Written vernacular Chinese

Written vernacular Chinese, also known as baihua, comprises forms of written Chinese based on the vernacular varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China. It is contrasted with the more concise Literary Chinese, which was the dominant style of official and scholarly writing in imperial China until the early 20th century. It is also called standard written Chinese or modern written Chinese.

Writing styles based on vernacular Mandarin Chinese were used in novels by Ming and Qing dynasty authors, and later refined by intellectuals associated with the May Fourth Movement. A standardized form corresponding to the grammar of spoken Standard Chinese eventually developed, and has become the modern standard of writing used by speakers of all varieties of Chinese throughout Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.