A Methodology for Studying Linguistic and Cultural Change in China, 1900-1950

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantitative framework using word counts and embeddings to analyze linguistic and cultural shifts in China from 1900 to 1950, offering new insights into modernity's impact.

Contribution

It presents a novel methodological approach for studying Chinese linguistic and cultural change using computational tools in an understudied historical period.

Findings

Word counts reveal shifts in language usage over time.

Word embeddings uncover cultural discourse transformations.

Framework demonstrates potential for historical text analysis.

Abstract

This paper presents a quantitative approach to studying linguistic and cultural change in China during the first half of the twentieth century, a period that remains understudied in computational humanities research. The dramatic changes in Chinese language and culture during this time call for greater reflection on the tools and methods used for text analysis. This preliminary study offers a framework for analyzing Chinese texts from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, demonstrating how established methods such as word counts and word embeddings can provide new historical insights into the complex negotiations between Western modernity and Chinese cultural discourse.