VS5 '*V^#.V-iv PLiloi CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1916 All books are subject to recall after two weeks Olln/Kroch Library DATE DUE ilK:^;'r^Es«-«m < T .\ ■mH m GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A. Cornell University Library PL 1201.V93 Chinese phonology :an attempt to discove I 3 1924 023 354 248 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023354248 CHIMSi PHONOLOGY, AN ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER TIIK SOIIVDS OF THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE AX11 TO RECOVER THE LOST RHYMES OF CHINA BY Z. VOLPICELLI : LATE BURSAK, KOYAL ASIATIC COLLEGE OP NAPLES, HON. LIBKAUIAN, CHINA BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. On ne pent se flatter d' avoir le dernier mot d'une theorie, tant iju'cn ne pent pas I'expliquer en peu de paroles a un paS'^aal dans la rue. Chasles {Apergu-Histm~ique suv I'Origine et le IJivelopjjement des Methodes en Gijometrie^ p. 115.) PRINTED .U' THE "CHINA CIAZETTE" OFFICE. shax(;hai 189C. mnn phonology, AN ATTEMPr TO DISCOVER THE SOUSDS OF THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE AND TO RECOVER THE LOST RHYMES OF CHINA BY Z. YOLPICELLI: LATE BURSAR, ROYAL ASIATIC COLLEGE OF NAPLES, HON. LIBRARIAN, CHINA BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. On ne peut se flatter d'avoir le dernier mot d'une tlifiorie, tant qu'on ne peut pas I'expliquer en peu de paroles a un passant dans la rue. Chasles (^Aperfu-Historiqtie sur I' Origine el le DSveloppement des MHhodes en Oiomelrie ; >i 11 11 " 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 i< 11 11 11 n 23 Hakka 11 ■» 11 V 11 11 >i " " ; 11 11 >i 11 11 i> 11 11 i> 11 11 11 11 22 16 Foochow ... n 11 " H 11 11 11 11 i> " 1) 11 i> 11 11 »i Wenchow... 11 i> " 11 '1 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 1' 11 11 i> 11 11 11 1> V 11 11 11 11 i> 11 11 11 11 11 31 34 24 25 Ningpo 11 >, 11 " 11 11 >1 11 11 11 11 >i )i 11 " •> 11 11 11 11 11 1> 11 11 i> 11 11 11 )i 11 i> 11 )' 11 Yangchow... 11 11 1> 11 11 11 i> n 11 11 11 11 11 11 » 11 11 11 )1 11 15 11 11 >> Weihien ... 11 11 n >F V 11 11 >} 11 11 V 11 11 )1 >1 11 11 i> i> 11 11 11 11 11 ft Tengchow... 11 11 11 11 11 11 n " V 1 11 )1 11 Jl 11 11 »1 11 11 >1 11 20 22 20 Kiukiang . . . 11 i» 11 11 1» 11 i> >i 1' 11 ! 11 11 11 1' 11 11 11 1> 11 11 11 11 Nanking ... 11 11 11 11 1' 11 i> 11 11 ' V 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 '1 11 >i Peking 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 1» 11 u 11 11 1> 11 >1 1> 11 'l 11 " 1 iii ''' These are true cerebrals. Canton Hakka Foochow . . Wenchow.. Ningpo Yangchow Weihien .. Tengchow Kiukiang.. Nanking .. Peking Canton.... Hakka .... Foochow . Wenchow. Ningpo.... Yangchow Weihien . Tengchow Kiukiang . Nanking . Peking.... TABLE OF FINALS OF CHINESE DIALECTS. Canton ong on om oug oun oung oan 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 ang an am afig aiiii aing aung aong >i 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 >i 11 cng 11 en em cng en em en eing ein ein 11 11 11 11 11 n 11 11 ing ing in im lug iong ion iaug iun idUi iaug ieug ieu iem ieii Hakka i> 11 11 11 Foochow Wenchow 11 11 11 >i 1) 11 1) 11 11 11 11 1) 11 11 11 .1 „ 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 1. » » <> » H » 11 V 11 Ningpo Yangchow Weihien Tengchow Kiukiang Nanking Pekinir 11 11 1 11 >i >i 11 11 1' 11 1' 11 " 11 11 11 » 11 11 11 11 11 11 " n »i » »> 11 n . ii TABLE OF VOWELS OF CHINESE DIALECTS. TS. Aspirates. L QUIDS. 