What was the official language of ancient China?

The official language of ancient China was Yayan, and Confucius used Yayan as a linguistic tool when he traveled to various countries. In ancient times, the word "Ya" was used as the word "Xia" (at that time, it was a homophone, and it was read"Ahh"or"ei"Yayan is Xia Yan, which is the language of China, and it is the orthodoxy of the Han people. Although Cantonese and Min also have some language vocabulary of local ethnic minorities in Guangdong and Fujian (today's Min still has some Wu elements), the Chinese from the Central Plains at that time was the absolute main body of Cantonese and Min languages, and the pronunciation of Chinese characters in Cantonese and Min was still the pronunciation of Chinese characters in different periods in the ancient Central Plains.

The Han Chinese of Guangdong and Fujian emigrated from the Central Plains. The language was also brought from the Central Plains. It's just a little different in timing.

It is probably an indisputable fact that Cantonese originated from a mixture of Old Vietnamese and Old Chinese. It is also called in Cantonese"Vernacular"The earliest Cantonese was brought to Guangdong by an army from Hebei 2,100 years ago. The predecessor of Cantonese is also the Central Plains Yayan, which is the Chinese dialect, the most authentic and orthodox Chinese of the Han people, and the mother tongue of the Chinese nation.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, a large number of immigrants from the Central Plains moved south to Guangdong, gathered in Shaoguan, Guangdong, and then distributed to the Pearl River Delta. But the absolute majority of Cantonese is the Chinese language in the ancient Central Plains. Vernacular is not only spoken by Han people in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong, but also spoken in some areas of Guangxi, but the pronunciation is slightly different.

Its name ** is derived from the ancient Chinese name for Lingnan "Yue" (Tong "Yue"). One theory is that Cantonese is a Chinese language that incorporates Old Yue; The other is that the Old Yue language has merged with Chinese elements to become a completely new language. The Hokkien language was first brought to the southern part of Fujian by an army from Henan 1800 years ago.

Hokkien is the successor of the ancient Henan Luoyang dialect. Luoyang, Henan Province, is the ancient capital and the seat of the Son of Heaven. The ancient Henan Luoyang dialect is the orthodoxy of the Central Plains Yayan.

Its predecessor was the language of the royal family of the Western Zhou (Zhou Dynasty). In ancient times, there were no Han people in the south, and the Han people in the Central Plains who migrated from the Central Plains (such as Henan) to southern Fujian brought the Henan Luoyang dialect to southern Fujian. When the Han people in the Central Plains left their hometown and ran to the south with Henan Luoyang dialect, they looked back at the Central Plains, and they chanted Henan Luoyang dialect in the direction of the Central Plains, but they did not expect that their hometown would change later, and the Henan Luoyang dialect of their hometown had changed dramatically.

Later, the Central Plains region was occupied by nomads, nomads became rulers, nomads in the process of sinicization, changed the pronunciation of Chinese characters in Henan Luoyang dialect, so that Henan Luoyang dialect fractured development, and spread this result, Henan Luoyang dialect has undergone fission, step by step away from the original Han people's Henan Luoyang dialect, this change has led to today's Henan Luoyang dialect is no longer the ancient Henan Luoyang dialect.

When did you get such a difficult question1?

1. Pre-Qin period.

The ancient Yayan (the earliest ancient lingua franca in China, equivalent to the current Mandarin) is Xia Yan. Xia Jiandu was in Luoyang, and then Yin Dynasty Jiandu was also around Luoyang. Therefore, the basis of the standard pronunciation of Yayan in the past dynasties is in the Luoyang area, and it can be said that the ancient Mandarin is based on the ancient Luoyang dialect as the standard pronunciation.

2. The Qin and Han dynasties.

It is impossible to verify the specific language used by the Qin Dynasty. The Chinese language of the Han Dynasty was "Luo", and Luoyu inherited the Yayan of the pre-Qin era. The standard Chinese language of the Han Dynasty was called "Zhengyin", "Yayan", and also known as "Tongyu".

3. The Two Jin Dynasties and the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The Western Jin Dynasty inherited the Han Dynasty and adopted Luo as the Chinese language. Yongjia Rebellion, Luojing overturned, the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved the capital to Jiankang, Luo language and the Middle Wu language combined to form Jinling Yayin, also known as Wu Yin, for the Southern Dynasty to follow.

