Languages of China

Hu Xin and He Yan Xin as seen in the film "Hidden Letters"

These women are trying to preserve an ancient Chinese language invented as a secret code

Language

Hundreds of years ago, women in China weren’t allowed an education and spent their days locked in rooms, embroidering and making crafts. They came up with a new language that men couldn’t understand — Nüshu — and wrote it onto handmade fans to communicate with each other. A filmmaker is now trying to raise awareness to preserve it before it is lost.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner  walks on the carpet before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing February 5, 2015.

Argentine president in China to negotiate deals on ‘lice and petloleum’

Culture
A job seeker looks at recruitment advertisements at a labor market in Guangdong province, where most people speak Cantonese.

Beijing has a message for China’s Cantonese speakers — stick to Mandarin!

Culture
Cantopop singer Corinna Chamberlain, aka Chan Ming Yan.

This blond and blue-eyed singer wows Hong Kongers with her flawless Cantopop

Arts, Culture & Media
The World

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Global Politics
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The World

Cantonese: a Dialect in Peril?

Arts, Culture & Media

In official China, Mandarin is favored over all other dialects. That has had a knock-on effect here in the US, where Cantonese used to be the dominant Chinese language. Reporter Nina Porzucki reports from New York on how Cantonese is faring.

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Donate today to help us raise $25,000 by June 30 and help sustain our international reporting. All donations will be matched 2:1!