1 Palatal. Tsz T«' Sr'i'ShSzZz HWYHs L J Ji- E V V 11 1' 11 11 >i n 23 22 i> T 11 1) 11 11 11 11 IK 1» V 11 11 11 11 i> 11 11 11 n ll 31 i» 11 11 >i >i 11 i> 11 )i 1' 34 » 11 11 11 i> ■)■) 11 >i 11 t> i> 11 11 11 >i 11 11 >i 11 11 n i> )> 24 25 20 9'^ 11 11 11 11 n n '^O 11 11 11 '1 21 11 >i i> 11 >i 11 t* cerebrals. Canton.... Hakka Foochow . Wenchow. Ningpo Yaiigcliow Weihien . Tengchow Kitikiang. Nanking . Peking Canton.... Hakka .... Foochow . Wenchow. Ningpo.... Yangchow Weihien . Tengchow Kiukiang . Nanking . Peking..., ou, GUI, 01 11 11 11 11 >1 11 11 11 >1 11 ■1 >1 >1 o, 11 11 11 1> 11 11 n 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 aea. 11 11 11 11 'i 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 TABLE OF DIPHTHONGS OF CHINESE DIALECTS. ao, au, aui, aiu, ae, ao, ai 11 11 >i i> 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 V 11 11 II 11 11 11 >1 >1 11 11 1) loa, 10, 101, la, lau, lae, iai, ie, ieu, iei, ioe, iu >1 11 11 >i 11 11 11 11 11 >» 1) >i 11 11 n 11 )i )i It 1' 11 1' 11 1' 11 11 11 11 1> 11 11 11 11 )) 11 11 11 11 1) >1 uoa, iio, lie, iiei, ui i> 11 11 11 11 11 II 11 i> 11 11 ou, oe TABLE OF FINALS OF CHINESE DIALECTS. en em cng en em en eing ein eifi ing ing in im ing long ion iaug ian inui iafig ieng ieu ieiu ieii icin iiing iun ung un uiu uing iitjg ijn iiau iieu iien iieiu iiing liin ilik Uung oiig on on 11 11 11 i> 11 11 11 11 11 •1 11 11 11 n i> 11 11 )i » 11 It 11 11 11 11 11 11 V ^1 11 11 i> i> >i 11 11 n 11 » '1 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 '1 11 11 1) 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 v » >i 1' 11 11 >> a >f » •) V 1' n 11 11 "1 1» 11 H 11 V ■ » >J » )1 1) )i 1) » » ouiig oun 18 21 11 16 5 11 19 8 11 11 10 13 13 15 by a Hamzeh (corresponding to the Splritus Lenis of the Greeks) or in other words, by a slight effort to emit the breath which is a rudimentary consonant('). Thus such apparent exceptions will be included in, the general rule. I shall now commence my analysis of the modern dialects of China, by giving first the elements which they possess: initials, vowels, diphthongs and finals, arranged according to the plan derived from Sanscrit, followed by native philologers, and illustrated in the tables of K'ang- hsi. For the Southern dialects, I have dissected the various syllabaries published by Mr. Parker, and for the Northern (with the exception of "Yangchow" where I have followed the same author) I have subjected to a similar process the valuable sound table published by Dr. Mateer in his " Mandarin Lessons." I thus can give a comparative view of 11 different dialects. A glance at the foregoing tables will discover at once two important facts : the complete and harmonious series of initials in the Wenchow and Ningpo dialects, and the not less remarkable set o£ vowels, diphthongs, and finals in the Canton dialect. In the latter, the vowels form a few natural diphthongs, and join with the three^^^ terminations nff, n, m, to give a regular set of finals. The numerous finals formed by the diphthongs commencing with % such as m, ie, etc., are absent in Cantonese, and as this is the dia- lect which agrees best with the ancient rhymes, we must be led to suspect that these numerous diphthongs are derived from simpler forms, in which an i has been in- serted by euphonic necessities, consequent to the change of value in the initials through phonetic decay. (1) This conventional consonant will be markeii * (2) I leave out the terminations k, i,p, found in they« Sheng of the southern dialects, because according to the views of the native philologers, whose system I follow, they are but shortened abrupt forms of ng, «, and ot. 16 Part IV. PHONETIC ELEMENTS OF THE EHYME- TABLE3 OF K'ANG-HSI. Initials. The four thousand odd characters contained in the above tables are arranged^ as we have said, under 36 initials. These are divided inta 9 classes, which generally correspond to similar ones in the Sanscrit alphabet, which thu3 becomes a precious auxiliary for determining their value at the time when the tables^ were compiled. "We subjoin the nine classes with remarks when necessary Igt Class Gutturals K. K\ G. Ng. (same as Sanscrit.)