About Proto-Chinese
Proto-Chinese is the earliest stage of Chinese that can be reconstructed. All modern dialects of Chinese descend from Proto-Chinese.
In reconstructing historical Chinese, one can use:
- evidence from the pronunciation of modern spoken languages;
- evidence from ancient Chinese dictionaries; and
- evidence from the Chinese writing system.
As it turns out, the Chinese writing system provides insights about Proto-Chinese (such as the existence of aspirated nasals) that cannot be discerned from studying modern spoken dialects alone. Thus, the Chinese writing system appears to pre-date the diversification of Chinese into the numerous modern dialects.