ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the contrast of colloquialism and refined language (yayan, standard language in a later sense). Prior to the creation of written language, common sayings could not be deemed vulgar. Colloquial language is more suitable for describing vernacular culture. The post-Tang dynasty marked a significant period of development in Chinese vernacular culture, particularly in the theaters of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Vernacular culture gave rise to prosimetric literature, and as a result, colloquialisms began to enter the Chinese language in large numbers. Western missionaries who arrived in China from the late Ming dynasty onwards paid greater attention to colloquialisms than Chinese scholars.
