A critical study of the 'Language of the masses' (Dazhongyu) in China in the 1930s = 1930 nian dai Zhongguo "Da zhong yu" yan jiu

Abstract

A discussion on language reform emerged in China in the 1930s amongst intellectuals, who put forward a scheme of the ‘Language of the Masses’ (Dazhongyu) in the hope that a new written language which the masses were competent in would materialise to replace the Classical Chinese (Wenyan wen) and Vernacular Chinese (Baihua wen). As soon as the concept emerged, it drew considerable attention from intellectuals. Linguists, writers, dramatists, educationalists etc. from radically different backgrounds with mixed views were joining the discussion, giving rise to the largest scale of discussion on the establishment of a written language following the May Fourth Movement.

There are ten chapters in this thesis, with the first being an introduction. The next chapter looks into the background and development of Dazhongyu. It explores how such factors as language development and political situation etc. led intellectuals to develop the idea of Dazhongyu. This chapter also gives a brief sketch of the discussion of Dazhongyu. Chapters three to seven discuss intellectuals’ interpretation of the relationship between Dazhongyu and Vernacular Chinese, Classical Chinese, regional dialect, and foreign languages respectively. These chapters discuss critically the components of this newly proposed written language. The eighth chapter analyses the intellectuals’ proposal of Latinization of the Chinese language. Chapter nine investigates the impacts of Dazhongyu on the language development in China. The last chapter is a conclusion summarizing both the positive and negative sides of the debate on Dazhongyu covered in the foregoing chapters.

Whilst Dazhongyu was not successful – there has never been a new written language which could take the place of Wenyan wen and Baihua wen, the discussion has made an impact on the later development of the Chinese language. Moreover, intellectuals’ views on Dazhongyu revealed the development of Chinese in the 1930s. For instance, the debate on Dazhongyu stimulated the Latinization of Chinese characters, bringing about not only the discrepancy in Romanization between Mainland China and Taiwan, but also variation in the style of the written language. Moreover, it rendered the revival of Wenyan wen impossible. That means, the classical language would never be the mainstream in China again. Therefore, it is of particular significance to delve into the idea of Dazhongyu.

Undoubtedly, the debate on Dazhongyu deserves our attention in the history of the development of Chinese as it represents intellectuals’ response to, expectations of and views on the development of the Chinese language in the 1930s. It also demonstrates the importance of the relationship between the written language and spoken language to them. A full picture of the development of the Chinese language would not have been possible if we had jumped to the conclusion that nothing stood in the way of the development of Baihua wen following the New Culture Movement without giving due attention to this debate.