Wu (Wúyǔ 吴语)|Wúyǔ 吴语 (Wu)
OOI Giok Ling A bustling crowd of shoppers at a Shanghai market. Wu is one of the sub languages of
Min (Mǐn fāngyán 闽方言)|Mǐn fāngyán 闽方言 (Min)
Margaret Mian YAN The Min dialect group is the most divergent and complicated of China’s seven major languages. At least
Cantonese (Yue) (Yuè 粤)|Yuè 粤 (Cantonese (Yue))
OOI Giok Ling A Cantonese shopper in Macao carries a baby on her back, vegetables in her bag, and an
Hakka Languages (Kèjiāhuà 客家话)|Kèjiāhuà 客家话 (Hakka Languages)
Margaret Mian YAN A Hakka woman in a traditional hat often worn in the fields. Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. PHOTO BY
Word Radicals (Bùshǒu 部首)|Bùshǒu 部首 (Word Radicals)
Yit-Seng YOW Chinese word radicals are the building blocks of most of Chinese words. Each radical conveys a certain message,
Sino-Tibetan Languages (Hàn-Zàng yǔxì de yǔyán 汉藏语系的语言)|Hàn-Zàng yǔxì de yǔyán 汉藏语系的语言 (Sino-Tibetan Languages)
Stefan GEORG Sino-Tibetan languages, by some measurements the largest language family in the world, are divided into two groups. The
Mandarin (Guānhuà 官话, Pǔtōnghuà 普通话, Guóyǔ 国语)|Guānhuà 官话, Pǔtōnghuà 普通话, Guóyǔ 国语 (Mandarin)
Chris Wen-Chao LI Modern Standard Chinese, as the official language of the Chinese-speaking world, came to be equated with the
Chinese, Classical (Wényánwén 文言文)|Wényánwén 文言文 (Chinese, Classical)
Chris Wen-Chao LI Chen Duxiu, one of the founders of Communism in China, was both a scholar and a rebel.
Vernacular Language Movement (Báihuàwén Yùndòng 白话文运动)|Báihuàwén Yùndòng 白话文运动 (Vernacular Language Movement)
LU Yan These members of the New Culture Movement advocated literature written in the vernacular language of the masses. Clockwise
Oracle Bones (Jiǎgǔwén 甲骨文)|Jiǎgǔwén 甲骨文 (Oracle Bones)
WANG Ying Three Kinds of Archaic Graphs and their Transitions to Modern Characters. Top Row: Complex single-element graphs whose modern