The earliest attested stage of the Chinese language is Old Chinese, which was spoken during the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE). Old Chinese was a tonal language, and it had a relatively simple grammatical structure. The writing system used to write Old Chinese was called oracle bone script, which was developed during the Shang dynasty. Oracle bone script was used to write divinations on animal bones and turtle shells.
Middle Chinese
The next major stage of the Chinese language is Middle Chinese, which was spoken during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Middle Chinese was also a tonal language, but it had a more complex grammatical structure than Old Chinese. The writing system used to write Middle Chinese was called clerical script, which developed during the Han dynasty. Clerical script was a more standardized form of writing than oracle bone script.
Modern Chinese
The modern stage of the Chinese language is Modern Chinese, which is spoken today by over 1 billion people. Modern Chinese is a tonal language, and it has a complex grammatical structure. The writing system used to write Modern Chinese is called simplified Chinese characters, which developed in the 20th century. Simplified Chinese characters are based on traditional Chinese characters, but they are simpler to write.