Zhùyīn zìmǔ 注音字母 originated in the “Movement for spelling Chinese” (qièyīn yùndòng 切音運動) at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Its history cannot be separated from the “National Language movement” (guóyǔ yùndòng 國語運動) which had also begun during that time. The call for a modern national language (including a written standard based on a unified and standardized spoken language) had been influenced by the political situation of the nineteenth century, when China was dominated by foreign imperialistic powers. The C…