胡適當初期待的「文學的國語」，絕對不是這個樣子。─余光中
五四新文學運動使得中文的主流由文言變成了語體，這是一個新範式的出現，由於稚嫩，當時許多作家、學者紛紛在書寫上進行不同的嘗試，並乞靈於西方的表達方式，不論有意、無意，也無論或良或窳，「歐化／西化」的痕跡普遍見諸現代中文。余光中既是教師，又是作家，既諳中文，復曉英文，並曾從事翻譯，他數十年對現代中文的親歷與討論乃是出自中、英文的比較視野，有別於本位主義的立場。本文試藉著余光中的論述與實踐，勾勒其對現代中文及其歐化現象的觀察與評論。此外，本文發現其早年遣詞行文明顯與其後觀念相悖的狀況，換言之，他後來的見解是在一動態思考與實踐歷程中形成的，這種種摸索，對現代中文的走向具有重要的參鑑意義。

As a result of the May Fourth Movement, Chinese literature began to be written in vernacular Chinese rather than classical Chinese. Thus during this period there was a shift in the stylistic paradigm of where scholars and writers began to be eager to experiment with different writing styles, and often seeking inspiration from foreign languages. In doing so, a refreshing new way of literary expression was developed. No matter if the literati originally intend to westernize Chinese or not, the Europeanizing (Westernizing) of the written vernacular Chinese still occurred. This westernizing of the vernacular Chinese produced a modern Chinese literature with a mixed quality. Professor Yu Kuang-chung is both an educator and writer, learned in both Chinese and English, who has experience in translating between the two languages. His decades of experience in the comparison of modern Chinese and English literature, has helped him for a perspective which is quite different from the usual parochial views. This paper aims to scrutinize Professor Yu’s Views and evaluation of Europeanization in modern Chinese by examining his own theoretical writings and how he puts them into practice. It turns out that what Professor Yu did in his earlier years was often contrary to his later works. This shows his later views were gradually formed through retrospective thought and practice. In this regard, his endeavors and efforts have become a significant point of reference for the development of modern Chinese.