How did Putonghua come into being and where did it originate in China?

The formation of Putonghua: The Rhyme of Central Plains written by Zhou Deqing in Yuan Dynasty is based on the rhymes of Yuan Zaju. The phonetic system summarized in the book (initials, finals and tones) is quite close to today's Beijing dialect, so it has become the original basis for the formation of modern Putonghua. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese homophones with northern dialect as the basic dialect and Beijing dialect as the standard pronunciation had actually formed.

Putonghua originated in Luanping County, Chengde City, Hebei Province, China. After more than 200 years of historical fault, the original dialect of Luanping was "washed away"; Banners reclaimed land and built villages in Luanping, making Luanping a promotion area of Beijing Mandarin. Because Luanping is like a blank tape, a large number of immigrants from various sources do not have a strong dialect, and the common language is Beijing Mandarin popularized in the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that Luanping was the first area to popularize Beijing Mandarin in Qing Dynasty.

Extended data:

In the Qing Dynasty, the senior aristocratic groups set up "field outside the mouth" in Luanping, forming a new aristocratic area in the blank area. Beijing Mandarin is Beijing Elegant Tone, which is different from Beijing Hutong Tone. Elegant sounds were mainly used by the literate aristocrats at that time (and led others to imitate and learn), learning Chinese rhyme, paying attention to speech speed, airflow and charm, and forming elegant sound quality.

Luanping dialect formed on this basis is deeply influenced by Beijing Mandarin and has its own characteristics in its evolution, such as directness, clarity and clarity. Maybe these just meet the promotion standards. "From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, and then through the New Culture Movement, the influential Beijing Mandarin eventually became the predecessor of the new China Mandarin.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Mandarin