Vernacular Languages, Local Spaces and Democratic Claims in China Since the May Fourth Period

When classical Chinese was replaced by modern vernacular Chinese in the early 20th century, the change was generally viewed as an aspect of the democratization and modernization of China, contributing to its transformation into a nation-state. However, the standardization of the new national language on the basis of the northern vernacular also made it into the tool of a new type of hegemony. This essay argues that it was the sphere of cultural and linguistic locality which functioned as a space of democratic contestation throughout the 20th century.