A Brief History of the Chinese Language, Volume II: From Old Chinese to Middle Chinese Phonetic System

171 Pages·2022·4.567 MB·

by  Xi Xiang, Jia Mao, Chaofeng Guo

A Brief History of the Chinese
Language II
As the second volume of a multivolume set on Chinese phonetics, this book
examines the phonetical systems of Middle Chinese and phonetical changes from
Old Chinese to Middle Chinese.
Chinese language history is generally split into three phases: (1) Old Chinese,
the form of the Chinese language spoken between the 18th century bce and the
3rd century ce; (2) Middle Chinese, between the 4th century ce to around the
12th century ce; and (3) Modern Chinese, since the 13th century. This volume
studies the phonological system of Middle Chinese, including the initials system,
finals system, and tonal system, examining the evolution of these systems from
the period of Old Chinese to that of Middle Chinese.
This comprehensive groundwork on Chinese phonetical history will be a
must read for scholars and students studying Chinese language, linguistics and,
especially, for beginning learners of Middle Chinese phonetics.
Xi Xiang is Professor at Sichuan University (China) and a distinguished linguist.
His research interests are focused on Chinese language history and Chinese
linguistics. His major works include A Brief History of Chinese, the Dictionary
of Poetry Classics, Commentary on the Translation of Poetry Classics, the
Dictionary of Ancient Chinese Knowledge, and the Concise Ancient Chinese
Dictionary, among others.
Chinese Linguistics
Chinese Linguistics series selects representative and frontier works in linguistic
disciplines including lexicology, grammar, phonetics, dialectology, philology and
rhetoric. Mostly published in Chinese before, the selection has had far-reaching
influence on China’s linguistics and offered inspiration and reference for the
world’s linguistics. The aim of this series is to reflect the general level and latest
development of Chinese linguistics from an overall and objective view.
Titles in this series currently include:
Jin Chinese Grammar I
Referent and Tense of Northern Shaanxi Dialect
Xing Xiangdong
Jin Chinese Grammar II
Syntax and Modality of Northern Shaanxi Dialect
Xing Xiangdong
Modern Chinese Complex Sentences I
Overview and Causal Type
XING Fuyi
A Brief History of the Chinese Language I
The Basics of Chinese Phonetics
Xi Xiang
A Brief History of the Chinese Language II
From Old Chinese to Middle Chinese Phonetic System
Xi Xiang
A Brief History of the Chinese Language III
From Middle Chinese to Modern Chinese Phonetic System
Xi Xiang
For more information, please visit www.routledge.com/Chinese-Linguistics/book-
series/CL
A Brief History of the
Chinese Language II
From Old Chinese to Middle
Chinese Phonetic System
Xi Xiang
This translation is published with financial support from the Chinese Fund for
the Humanities and Social Sciences (20WYYB011)
First published in English 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Xi Xiang
Translated by Hulin Ren, Lifei Wang, Xiaofeng Zhan, Zihui Yang, Gang
Dong, Li Xia, Yikun Li and Tanith Booth
The right of Xi Xiang to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
English version by permission of The Commercial Press.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Xiang, Xi, author. | Ren, Hulin, translator.
Title: A brief history of the Chinese language / Xi Xiang ; translated by Hulin
 Ren [and 7 others]. Other titles: Jian ming han yu shi. English
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. |
Series: Chinese linguistics | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
 Contents: v. 1. The basics of Chinese phonetics — v. 2. From old Chinese to
 middle Chinese phonetic system — v. 3. From middle Chinese to modern
 Chinese phonetic system.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022025941 (print) | LCCN 2022025942 (ebook) |
 ISBN 9781032381077 (vol. 1 ; hardback) | ISBN 9781032381107
 (vol. 1; paperback) | ISBN 9781032381084 (vol. 2 ; hardback) |
 ISBN 9781032381114 (vol. 2 ; paperback) | ISBN 9781032381091
 (vol. 3; hardback) | ISBN 9781032381121 (vol. 3 ; paperback) |
 ISBN 9781003343516 (vol. 1 ; ebook) | ISBN 9781003343523
 (vol. 2 ; ebook) | ISBN 9781003343530 (vol. 3 ; ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Chinese language—Phonetics—History. |
Chinese language—History.
Classification: LCC PL1205 .X5313 2023 (print) | LCC PL1205 (ebook) |
 DDC 495.1/15—dc23/eng/20220718
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025941
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025942
ISBN: 978-1-032-38108-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-38111-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-34352-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003343523
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of tables vi
1 Middle Chinese initials system 1
2 Middle Chinese finals and tone system 10
3 The evolution of the initial system from the Old Chinese
to the Middle Chinese language 29
4 The evolution of the final system from the Old Chinese
to the Middle Chinese language I 59
5 The evolution of the final system from the Old Chinese
to the Middle Chinese language II 85
6 The evolution of the final system from the Old Chinese
to the Middle Chinese language III 114
7 The evolution of the tone system from the Old Chinese
to the Middle Chinese language 137
Bibliography 160
Index 161
Tables
1.1 The 30 initials by Shou Wen in the No. 2011 Dunhuang
manuscript fragment 2
1.2 The 36 initials (zìmǔ) and their approximate phonetic values 3
1.3 The 36 initials in the Qièyùn 5
1.4 The initials system of Middle Chinese 7
2.1 The 206 rhyme groups of the Guǎngyùn according to Dai Zhen 11
2.2 The 106 head characters of Píngshuǐ rhymes 16
2.3 The 16 攝 shè in the Sìshēng děngzǐ 16
2.4 The 140 finals in the Guǎngyùn 17
3.1 The merge of bilabials and labiodentals in the 36 initials 29
3.2 Spellings in Guǎngyùn 33
3.3 Examples of labial spellings in Guǎngyùn and Yánzhù 38
3.4 Examples of different labial spellings in Guǎngyùn and Yánzhù 39
3.5 The examples of bilabial initials spelling bilabial initials 40
3.6 The words with labiodental initials spelled by labiodental initials 40
3.7 The examples of supplementary notation of labiodental initials
and bilabial initials in Wǔjīngwénzì 40
3.8 Direct sounds references in Kāiméngyàoxùn 41
3.9 Examples of initial p for 幫 bāng 滂 pāng, 非 fēi, 敷 fū, and 奉
fèng inTibetan 42
3.10 The labiodental initials 43
3.11 The differentiation of retroflex stop initials like 知 zhī, 微 wēi,
and 澄 chéng 45
3.12 Initial groups of 端 dūan and 知 zhī in Kānmiù Bǔquē Qièyùn 47
3.13 The supplementary notation of initial groups 知 zhī and 照 zhào 48
3.14 Mixed usage of 精 Jīng Group and 莊 Zhuāng Group Initials 52
3.15 Frequency of 精 Jīng Group and 莊 Zhuāng Group Initials being used 52
3.16 The split of 精 Jīng Group and 莊 Zhuāng Group Initials 53
3.17 Sound examples of Tiānshēngdìyīntú 天聲地音圖 by Shao Yong
of the Song Dynasty 53
3.18 Sound examples of 音三 yīn sān 55
3.19 The evolution of the initial system from Old Chinese to
Middle Chinese 56
Tables vii
4.1 The evolutionary process and relations of rhyme groups of 之
zhī, 職 zhí, and 蒸 zhēng 67
4.2 The evolution and relations of the rhyme groups of 幽 yōu, 覺
jué, and 冬 dōng 72
4.3 The evolutionary process and relations of the rhyme groups 宵
xiāo and 藥 yào 76
4.4 The evolutionary process and relations of the rhyme groups of
侯 hóu, 屋 wū, and 東 dōng 82
5.1 The evolutionary process and relations of rhyme groups of 魚
yú, 鐸 duó, and 陽 yáng 93
5.2 The evolutionary process and relations of rhyme groups 支 zhī,
錫 xī, and 耕 gēng 100
5.3 The evolutionary process and relations of rhyme groups 歌 gē,
月 yuè, and 寒 hán 112
6.1 The development of 脂 zhī, 質 zhì, and 真 zhēn groups and their
relationship 119
6.2 The evolutionary process and relations of rhyme groups 微 wēi,
物 wù, and 文 wén 127
6.3 The evolutionary process and relations of rhyme groups 緝 jī
and 侵 qīn 131
6.4 The evolutionary process and relations of the rhyme groups of
葉 yè and 談 tán 135

