Yuen Ren Chao

Yuen Ren Chao (traditional Chinese: 趙元任; simplified Chinese: 赵元任; pinyin: Zhào Yuánrèn; 3 November 1892 – 25 February 1982) was a Chinese-American linguist, musician, and polymath. Applying modern linguistic theory and scientific methods to the study of Chinese phonology, dialects, and grammar, Chao was a leading advocate of the National Language Movement and a principal architect of the Gwoyeu Romatzyh romanization system. His Mandarin Primer was among the most widely used Chinese textbooks of the twentieth century. From 1938 onward, he lived in the United States.