinese language has formed seven major dialect regions in the long history, including the northern dialect, the Wu dialect, the Hunan dialect, the Hakka dialect, the Min dialect, the Cantonese dialect and the Jiangxi dialect.

Eventually, Mandarin, with the Beijing dialect as the standard pronunciation, was promoted throughout the country and became a common language in China. However, the formation of a common language has also undergone an evolutionary process in Chinese history.

Ancient Chinese refers to the language used before and during the Qin and Han dynasties, and occupies an important position in the history of the Chinese language. "Yayan"The origin of the Zhou Dynasty is inseparable from the eastward migration of King Ping.

When Confucius gave lectures, he used elegant sayings. It is recorded in the Analects of Confucius VII:"Zisuo Yayan, "Poems", "Books", and "Deacon" are all Yayan. "In addition, the first dictionary in ancient China, "Erya", is also named after"Yayan"Relate.

In ancient Chinese,"Er"The word and the orthography mean the same thing, while"Ya"Words with"Yayan"The meaning is naturally connected. The appearance of "Erya" is not only an important milestone in the history of the Chinese language, but also the Eastern Zhou Dynasty"Yayan"as direct evidence of the official language.

The emergence of "Erya" marks people's attention to the pronunciation of the text, and also shows the promotion of the common language "Yayan". This is an important milestone in the history of the Chinese language, indicating that the regional dialects with high political character have been popularized with the appeal of the first country.

Yayan"The birth of the Chinese character led to a consensus on the pronunciation of Chinese characters, which laid the foundation for the birth of the first dictionary in the history of the Chinese language, Erya. "Erya" records not only the font, but also the meaning and meaning of the word, all of which are built on"Yayan"on the basis of.

In the Han Dynasty, the official language was still Yi"Yayan"based"Elope"。However, at that time,"Yayan"called"Orthophony"with"Language"。

This is because the two capitals of the Han Dynasty, Chang'an and Luoyang, were both located in the east. When the Eastern Han Dynasty fell, the capital was still in Luoyang, so the official language was still there"Elope"。Including the later lingua franca, the Qin sound of Kansai, it is related to the location of the capitals of Shaanxi and Luoyang.

Middle Chinese, also known as the Chinese language from the Wei and Jin dynasties to the middle of the Five Dynasties.

After the turmoil of the Yongjia Rebellion, he crossed to the south. As the capital of the Western Jin Dynasty, Luoyang was attacked by Liu Yu and could not continue to rule. The nobles of the Western Jin Dynasty were forced to move south and established a new regime, the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

In order to avoid the disaster, the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved the capital to Jiankang. Jiankang is located in the southeast and belongs to the Wu language area. After the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the original official language"Elope"It gradually merged with the Wu language of Nanjing, forming a new official dialect - Jinling Yayin.

On the basis of the Han Dynasty, the Western Jin Dynasty adopted Luo as the national lingua franca, which is called "Yayan" and can also be called "Tongyu".

During the Sui Dynasty, there was already an official policy to promote the common language of the country.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, many aspects such as politics, economy and culture were inherited from the Sui Dynasty, and the official dialect was no exception, it was called"Hanyin"or"Qin Yin"。

In the Song Dynasty, in order to mark the rhyme more accurately, the "Tang Rhyme" was revised to "Guangyun". Subsequently, Liu Yuan of the Southern Song Dynasty compiled a more detailed "Pingshui Rhyme" on the basis of "Guangyun".

In the Yuan Dynasty, a new rule was implemented: the use of Chinese as the national language in school instruction marked a major advance in the common language of Chinese. In the Ming Dynasty, Jinling Yayin, as the source of official speech, was vigorously promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang to build the capital of Nanjing.

During the Qing Dynasty, Beijing was the capital, which gradually merged Nanjing dialect and Beijing dialect to form the northern official dialect. In the past, the Chinese language has gained wide recognition and has become the common language of the whole nation.

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