- 2nd „ Dentals T. T'. D. N. ( „ „ „ ) 3rd „ Cerebrals T(r). T(r).' D(r). N(^).«'> ( „ „ „ ); This cla^ was pronounced with the tip of the tongue; against the palate as if to pronounce r. The dentals T, T'. D. N. being uttered with the tongue ia the above position, became • respectively something between T, Ch^ Tr-T' Ch'Ts— D, Dj, Dz, Dr — N, Ni, all of which sounds are found separately in various dialects and in Annamese'^'. (1) I adopt the system of indicating^ cerebralisation by an r in brackets, because it shows the position of the tongue : of course the r must not be trilled. Dr. Edkins is wrong in considering the characters ot this class^ as palatals; Julien's alphabets show they were u ed for Sanscrit cerebrals. (2) These sounds can be paralleled by the Syllabarium Ratatarum of Thibetan (given by Giorgio) and by certain sounds in Dr. Mateer's Sound Table in his Mandarin Lessons, DQ 5S M OS \a 3 §»( M o |g O so 1—1 01 be 52i , ^ m S H •* H CO m 3^ H •* H o ''"N gi m fia « •\ P (NOT g ^ ^ ^ rt !zi u ^ Ph P^ fH P4 ss ^ Ah PL( pR Ah o ^ # pq pq > pq ^■^ s ig 1^ 1^ ^ 1^ 'Th^ ig m ^ g' -V ^ ji Sfc S •V ^ o ^ ^ N '7^ II -3 is P ^ •V ;^ *» CO OQ ^ s N '^ N n" ir 1! * H ^ h^ EH . 8th Class Aspirates. Hh. H. *. Y. The sounds of this class, with the exception of Hh and F, are very difSScult to determine, and I give them with diiEdence as I am unfortunate enough to disagree with such an authority as Dr. Edkins. 9th Class L. Jr. J For the second, I prefer the sound Jr. to Jcommonly given, because the class would correspond to the half vowels ri and li of Sanscrit, and because Jr. may more easily change into N. Jr. J. which occur so often in dialects and in Japanese. (1) See note on preceding page. 18 The 3rd, 5th, and 7th classes are not marked as separate ones in the Tahles under consideration, but are placed respectively under the 2nd, 4th, and 6th classes. But they can be no confusion, because K'ang-hsi gives directions for discriminating between them. We have already stated that each table of K'ang-hsi is divided into four l^ivisions, each containing four lines of characters in the different tones. Now that dictionary teaches that characters with initials of the 2nd and 6th classes can only be found in the I and IV Divisions, while characters of the 3rd and 7th classes are only found in the II and III Divisions. Characters with initials of the 5th Class are found only in the III Division, and mostly in the Tables with closed sounds (-g- o).^'^ A table is attached, showing how these different initials have changed in the various dialects and languages which have formed the basis of the present enquiry. As it would have taken too much space to give each dialect ' separately, four groups have been formed : Canton, Hakka, and Foochow marked S; Wenchow, and Ningpo marked W JSf; Yangchow, Mid-China, Ssuch'uan and Peking, marked CiV; and Corean, Japanese, and Annamese marked L. The latter have often beea separated by a hyphen. To show the relative frequency with which sounds occur in a group of dialects, I have arranged them in a regular succession, those most