"Download the e-book of 'Big Talk in Dialects' by Yi Zhongtian"

There have been various sayings about the South and North in China: nanyuan bezhe (literally "south辕 north辙", meaning to go in opposite directions), nanzheng beizhan (literally "south征 north战", meaning fight in both south and north), nanlai beiwang (literally "south来 north往", meaning going south and coming north), nandaxia bishang (literally "south下 north上", meaning moving from south to north) etc. None of these sayings can be reversed or interchanged. For example, nanyuan bezhe cannot be said as beiyuan nanzhe, nanzheng beizhan cannot be said as nan zhan bei zheng, and similarly, nanqiang betiao (southern accent and northern tone) cannot be said as nandiao beiqiang. Strange! Why is it "腔" for the South and "调" for the North?

In the book "The Dialect", Professor Yi Zhentian once again presents a unique work on language after his previous works on historical details and cities. In this book, Yi Zhentian ventures into the brand-new field of "linguistics". He conducts a comprehensive investigation into the dialect cultures of various regions in China, and interprets them in his usual humorous and witty writing style. The content spans ancient and modern times, crosses provinces and states, traces the origin of dialects, displays their characteristics, making readers unable to hold back laughter, impossible to put down, and leaves a lasting impression after reading. It has been praised by insiders as an academic work with great readability.