Published : 2025-02-06

On February 6, 1956, the State Council of China issued the "Directive on Promoting Mandarin".

The "Directive" stated that due to historical reasons, the development of the Chinese language has not yet reached complete unity, and many seriously divergent dialects hinder communication among people in different regions.

However, as the "Directive" pointed out, the foundation for the unification of the Chinese language now exists.

"This foundation is Mandarin, which uses Beijing pronunciation as the standard, the Northern dialect as the foundational dialect, and exemplary modern vernacular Chinese works as its grammatical norms."

The "Directive" proposed several specific methods to promote Mandarin, including starting from the fall of 1956, with the exception of minority areas, all primary and secondary schools nationwide should begin teaching Mandarin in language arts classes.

At the same time, teachers in primary schools, secondary schools, and normal schools should primarily use Mandarin for instruction.

Additionally, radio stations in various dialect regions across the country must appropriately use Mandarin in their daily broadcasting programmes to help listeners gradually understand and learn to speak Mandarin.

The "Directive" also mentioned that all translators engaged in foreign communication, except for special needs, should conduct translations in Mandarin.