On August 29, 1923, the National Language Unification Preparatory Committee resolved to establish the “Gwoyeu Romatzyh Phonetic Research Committee,” appointing Qian Xuantong and ten others as members. This marked the formal recognition of Gwoyeu Romatzyh research as part of the officially sanctioned National Language Movement. In September 1926, the “Committee of Several” (數人會), initiated by Liu Bannong, presented the Gwoyeu Romatzyh scheme after a year of deliberation. In 1928, with the approval of Cai Yuanpei, then President of the University Council of the National Government, the “Gwoyeu Romatzyh” system was officially promulgated to the public as the Second Form of the National Phonetic Alphabet.

To promote Gwoyeu Romatzyh, the Gwoyeu Romatzyh Promotion Association was formally established in July 1930, chaired by Xiao Jialin. At the time, membership numbered over ten, including Du Zijin (Tongli), Wang Fuqing (Shoukang), Wang Yuchuan, Li Zhonghao, and others. In September 1929, they founded the “Gwoyeu Romatzyh Weekly,” which ceased publication after one year due to printing difficulties, having released a total of 52 issues. In June 1932, the association launched the “G.R. Weekly.” In addition, they held summer training classes, compiled Gwoyeu Romatzyh books and teaching materials, and established branches throughout the country.

From September 24 to 26, 1934, the First National Congress of the Gwoyeu Romatzyh Promotion Association was held in Zhengzhou. Delegates from various regions, including Zhao Yuanren from Nanjing; Chen Yiyu from Shanghai; Li Beihai and Shi Peishu from Zhenjiang; Xiao Dichen, Kong Fanjun, and Wang Yuchuan from Jinan; Du Zijin and Shen Dongpu from Kaifeng; Li Zhongyin from Tianjin; and Wang Yi, Wei Jiankong, Wang Fuqing, and He Changqun from Beiping, gathered for a total of more than forty participants. On the morning of September 24, the first preparatory meeting of the congress was held in the auditorium of the Longhai Railway Labor Union, with Zhengzhou delegate Huang Xuezhou publicly elected as temporary chairman. The outcomes of the congress were embodied in the “Manifesto of the First National Congress of the Republic of China Gwoyeu Romatzyh Promotion Association,” published in the “Masses Weekly” in Jinan under the name of the “G.R. Promotion Association.” The final section fervently summarized the consensus reached at the meeting: The Association has two great objectives. First, the popularization of the National Language, aimed at eliminating illiteracy among more than eighty percent of the country’s five hundred million citizens and awakening the masses. Second, the unification of the National Language, aimed at uniting the sentiments and spirits of the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Dzungar, Hui, Tibetan, and Miao peoples of north, south, and center, to accomplish the unification of the nation. The Association’s sole task is to unite comrades in promoting and researching G.R. The general outline of the work is: (1) Compiling and translating books and periodicals: introducing new knowledge to acquaint the masses with the modern era, and introducing old culture to help the masses understand history. (2) Training G.R. personnel, ranging from ordinary users to literary authors. (3) Promoting G.R. across all levels and types of education, to enhance and expand the effectiveness of education. (4) Promoting G.R. in the fields of transportation and science, to eliminate all difficulties arising from Chinese characters, as well as the obstacles of linguistic disunity and the difficulty of recognizing characters. This congress jointly resolved on concrete plans for carrying out the above tasks. Comrades, let us all strive together! Long live the G.R. Promotion Association!

Although the promotion of Gwoyeu Romatzyh soon entered a period of decline, it exerted a certain influence in the regions where the aforementioned members resided, and the members of the association devoted their entire lives to fulfilling this duty.