Dongmei Wang

Written vernacular Chinese, also known as baihua, comprises forms of written Chinese based on the vernacular varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China. It is contrasted with the more concise Literary Chinese, which was the dominant style of official and scholarly writing in imperial China until the early 20th century. Writing styles based on vernacular Mandarin Chinese were used in novels by Ming and Qing dynasty authors, and later refined by intellectuals associated with the May Fourth Movem…