Mandarin is effectively a Chinese lingua-franca these days... I know people from all areas of China and Chinese-origin countries like Taiwan, and they happily c

Mandarin is effectively a Chinese lingua-franca these days... I know people from all areas of China and Chinese-origin countries like Taiwan, and they happily chat away when they meet, although their native dialects are supposedly not mutually comprehensible. Also the written language, which varies far less, has always served as sort of an anchor and connecting point. Historically, language was one of the central factors underlying the entire concept of "China" and "Chinese" (China as a country in the modern sense is a very recent phenomena).