What are the basis and principles for the division of Chinese dialects?

First, the basis for the division of Chinese dialects. Mainly phonetics, including initials, finals and tones; Secondly, vocabulary; Finally, grammar.

The differences between Chinese dialects are manifested in phonetics, vocabulary and grammar, among which phonetics is the biggest, vocabulary is the second, and grammar is the last. According to these differences, Chinese dialects are not only divided into seven dialect areas (northern dialect area, Gan dialect area, Wu dialect area, Xiang dialect area, Hakka dialect area, Min dialect area and Yue dialect area), but also divided into several dialect pieces (also called sub-dialects), and even how many "dialect pieces" there are in complex dialect areas.

Second, the basic principles of Chinese dialect division. There are three main projects:

1, the regional distribution and migration trajectory of dialects, including the organizational system of state capitals, the flow direction of rivers and other factors; The number of immigrants is reflected in the change of the organizational system of the state government, and the route of immigrants is closely related to the river direction and the consistency of cultural underlying partition.

2. Mutual confirmation of Chinese historical phonetics with modern dialects and surrounding dialects.

3. Phonetic features and comprehensiveness of basic vocabulary and grammatical structure.