Fourth, the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The Sui Dynasty unified China and compiled "Cut Rhyme", which was based on Jinling Yayin and Luoyang Yayin, and the official sounds of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were fused to form Chang'an Guanyin (Qin Yin). Tang Chengsui system. Sui and Tang Chinese are "Hanyin", or "Qin Yin".

The Sui and Tang dynasties had Chang'an as their capital, and Luoyang was the eastern capital, at this time the Han sound in the Central Plains and Guanzhong had evolved after blending with various ethnic groups.

5. Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains was based on the Yayin of the Central Plains, and before the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains region was integrated into a number of northern ethnic groups, and the "Central Plains Sound" in the Jianghuai region was relatively pure, and the official dialect was based on the Nanjing sound, and the Nanjing official dialect was the standard language of Chinese. During the Yongle period, the capital was moved to Beijing, and immigrants from all over the country immigrated to Beijing, of which about 400,000 immigrants from Nanjing accounted for half of the population of Beijing, and Nanjing pronunciation became the basis of Beijing pronunciation at that time, and Nanjing official dialect was spoken throughout the Ming Dynasty.

The official language of ancient times changed according to the succession of dynasties.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the official language of the Zhou Dynasty was generally considered to be the language of the Book of Songs, that is, Yayan;

During the Han Dynasty, the official language of the Han Dynasty was Luo, which inherited the Yayan of the pre-Qin era, and the official language of the Han Dynasty was called Zhengyin and Yayan, also known as Tongyu;

During the period of the two Jin and Northern Dynasties, the Western Jin Dynasty inherited the Han Dynasty, with Luo as the official language, the Yongjia Rebellion, the overthrow of Luojing, the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved the capital to Jiankang, and the Luo language and the Middle Wu language were combined to form Jinling Yayin, also known as Wu Yin, which was inherited by the Southern Dynasties;

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, after the Sui Dynasty unified China, Jinling Yayin and Luoyang Yayin were used as the basis for the positive sound, and the official sounds of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were fused to form the Chang'an official sound, that is, the Qin sound, the Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui system, and the official language of the Sui and Tang dynasties was Hanyin, or Qin Yin;

During the Song Dynasty, the official languages of the Song Dynasty were Yin and Yayin;

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty made Mongolian the official language, and later the Chinese pronunciation of the Yuan Dadu was the official language, which was called Tianxia Tongque Lun Language;

In the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was based on the Central Plains Yayin, the Nanjing sound was the basic Luzao, and the Nanjing official dialect was the official language;

During the Qing Dynasty, Manchu began to be the official language in the early Qing Dynasty, and then Mandarin Chinese became the official language.

The official language of ancient times changed according to the succession of dynasties.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the official language of the Zhou Dynasty was generally considered to be the language of the Book of Songs, that is, Yayan;

During the Han Dynasty, the official language of the Han Dynasty was Luo, which inherited the Yayan of the pre-Qin era, and the official language of the Han Dynasty was called Zhengyin and Yayan, also known as Tongyu;

During the period of the two Jin and Northern Dynasties, the Western Jin Dynasty inherited the Han Dynasty, with Luo as the official language, the Yongjia Rebellion, the overthrow of Luojing, the Eastern Jin Dynasty moved the capital to Jiankang, and the Luo language and the Middle Wu language were combined to form Jinling Yayin, also known as Wu Yin, which was inherited by the Southern Dynasties;

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, after the Sui Dynasty unified China, Jinling Yayin and Luoyang Yayin were used as the basic pronunciation, and the official pronunciation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was fused to form the official pronunciation of Chang'an, that is, Qin Yin, the Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui system, and the official language of Sui and Tang Dynasty was Hanyin, or Qin Yin;

During the Song Dynasty, the official languages of the Song Dynasty were Yin and Yayin;

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty made Mongolian the official language, and later the Chinese pronunciation of the Yuan Dadu was the official language, which was called Tianxia Tongyu;

In the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty used the Central Plains Yayin as the positive, the Nanjing Yin as the basis of the rough Kai, and the Nanjing official dialect as the official language;

During the Qing Dynasty, Manchu began to be the official language in the early Qing Dynasty, and then Mandarin Chinese became the official language.

In China, the ancients attached great importance to the unity of various local dialects, so there was "Yayan". The article "Cihai Yayan" says: "Yayan, in ancient times, was called 'national common language', which is symmetrical with 'hometown dialect'.

