The Language Revolution that Modernized China

Join us at Soho House for a talk with Pulitzer Prize finalist Jing Tsu. In her latest book, Kingdom of Characters, Jing argues that China’s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology. Jing will discuss the drive and passion of Chinese visionaries who helped modernize the Chinese language over the last century, the common purposes that motivated them, the lessons we can learn as we try to hold on to seemingly outdated elements of our cultural heritage, and the challenges that lie ahead for Putonghua.