commonly found being placed 1 Schlegel and Ktihnett both mistake the meaning of a simple phrase of K'ang-hsi giving directions for this class, which would have becomeevident if they hadcrit'caliy examined the Rhyme Tables. Much learning was wasted in supporting the two mis- taken views. (See Journal Akademie der Wissenshaften CXXII, CXXXI). COMPARATIVE TABLE SHOWING DIALECTAL CHANGES IN K'ANG-HSI'S INITIALS. K'ANG-HSI. K K'.... G Ng .. T T(r) . T' .. T'(r).. D D(r) N .... N(i) . P ... F ... P' .., F' .., B ... V ... M W .. Ts .. Ts(r) Ts' .. T8'(r) Dz .. Dz(r) S S(r).. Z Z(r).. Hh .. H .. * .... Y L Jr.... H. K. K, H, Ng, Y,. K. Ng, Y, W, * T, cb, Ch, t, tp. T', ch. Ch, ts, t. T, ch, 8. Ch, t, sh, ts, f'. N, L, ng, y. N, L, ng, iiy, y, P, f, h, m. F, h, p. P, h, f, 111. F. h, p. P, f, b, 1... F, p, b. M. M, N,« Ts, ch. Ch, Ts. Ts' ch, s. Ch, Ts, K Ts, Ch, s, Isz. Ch, Ts, Sh. S, ts, sz. Sh, S, Cli, Ts. Ts, S, ch, tsz. Sh, s, ch. H, h, f, w, y. H, k. Y,« Y, w, ::: h, ch, t L. Y, I, n, ny, i, w. W. N. K, Ch, Tsz, Dj, Hs, Y,.: K, Ch, dj, h, g, hs, > G, Dj, c, d. Ng, Y, W, ■:::■ H. T, D, tsz, dz, ch, dj. Ts, Dz, t, (Ik ch, dj, c, s, ts. T', d, ts, ch. Ts, t, d, ch, dz, dj, c. D, t, dz. Dz, dj, z, j, ts, ell, tsz. N, ng, ny, z, j. N, ng, y, j, z. P, B, f, V, h. F, V, h, p. P, B, V, F, p, h, b. 1', 1', V. V, f, b, w. M. V, m, w. Ts, ch, dz, z. Ts, ch, j, z. Ts\ ch', dz. Ts, Ch, dz, z. Dz, Z, ts, dj. Dz, Z, j, t^, s, sh. S, hs, sh, ts. S, sh, z, dj, ts. Z, dz, dj, j, y. Z, Dz, j, dj. H, K, hs, f, w, y,i> « W, Y, h, k, ng. Y, W,» Y, h, w, hs. L, n. Z, J, n, ng, dz, y. C.N. K, Ch, Tsz, Dj, Ha, Y,» K, Ch, Ts, Dj, H, Ng, Y, W Ch ,K. Ng . N, L, j, jw. T, ch, ts. CI , Ts, t, tsz. T'. T, ch, ts, c. T, ch, ts, c. CI , Ts, sh, hs, t, ( :h, sz. N, L, j. N, L. P, f. F. Ik F. P. M. W , ni. Ts ch, tsz. Ts Ch. Ts , Ch'. Ts, Cb. Ts Ch. tsz. Ts Cli, sh, s, hs. s, Hs, ts. s, Sh, hs. Hs , s, t^z, cb, y, i. Sh , ch, t«, hs. H, Hs, K, y. H, Hs, V, k. Y, W, « ng, h. Y, w, i, h, hs. L, u. J, ", 1, ug, y, erb. w. Corean-Japanese-Annamese. K. K, H. K_G— G. » W, Y, H-G, K— Ng. T, d, sh, ch, hs, tr. Ch, t, d, tr, s, hs, sh. T, d, cb, j, tr. T, D, ch, dj. T. D, ch, dj. D, Ch, Tr.'t, 8, hs. N, D. T. j, y. ■ . D, T, y. j. P-H, f— T, f. F. P. H, B, f, t. P-H— F. b. P— H, B, f— B, t, f". p_F. M, B-F, b. M— M, B— M, j. M-M, B, f— V, f. Ch-S. Sh, z, i -T, tr. Ch-S, Z— Tr,Ch, t. Cli-S. sh. z— T, tr, s, h. Ch, s-S, Sh, t— Hs, S, t. Oh,— S, Sh, Z. Dj-T, Tr, hs. Ch, S— S, Z, J-T, Tr, hs, 8. S, ch-S, Sh— Ts. S, ch— S, Sh— S, T. S— Sh, dj, z— T, d, j. S, oh-Sii, z, dj— T,'h3,j. H, k— K, w, g— H, K. H, k-k, G, w. y-H, k, g, j. Y,W, « b-Y W— Y,W, ri,ng, lu, n. YW> — YW» — V, J,g. NRY— R— L n. NYc — N, J, z, sh— N, N, Ny. N.B. — The sign » means absence of initial. 19 to the left in capital lelters, while those found rarely are placed to the right in sm ill type. From the table of initials of the different dialects of China, it appeared that Werichow and Ningpo possess a very complete series : the present comparative table shows that their initials correspond closely to the theoretical initials of Kaug-hsi. It will also be seen that the sonants are supported by Japanese and Annamese. VOWELS DIPHTHONGS AND FINALS. It will make the subject clearer, and render compa- risons more systematic, if inverting the chronological order, I premise the phonetic elements of the ancient language ly^hich I have obtained as the final results of my investigation. The hypothetical reconstruction of these ancient phonetic elements is given on the next page. 20 HYPOTHETICAL PHONETIC ELEMENTS OF THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE. Vowels. o, S, <'' a, e, 6, i (perhaps short i and i) u,' u. Diphthongs. 