As we all know, China is a big country with multi-ethnic integration. There are 56 ethnic groups, 23 provinces, 4 municipalities directly under the central government, 5 municipalities directly under the central government and 2 special administrative regions. Every nation may have its own customary language and writing, and even many different places and customs are common in China. Therefore, it is obviously impossible for all citizens in such a complex and diverse country to speak only one language at any time and under any circumstances.
According to relevant statistics, there are 2 1 recorded languages in China alone, such as Yi, Xinjiang, Tibetan, Manchu, Cantonese and Korean. After the founding of New China, in order to accelerate the integration of all ethnic groups, a common language based on Chinese Pinyin was actually formulated in 1958. After that, all China people in China will gradually start to master Chinese besides their own national language. Only when you can speak Chinese and Putonghua can you be unimpeded anywhere in China.
However, China is a very tolerant country and respects the folk customs of all ethnic groups. It won't say that people of all ethnic groups must only speak Chinese on any occasion. This is ok as long as you speak Chinese in formal occasions. This is why some people think that there is no national language in China, and Mandarin is not a national language.
But why is this? Actually, it is because China is a multi-ethnic society.
The first point: in order to maintain peace among all ethnic groups. Although China has been dominated by the Han nationality since ancient times, in fact, the influence and quantity of other nationalities can not be ignored. Since ancient times, for thousands of years, all ethnic groups have been fighting for territory and resources. Now that we finally have a good situation of peaceful coexistence and love each other, naturally we can't favor one over the other, because the Han nationality, Chinese and Chinese characters are orthodox and completely ignore the languages and customs of other nationalities. Otherwise, after a long time, you will be eaten by yourself.
Therefore, for the sake of peace between ethnic groups and the sustainable development of the country, only Pinyin is designated as the official language, not the national language, just to take into account the feelings of people of all ethnic groups. It seems that although English is also the common language of many countries, they still don't use English as their national language.
The second point: respect the language freedom of all ethnic groups. Originally, China was a relatively free country. Apart from the principle that everyone must be unified, the state does not interfere too much in hobbies and language habits. This is why Cantonese and Cantonese songs have existed for so many years and have been recognized.
On the basis of being China people, we are still people of a certain ethnic group. We should communicate with each other every day, so it is naturally more convenient and customary to speak our own dialect. As long as you learn Chinese, you can speak clear pronunciation and mellow voice in formal occasions, that's all. Other times, try to come as conveniently as possible.
Foreigners will definitely not ask such questions, because foreigners know that our common language is only Putonghua, and most people with common sense in China will not ask questions, because everyone knows the meaning of Putonghua.