Editing Chinese culture (section)

== Language ==
[[File:Map of sinitic languages cropped-en.svg|thumb|right|Range of Chinese dialect groups according to the ''Language Atlas of China''.<ref>Wurm, Li, Baumann, Lee (1987) {{full citation needed|date=March 2019}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Spoken Chinese|Varieties of Chinese}}

The ancient written standard was [[Classical Chinese]]. It was used for thousands of years, but was mostly used by scholars and intellectuals in the upper class society called "shi da fu (士大夫)". It was difficult, but possible, for ordinary people to enter this class by passing written exams. Calligraphy later became commercialized, and works by famous artists became prized possessions. [[Chinese literature]] has a long past; the earliest classic work in Chinese, the ''[[I Ching]]'' or "Book of Changes", dates to around 1000 BC. A flourishing of philosophy during the [[Warring States period]] produced such noteworthy works as Confucius's ''[[Analects]]'' and [[Laozi]]'s ''[[Tao Te Ching]]''. (See also: [[Chinese classics]]) Dynastic histories were often written, beginning with [[Sima Qian]]'s seminal ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', written from 109 BC to 91 BC. The Tang dynasty witnessed a [[Chinese poetry|poetic]] flowering, while the [[Four Great Classical Novels]] of Chinese literature were written during the Ming and Qing dynasties. [[Printmaking]] in the form of [[movable type]] was developed during the [[Song dynasty]]. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on the classics in both printed and handwritten form. Members of royalty frequently participated in these discussions.

Chinese philosophers, writers and poets were highly respected and played key roles in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of the lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities.

=== Varieties of dialect and writing system ===
{{Main|Varieties of Chinese}}
At the start of the 20th century, most of the population were still [[illiterate]], and the many languages spoken ([[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], [[Yue Chinese|Yue]] ([[Cantonese]]), [[Min Nan]] (Ban-lam-gu), [[Jin Chinese|Jin]], [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]], [[Gan Chinese|Gan]], [[Huizhou Chinese|Hui]], [[Pinghua|Ping]] etc.) in different regions prevented spoken communication with people from other areas. However, the written language made communication possible, such as passing on official orders and documents throughout the entire region of China. Reformers set out to establish a national language, settling on the Beijing-based [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]] as the spoken form. After the [[May 4th Movement]], Classical Chinese was quickly replaced by [[written vernacular Chinese]], modeled after the vocabulary and grammar of the standard spoken language.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = S. Robert | last = Ramsey
  | title= The Languages of China
  | publisher = [[Princeton University Press]] | year = 1987
  | location = [[Princeton, New Jersey]]
  |isbn=978-0-691-01468-5
  | pages = 3–16
  }}</ref>