00, oi, on; ao, <'' ai, au; eo, ei, 4)i, eu; io, ii, iu. Finals. oang, on, om, 6ng, en; aang, ang, an, am; eang, eng, en, em, ^ng, 6n, ^m ; iang, ing, in, im, (perhaps in with a short i) ; ung, iing. (1) I adopt this spelling because it is followed by Parker, but the sound is really the Italian o streito. P) 1 his is represented as io by Wade and Parker,' but I cannot follow such an extraordinary combination for a sound so naturally rendered by the Italian diphthong ao which gives the two vowels uttered. As the vowel system of Wade is based oa Italian, the spelling of that language has a right to be preferred. 21 As will be seen at a glance, this system of vowelg diphthongs and finals, is very simple, coresponds to Can- tonese and Hakka, and, as will be shown later on, agrees with the 24 Tables of K*ang-hsi, explaining each of them without the occurence of duplicates which deface the reconstruction of the ancient finals attempted by other authors. It is now necessary to compare these theoretical elements, with those found in the dialectal variations of the 4,000 characters of K'ang-hsi's Ehyme-Tables, in %€ way we have already done with the initials. But as I have already pointed out, it is a far more difficult task : the variations of vowels, diphthongs and terminations are so complex, that they cannot be reduced to a system, compared and judged by mere observation, however dili- gent and reiterated. The mind cannot master hundreds and thousands of forms, and judge of their relative im- portance. It becomes indispensable to have recourse to figures, those convenient symbols which enable us to rea- son about facts whose multiplicity would baffle us if approached without their assistance, I decided to form a series of statistical tables. To economise labour I omitted all the Ju Sheng sounds, as they could be readily constructed whenever the sounds in the other tones were ascertained. Whenever a final possessed two tables, for open and closed sounds, I only considered the former, because the latter could be deduced as a corollary from the table of open sounds once it was , determined : after these deductions I still had over 22,000 sounds to analyse. This residium was dissected, and by six consecutive series of tables, reduced to condensed statements of the relative frequency with which ainy 22 given final sound occurs in any of the Tables of K'ang- hsi, pronounced according to nine different dialects and the three foreign languages. Up to the last set of tables I kept the sounds divided into the same four groups which I gave in the Comparative Table of Initials, but the tables were too cumbersome and presented such diffi- culty for printing, that I had regretfully to condense them into a single statement for all the dialects and lan- guages given by Parker. This curtailment hides many important facts, the conservative tendency of certain linguistic groups and the facile phonetic decay of others, become neutralised and lost in the general mass. But even with these disturbing causes, the action of general laws is still apparent. In the tables which follow, the Roman numbers at the top of each column indicate the Divisions of the table* I. meaning the upper one, and IV. the lowest. The arable numerals in the different columns indicate the number of times any final occurs, and to know their just relative importance, they must always be referred to the total at the bottom of each column : they are the numerators of fractions whose denominator is the