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baihua

Chinese language
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Also known as: pai-hua
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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Article History
Chinese:
“colloquial language”
Wade-Giles romanization:
pai-hua
Key People:
Hu Shih
Zhou Zuoren

baihua, vernacular style of Chinese that was adopted as a written language in a movement to revitalize the Classical Chinese literary language and make it more accessible to the common people. Started in 1917 by the philosopher and historian Hu Shi, the baihua literary movement succeeded in making baihua the language of textbooks, periodicals, newspapers, and public documents, thus causing a definite change in Chinese cultural life.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.