A major impetus for the development of modern Chinese lexicography at the beginning of the 20th century was provided by the National Language Movement (guóyǔ yùndòng 國語運動), epitomized by its slogans “Reunification of the National Language” (guóyǔ tǒngyī 國語統一) and “Consistency of Speech and Writing” (yán wén yízhì 言文一致). The former slogan involved the formulation of a common language for the entire country, which in turn implied the tasks of codification and standardization by means of compilation and publication of dictionaries. The latter s…