Abstract

Objective: This article seeks to explore the spatiotemporal patterns of public interest in the “Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language”. Method: Use Baidu Index as a research tool to collect and analyze netizens’ attention data to the law from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2023. Results and Conclusion: Temporally, the attention to this law has shown an upward trend from 2013 to 2023, with the highest interest occurring from September to December. “Mandarin,” “law,” and “Chinese characters” are the most popular related information among the public. Spatially, the geographical distribution of the law’s attention group has generally spread from the eastern coastal and western frontier regions to the central and western regions, showing a spreading trend. Moreover, The ten-year geographical concentration index has evolved from dispersion to aggregation. In terms of demographic structure, males dominate. The age group with the most interest is netizens aged 40-49.

Keywords: Baidu Index; Law of the People‘s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language; Online Attention Level