Mandarin

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Mandarin is the standard dialect of spoken Chinese. It is referred to as Pǔtōnghuà in China, Guóyǔ in Taiwan, and Huáyǔ in Singapore. In its modern form, Mandarin is based on the dialect of Beijing. Localisms, such as the final r sound favored by Beijing residents, are not part of the standard form.

Mandarin
Traditional Chinese 普通話
Simplified Chinese 普通话
Literal meaning common speech

China was split North and South during the Song dynasty in the Middle Ages. The Mongols treated North and South China as separated countries. For example, Marco Polo writes of "Cathay" (North China) and "Manzi" (South China). By the time China was reunited by the Ming dynasty in 1368, North and South had drifted far apart. The dialect of Nanjing was chosen as a national standard. In the 1860s, Nanjing was depopulated by the Taiping Rebellion. As a result, its dialect was displaced by that of Beijing. Both cities speak dialects of the North Chinese type.

In imperial times, written Classical Chinese was the standard form of communication. This is the language spoken by Confucius in ancient times, and it is quite different than modern Chinese. Meanwhile, the use of Mandarin was restricted to novels and other forms of popular culture. As a result of the May Fourth Movement, Mandarin largely displaced Classical Chinese in the 1920s.

In the twentieth century, both the Nationalists and the Communists promoted the use of Mandarin. This has occasionally been resisted by speakers of other dialects. The popularity Hong Kong-based pop culture has allowed the Cantonese-speaking South to resist the advance of Mandarin.