@article{ART003308161},
author={MIN KYUNGMAN},
title={The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular},
journal={The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China},
issn={1738-0502},
year={2026},
number={79},
pages={37-63},
doi={10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002}
TY - JOUR
AU - MIN KYUNGMAN
TI - The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular
JO - The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 79
PB - Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
SP - 37
EP - 63
SN - 1738-0502
AB - This study aims to clarify the formation mechanism and hybridity of the Modern Beijing Dialect by analyzing the differentiation and fusion of language strata caused by the unique “Dual City” structure of Qing Dynasty Beijing from a historical sociolinguistic perspective. The “Manchu-Han Segregation (滿漢分居)” policy implemented in the early Qing period geographically and demographically divided Beijing into the Inner City, a space for Bannermen, and the Outer City, a space for Han people, inevitably leading to the dualization of language communities. The analysis confirms that the Inner City formed a “Prestige Variety” community centered on “Mandarin (官話)” that oriented toward literary norms and clarity, whereas the Outer City formed a “Vernacular” community centered on “Tuhua (土話)” characterized by oral economy and excessive rhotacization (Erhua).
However, from the mid-Qing period onwards, the deepening livelihood issues of the Eight Banners, the “Mixed Residence of Banner and Han (旗民混居)” phenomenon, and expanded exchanges in commerce and popular culture (Peking Opera, acrobatics, etc.) broke down physical barriers between the two spaces and triggered language contact. This study reveals that the Modern Beijing Dialect, formed as a result of this fusion, is a product of “Stratified Hybridity” in which the “colloquial flesh” of Outer City Tuhua is overlaid upon the “systematic skeleton” of Inner City Mandarin. The irregular variation patterns in the treatment of the entering tone (入聲) serve as concrete evidence demonstrating the antagonism and coexistence of these two strata.
Consequently, the identity of the Modern Beijing Dialect lies in dynamic “hybridity” rather than singular inheritance or purity. This study is significant in suggesting that the national standard language (Putonghua) selectively inherited the structural features of the Inner City, and in reinterpreting the urban space of Beijing as a “Linguistic Contact Zone” where the Inner City (Structure) and Outer City (Style) interpenetrate.
KW - Qing Dynasty Beijing;Dual City;Language Stratification;Hybridity;Inner City Mandarin;Outer City Vernacular;Sociolinguistics
DO - 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
ER -
MIN KYUNGMAN. (2026). The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 79, 37-63.
MIN KYUNGMAN. 2026, "The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular", The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, no.79, pp.37-63. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
MIN KYUNGMAN "The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China 79 pp.37-63 (2026) : 37.
MIN KYUNGMAN. The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular. 2026; 79 : 37-63. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
MIN KYUNGMAN. "The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.79(2026) : 37-63.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
MIN KYUNGMAN. The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 79, 37-63. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
MIN KYUNGMAN. The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China. 2026; 79 37-63. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
MIN KYUNGMAN. The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular. 2026; 79 : 37-63. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
MIN KYUNGMAN. "The Fusion of Dual City Structure and Language Stratification in Qing Dynasty Beijing ― Focusing on the Hybridity of Inner City Mandarin and Outer City Vernacular" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.79(2026) : 37-63.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.002