1 Middle Chinese initials system
1.1 Introduction
Major sources for the studies of the initials of Middle Chinese is crucial. There
are mainly four sources for investigating the initials of Middle Chinese, which are
introduced one by one in the following. The first one is fǎnqiè 反切 (a traditional
method of indicating the pronunciation of a Chinese character by using two other
Chinese characters, the first having the same consonant as the given character and
the second having the same vowel [with or without final nasal] and tone) in rhyme
books such as the Guǎngyùn 廣韻 (Wide Rhymes) and the Jíyùn 集韻 (Assemble
Rhymes). The second one is rhyme tables in the Song period, among which the
influential ones are the Yùnjìng 韻鏡 (Mirror of Rhymes);1 the Qī yīn luè 七音略
(Summary of the Seven Sounds) written by Zheng Qiao; the Qièyùn zhǐzhǎng tú
切韻指掌圖 (Qièyùn Palm Table), incorrectly attributed to Si Maguang;2 and the
Tiānshēngdìyīntú 天聲地音圖 (Heavenly Finals and Earthly Initials Table) writ-
ten by Shao Yong.3
The third one is materials of homonyms and fǎnqiè from the Six Dynasties
period to the Tang dynasty in terms of phonetic annotations on ancient classical
works such as the Bóyǎyīn 博雅音 (i.e., the Guǎngyǎ yīn 廣雅音) written by
Cao Xian and the Jīngdiǎn shìwén 經典釋文 (Classic Interpretation) written by
Lu Deming. Fǎnqiè in written books such as the Yùpiān 玉篇 (Articles of Jade)
written by Gu Yewang in the Southern Liang Dynasty and the edition Dàxú běn
大徐本 of the Shuō wén 説文; phonetic notations in books for elementary read-
ers (including homonyms and fǎnqiè spellings), such as the Kāiméngyàoxù 開蒙
要訓 (Required Elementary Book), the Zìbǎo suìjīn 字寶碎金 (Book of Word
Treasures and Brief Literary Masterpieces), the Súwù yàomíng lín 俗務要名林
(Collections of Everyday Important Words), the books found in Dunhuang caves.
The fourth one comes from transliteration materials. Chinese loanwords in
Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese, Sino-Sanskrit transliteration and Sino-Tibetan
transliteration materials can be supplementary evidence for the construction of
the Middle Chinese phonology. For example, there is no difference in the pronun-
ciation of the division III and division IV of the initial 喻 yù in Modern Chinese
dialects, but they are distinctly different from each other in the Chinese loanwords
in Vietnamese. Initial 喻三 Yù Sān is read as [v], such as 雨 yǔ [vu] and initial 喻
DOI: 10.4324/9781003343523-1