total. In another columm, the same number may have a different relative value owing to the difference in the total. It may be objected that statistics are inapplicable to such phenomena, because in philology exceptions often are of the highest value, and irregularities may indicate lost forms, but I do not pretend to give an absolute value to my figures, nor should I decide in favour of a vowel or a diphthong by a simple addition like a political division in Parliament. I use figures^ because they are the only symbols that can render manageable such an unwieldy 23 Hiasa, they can condense evidence and render it clear. The reasoning on such evidence is not aflfected by their use, and can proceed with the customary canons of the science. My general principle for drawing conclusions from the material accumulated and arranged, has been to subordinate everything to the plan on which the Rhyme- Tables of K'ang-hsi were undoubtedly constructed. I have asked from figures only a clue to show the nature of the arrangement, I have not followed blindly the indications of an arithmetical majority ; whenever the Tables required that a difference should be found between two finals, I have taken guidance even from numerical minorities. In the comparative study of the fifteen terminations of K'ang-hsi, at first, I found much difficulty in keeping some of them distinct; my hypothesis that the 4 Divisions (E9 W) corresponded to the four vowels o, a, e, i, seemed to multiply the number of finals, and give a larger number than the nature of the language consented. But a diligent study of terminations, arranged according to natural groups, enabled me to distinguish finer degrees of vowel differentiation. "' I shall therefore present my tabular material, and the conclusions I draw from it, divided, when ever possible, in groups of two or three terminations ; most of these groups had already been formed by native philologers, and may either be found mapped out in K'ang-hsi, immediately preceding the 2nd set of Rhyme-Tables, or may be surmised fey the ancient arrangement of the 24 Tables which was different from that given in K'ang-hsi. This latter point will be discussed later. Only in one case have I ventured to form a group of my own. ^^ ? I thus discoveied the narrow vowels and the « series. 24 N.B. — In the Tables illustrating the Terminations, for brevity and clearness, I omit the vowel in all but the first form ; for the successive ones only the terminal consonants or vowels are given. 1st Termination. (1st AND 2nd tables op K'^js^g-hsi.) This has both open and closed sounds, and is contained in the 1st and 2nd Tables of K'ang-hsi. It may be characterised as a simple- vowel ending, because out of a total of 2,263 dialectal forms collated, only 3 in the Wen- chow and Ningpo dialects end in a feeble nasal peculiar to that region. We must now examine how the vowel varies in the 4 Divisions. I. Division The vowel o is well established: a glance at the Tabic? will show that out of 730 forms 433 contain that vowel. II Division. Here also the vowel a, given by my hypothesis, is well established, as it appears in 509 out of the 646 different, sounds. III DiVISIOIT. The hypothetical vowel e, is also represented in a majority of cases, as it occurs either simple, or in a diphthong 252 times out of the total 433. IV Division. If we take into account all the diphthongs containing the letter i, it will be found in a majority of cases, but if we consider the diphthongs ia, iau, ie, etc., as they probably are, corrupt forms of a, au, e, then the vowel e, is the one represented in the