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The earliest historical linguistic evidence of the spoken Chinese language dates back approximately 4500 years, while examples of the writing system that would become written Chinese are attested in a body of inscriptions made on bronze vessels and oracle bones during the Late Shang period (c. 1250 – 1050 BCE), with the very oldest dated to c ...
Jun 14, 2024 · Some scholars divide the history of the Chinese languages into Proto-Sinitic (Proto-Chinese; until 500 bc), Archaic (Old) Chinese (8th to 3rd century bc), Ancient (Middle) Chinese (through ad 907), and Modern Chinese (from c. the 10th century to modern times). The Proto-Sinitic period is the period of the most ancient inscriptions and poetry ...
Historically, the Chinese language has spread to its neighbors through a variety of means. Northern Vietnam was incorporated into the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) in 111 BCE, marking the beginning of a period of Chinese control that ran almost continuously for a millennium.
Jun 14, 2024 · The history of the Chinese language can be divided into three periods, pre-Classical (c. 1500 bc –c. ad 200), Classical (c. 200–c. 1920), and post-Classical Chinese (with important forerunners as far back as the Tang dynasty).
2 days ago · Mandarin language, the most widely spoken form of Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is spoken in all of China north of the Yangtze River and in much of the rest of the country and is the native language of two-thirds of the population. Mandarin Chinese is often divided into four subgroups: Northern.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn how Chinese evolved from Old Chinese to Middle Chinese to Mandarin and finally to Modern Standard Chinese. Discover the origins, influences and developments of the world's most widely spoken language.
Sep 29, 2014 · This article covers linguistics of Chinese language in the historical period from the earliest records around 1200 BCE to Late Han.
