The “Several Persons’ Club” was an association of scholars in Beijing during the period of the National Language Movement who focused on the study of phonetics and also used it as a platform for academic discussions.

On September 26, 1925, Liu Fu initiated the establishment of the “Several Persons’ Club” at the home of Zhao Yuanren in Beijing. The name “Several Persons’ Club” was derived from a phrase in the preface to the book “Qieyun” by Lu Fayan, which read, “Wei’s work said to Fayan: ‘We few people shall settle the matter.’” The club was officially established on October 17, with Liu Fu as the chairman and members including Qian Xuantong, Li Jinxi, Zhao Yuanren, Lin Yutang, and Wang Yi. The main agenda of the club was to finalize the Romanization of Mandarin.

Over the course of the following year, the Several Persons’ Club held 22 meetings, eventually reaching a consensus on the Romanization system, which was named the “Romanized Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet.” This system was submitted to the Ministry of Education. The National Language Standardization Preparatory Committee convened a meeting of the Romanized Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet Research Committee on September 14, 1926, and approved the proposal, which was then officially published and adopted. This version of the Romanized Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet laid the foundation for the modern Chinese Pinyin system.