majority of forms. This would bring us to the same result as the III Division which is not 1st termination. ■ (Open Sounds). I II III IV 332 22 69 "l 1 77 ■"3 2 "io 22 1 4 '"'4 1 • •• '"3 a u un fi , e— a — 202 ]2 2 13 4 460 '"2 58 "3 1 68 "2 3 u e i eo p — 6 "l 4 1'9 3 1 .141 2 28 1 81 2 13 a •■ 8 i 6 — e i — 3 1 "io '"s 12 "47 "3 1 29 2 "45 1 72 1 "12 "3 67 1 2 49 i'41 4 1 9 1 4 au a ae e ei 6e V — XL 6 u — 36 ""3 1 "5 1 "1 "1 1 3 u a e 730 646 433 454 25 logical, therefore to differentiate the two last Dlvisiorrf?, and bearing in mind that the vowel i, (or y), appears rarely in the three first, and in many cases in the IV Division we may safely assume it as the characteristic vowel of this Division. N.B. — For facility of calculation, and in the present uncertainty about the primitive forms, I shall consider every diphthong as belonging to each of its constituent vowels, and reckon it with both. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Terminations. These terminations are grouped together in K'ang-hsi, and their similarity justifies such a proceeding, the characteristic trait is the nasal nff : out of 4,472(0 sounds? 3,276 end with n, ng, or ng and 488 end in u, most of which are Japanese renderings of this nasal : n only claims 385 and other miscellanens terminations only 323 sounds. 2nd Termination. (3rd and 4th Tables of R'anq-hsi). This termination has only three divisions, the first is wanting. II Division. The vowel should be a : out of 606 dialectal sounds 238 contain a, 188 contain e and 'i, (which I consider as the mute e of the French) and 144 o and 4. Ill Division. This should have the vowel e : out of 636 sounds only 101 give the hypothetical vowel, while i appears in 353. (i) This total does not agree with the addition of the totals in the appended Table j because some sounds have been omitted in the latter. 26 IV Division. This should be i: out of 795 sounds, 617 give that vowel. The vowel * is give a in both III and IV Divisions, but there is a larger average in the latter, while e' appears more frequently in the former. 3rd Terminatioii. (5th and 6th Tables of K'ang-hsi). This may be considered to have only two Divisions, because the II. only contains 3, and the IV only 7 characters, exclusive of Ju Sheng. 0) I DiyisioN. Out of 465 sounds 236 give o and ^, as the latter predomijiates, I consider the vowel to have been a narrow 0, sueh as exists in French and Italian, III Division. Out of 481 sounds, e appears in 92, and i in 261. By analogy with the preceding Div. this was probably a narrow e, as also exists in French and Italian. 4th Termination. (7th Table of K'ang-Hsi). This termination only contains c^sed sounds, and forms therefore a different series with the vowels u, and u^ {u + e). I. Division. Out of 565 sounds , 467 contain the vowel u. (1) The Ju-Sheng characters have little importauee, as they are often repeated iu different Tables. 2nd TER- 3kd TER. 4th TER- MINATION. MINATION. MINATION. ngi ng n u a ung. u . ong. ing. i e e— . ng • n . u . ing. i d — ., ng . n ling. ou ang.... au ae . .. eng.... en, en. eo . . . . eu oe ong . ei .... ling . y— u- ng, uDg . oa (Open Pounds.) II 2 9 1 3 1 89 38 93 3 37 39 26 29 19 24 6 88 21 1 "7 33 12 1 14 606 III 34 28 IV 26 ""e 13 1 6 9 1 12 34 I 21 1 208 44 1 "36 28 3 17 536 12 3 22 "5 17 (Open Sounds) 17 8 '24 56 49 3 400 72 45 46 1 31 '"e 1 5 9 2 23 18 ""4 24 34 34 795 465 (Closed Sounds.) Ill 2 4 '"'4 • > • 57 13 129 ■49 40 32 8 3 3 ii 12 17 8 16 32 2 13 161 35 "30 6 9 481 I 3 43 "'43 49 13 1 15 1 1 40 329 565 27 III. Division. Out of 726 sounds we have 512 giving u, but we have also 67 with u (which does not appear in the last Bivif'ion) and 87 with iu, which is an easy corruption from u. 5th, 6th, and 7th Termitiations. These are grouped together by K'ang-hsi, and though the last one differs from the two former, it is use- ful to keep them together as they form a parallel to the group we have just examined. The two first may be considered to have had the ter- mination i, because out of 3,464 modern dialectal forms 2,122 have this termination. 