Kong Yingda said in the "Text": "Yayan, Zhengyan also." "Yayan" is the earliest ancient lingua franca in China, which is equivalent to the current level of Mandarin.

According to historical records, the earliest "Yayan" in China should be based on the local language of the Zhou Dynasty, and the language of Fenghao, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty (now northwest of Xi'an), was the Yayan of all parts of the country.

Mencius taught in the state of Lu, and its three thousand apprentices ** were in all directions, and Mencius happened to teach in Yayan. "The Analects of Confucius: The Seventh Statement" says: "The words of the son, the poems, the books, and the rituals are all elegant words.

Erya is the earliest book in China to interpret the meaning of words, and it is a dictionary in ancient China. "Erya" is one of the classics of Confucianism and is included in the Thirteen Classics. The number of rhymes in "Ji Rhyme" is the same as that in "Guang Yun".

Only rhyme Chinese characters, part of the rhyme order is slightly different from the rhyme below the note of the joint and exclusive provisions. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Xu Jingzong and others asked for permission to use the narrow rhyme and the adjacent rhyme in the "Cut Rhyme".

"Central Plains Rhyme" is to reflect the hometown dialect, that is, to speak phonetics, and "Hongwu Zhengyun" is to reflect the official dialect, that is, to read the sound, so the two are the same. "Hongwu Zhengyun" stabilized the sound and did not adopt Zhou Deqing's practice of entering the school with three tones. In the Ming Dynasty, it was frequently engraved and had an impact.

The "Han'er language" of the Qing Dynasty was completely extinct in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. At this point, learning to speak Chinese became the only choice for the Manchus, so the Eight Banners royal family gradually followed the process.

From the expression of everyday life to the political necessity of being able to govern China, the Manchus urgently need to solve a language that can well represent the daily life around them. Therefore, the language of the Han people in Beijing (including vocabulary and phonetics) has become the only option, and the Qing Dynasty's pursuit of progress is by no means the favor of Chinese culture that they preach, it is really a helpless move to achieve their political goals"Work to", completely belonging to all kinds of helplessness. Chinese characters and Chinese, especially the ** phonetic component of Chinese, are the precious assets of the Chinese traditional culture of the Chinese nation, and the top group is also the quintessence of Chinese phonetics, which is the largest link in the continuous development of Chinese phonetics since ancient times.

The Chinese language of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is based on the current "Wu language", because the Wu culture was brought by Zhou Taibo from the Central Plains, which is more orthodox and called "Yayin", and because of the Yangtze River moat, it is less affected by foreign influences in the process of historical development, so it is relatively pure, of course, the ancient Wu language also evolved from the Chu language. During this period, due to the increasingly frequent wars, marriages, and trade between the Hu and Han people, the Chinese orthodox language in the Central Plains has begun to be impure, and a large number of tongue rolls and children's pronunciations have appeared, but the vast areas along the Yangtze River and south of the Yangtze River still maintain the ancient Chinese language, and of course it has begun to change.

Their official language is naturally classical Chinese, and we may not understand it very well now, such as Wu or Ao, wouldn't it be happy.

Their official language should be classical Chinese, that is, most of them will end with Zi or Yue, which makes them appear literate

The emperor's native dialect is the official oak language; Because each generation of emperors has different educational backgrounds, they generally use the hometown dialect of the emperor's code file as the orthodox official language.

Ancient Chinese is the opposite of modern Chinese, which is the ancient language of the Han people. There are two systems of written language in ancient Chinese in a broad sense: one is the written language of ancient Chinese formed on the basis of the spoken language of the pre-Qin period, and the works written by later generations in this written language, that is, Wenyan.

The other is the ancient vernacular formed on the basis of the northern dialect after the Six Dynasties. In the narrow sense, the ancient Han Qisha wheel language is written and whispered, which refers to the literary language. <

Ancient Chinese is the opposite of modern Chinese, which is the ancient language of the Han people. There are two systems of written language in ancient Chinese in a broad sense: one is the written language of ancient Chinese formed on the basis of the spoken language of the pre-Qin period, and the works written by later generations in this written language, that is, Wenyan.

The other is the ancient vernacular formed on the basis of the northern dialect after the Six Dynasties. In the narrow sense, written ancient Chinese refers to the literary language.