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Xi'an Dialect - legacy of an elegant language
There are three major dialects in Northwest
China's Shaanxi
Province, namely, that of the northern, central, and southern parts of the
province, which is one of the cradles of ancient Chinese civilization. However,
the term "Shaanxi dialect" usually refers to the local talk of the Central
Plains, which can be represented by the dialect of Xi'an, the provincial
capital. Xi'an dialect collectively demonstrates the characteristics and
features of all its variations popular in the province and nearby regions,
reflecting its long development process.
Xi'an dialect was called Guanxi Qin Voice in ancient times, and was
promoted and spread as an official accent, just as Mandarin is today. In the Zhou
Dynasty (11th century-256BC), when Xi'an was the capital of the country for
the first time, the dialect was called an "elegant language" according to some
canons.
The reasons why Xi'an dialect was called "elegant language", and considered a
national language lied not only in the necessity of uniting the country. It was
also because the people of that time considered the dialect's intonation and
pronunciation as melodious and attractive to the ear. The unique qualities of
the language helped its popularity, and it was a fashion to learn the dialect at
the time.
However, Xi'an dialect nowadays is different from the "elegant language" in
the Zhou Dynasty, and does not enjoy that popularity. It is now known as being
very unconstrained and sonorous; nevertheless, it is still regarded as an
important genre in Chinese dialects.
Legend goes that more than 4,000 years ago, Cang Jie, a local from Shaanxi's
Baoji, created Chinese
characters. As a result, Shaanxi dialect was endowed with its natural
profoundness and extensiveness from the beginning. Through the dialect, one
could look into the development track of the ancient civilization as well as the
truthful and sincere feelings the dialect still expresses today.
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