The Chinese language has undergone drastic changes over the past 150 years in a way that is unparalleled in Chinese history. In writing this book, I have hoped to present a comprehensive account of the development of Modern Chinese mainly from the late nineteenth century up to the 1990s, concentrating on three major aspects, namely Modern Spoken Chinese, Modern Written Chinese, and the Modern Chinese writing system. I have attempted to describe and analyse the establishment and promotion of Modern Chinese in its spoken and written forms, and the reform of Chinese script in a historical and social context. Treating the topics in question in an integrated way, I hope I have been in a position to reveal the close interrelationships between spoken Chinese, written Chinese, and the Chinese writing system, and to highlight the interaction of linguistic, and historical, social factors at work in the process. In this book, which has incorporated my own research results over the years and the gains of the latest research reported in the literature in Chinese and Western languages, I have aimed to provide readers with up-to-date findings in the field.

The book was written primarily for students and teachers of Chinese language and Chinese linguistics. It may be used for the relevant subjects at the upper undergraduate and postgraduate level at university, or read by those who have studied Chinese for some years. I will be very pleased if my fellow researchers in Chinese linguistics also find something useful in it.