Yayan (Old Chinese)
Yayan is a theorized ancient form of the Chinese language used as a standard dialect by intellectuals during the Zhou dynasty.
History
Yayan was mentioned in the Analects, which says:While the phrase 詩書執禮 has been agreed to refer to each of the Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, and Book of Rites, scholars do not agree on the intended meaning of 雅言. Zheng Xuan interpreted it as:
Some scholars have interpreted this "proper speech" phrase as possibly referring to a standard form of the language used by the literati of the era.
If historical, Yayan would have been based on the dialects of Old Chinese spoken around the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang.