In 1728, Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty established the "Zhengyin Shuguan" (Correct Pronunciation Academy) to promote Beijing Mandarin nationwide. He issued an edict ordering Fujian and Guangdong provinces to adopt the common language of the Han Chinese (formerly known as "Guanhua" or "official speech"), and stipulated that "candidates for the imperial examinations—juren (provincial graduates), shengyuan (scholars), gongjian (tribute students), and tongsheng (juvenile students)—who are not proficient in Guanhua shall not be permitted to take the exams." This meant that scholars who could not understand or speak Guanhua were ineligible to participate in the imperial examinations.
An emperor of Manchu ethnicity, who regarded Manchu as the national language and ethnic symbol, issued an unprecedented imperial decree promoting a standardized form of Chinese—the Mandarin spoken in Beijing—causing a significant stir at the time.
After the edict was issued, counties and prefectures in Fujian and Guangdong provinces generally established Zhengyin Academies to teach Guanhua. Anyone pursuing the path of scholarship, examinations, and officialdom was required to master the official language. At one point, it was even stipulated that juvenile students who could not speak Guanhua would not be allowed to attain the rank of xiucai (scholar).
Emperor Yongzheng's decree promoting Mandarin (known as "Tui Pu") was undoubtedly far-sighted, and the measures taken seemed vigorous, yet the results were minimal. Historical records state: "Initially, efforts were taken seriously, but local officials gradually treated it as an unimportant matter. Over time, the program declined. By the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns, only one Zhengyin Academy remained in Shaowu prefectural city in Fujian, which had also changed its curriculum, while in Guangdong, no such institutions were heard of anymore."
Although the "Tui Pu" edict failed to achieve its ideal results, it did have some positive effects and influence. As the first advocate of Mandarin promotion, Emperor Yongzheng laid the groundwork for later figures like Zhang Zhidong, who proposed the idea of "using official pronunciation to unify the nation's language." In 1902, Zhang Zhidong, Zhang Baixi, and others drafted the "Outline for Educational Affairs" for the Qing court, stating: "The common people across China each speak their local dialects, causing people within the same province to be unable to communicate with one another, leading to frequent obstacles in administration. Therefore, we propose unifying the nation's language through official pronunciation. Hence, from normal schools to higher primary schools, a 'Mandarin' subject shall be added within the Chinese language curriculum. The textbook for practicing Mandarin in all schools shall be the 'Direct Explanation of the Sacred Edict'."
Clearly, Zhang Zhidong and others inherited and further developed the essence of Emperor Yongzheng's "Tui Pu" edict. In 1909, during a session of the Qing government's Advisory Council, councilor Jiang Qian formally proposed officially renaming "Guanhua" as "Guoyu" (National Language).