6th Termination. (10th and 11th Tables op K'ang-Hsi.) For uniformity it is better to commence with this one. I. Division, Here the vowel o, is represented only in about 14^,' while a, occurs in more than 55% of the sounds. II. Division. Here the vowel a, appears in about 74°/o of the total. III. Division, Here the vowel e, occurs in over 54°/o of the total. IV. Division. The hypothetical vowel *, appears as first or only sound in over 55°/o of the total : no account has been 28 taken of those sounds, where * appears as the second vowel, because then it might be the i of the termination. 5th TerminaiioD. (8th and 9Tn Tables of K'ang-Hsi.) As there are only 21 characters in the I Div. and 11 in the II. Div., exclusive o£Ju Sheriff, and as some of these are printed in smaller type, and are not found in older works, we may confine our attention to the remaining Divisions. III. Division. Out of 726 sounds, the vowel e, appears only in 237 nearly a third, while i, occurs in 467, I think the vowel must have been originally an e fermS of the French phonetic system. This Div. is a parallel to the III Div. of 3rd Termination, IV. Division. Here the vowel i, occurs in about 75° f^ of the total. It may have been a shorter * than the one of IV Div. 6th Termination. 7th Termination. (12th Table op K*ang-Hsi.) In the II. Div. there are only 12 characters, and in the IV. Div. only 18, and as there are no rhymes we may safely neglect these two Divisions. I. Division. Tliis should have the vowel u as the 7th termination has only closed sounds : the hypothesis is borne out by over 71 "/„ of the modern dialectal sounds, as out of 721 sounds 514 contain this vowel. 6th termination. 5th TER- 7th TER- MINATION. MINATION. (Open Sounds III ) IV 1 1 4 (Open Sounds) (Closed SoUNES.) I n III IV I 142 122 ... "3 "' I III 11 .54 11 4 1 "is 10 1 1 1 "[ '"e 1 1 1 I 2 1 5 "'5 51 15 3I i ui n un a ntr, n e — ng n a — 31 285 * "l 3 1 47 3 2 2 97 196 "41 1 1 1 22 2 1 102 24 1 3 11 5 2 14 '3 17 1 1 2 6 i in u ui insf e ... ns eoh a — nt; aa e — 92 54 5 3 2 '"4 "1 10 1 1 1 "'6 1 33 15 "'3 "28 1 80 58 "3 3 1 1 5 U 60 "12 2 2 123 13 13 40 I 5 2 243 1 ""3 10 1 2 1 2 "17 ""4 7 4 "21 ■37 72 ... . . . i 11 ing. 'ii no-, n i ii n, n i nc 20 2 '"4 2 1 21 "is "15 '"'2 51 "1 "19 329 "1 "3 25 i 4 445 3 1 1 1 1 7 3 '"*1 1 5 1 39 3 42 "7 u oi ou a - ai ae ei e nar n u — 1 14 1 1 ... ... "1 "1 1 341 386 2 "l7 721 281 249 1 1 i ng n ii — e 675 471 184 650 726 879 8th termination. (Open Sounds.) 11th TERMINA- TION. ( Open Sounds ) I II III " 4 3 1 "12 IV I III IV 6 26 1 1 1 26 284 36 " 1 "l 33 25 ... '"6 "16 4 I '"2 7 2 2 5 '"2 ] "io '"4 1 "u 4 "3 1 ""9 1 19 "g "44 15 1 "9 1 1 134 9 1 1 "39 n us UD ung u a e n Dg i a 37 236 30 2 ""5 1 "24 29 1 2 411 7 7 3 5 1 "57 4 1 1 2 107 2 4 4 1 28 2 "2 "'"4 1 1 1 6 15 9 "*2 2 2 2 '"e 2 6 "21 • • - "11 "s 3 1 3 10 13 14 1 12 1 8 2 1 ngf ung u mg i e eo aa — n, n an e — 7 184 13 15 6 "35 1 "1 3 10 1 "4 "4 n Dg, fi ing,in 1 5 — n Eg. n ni in n f 1 4 3 '"4 8 21 7 "3 2 '"4 "9 1 "3 "2 90 57 "32 30 10 "33 2 7 6 2 ■■■4 190 82 "49 48 26 • •• "52 '"7 2 "3 ■■"6 139 73 1 1 "*8 7 4 2 1 1 1 4 2 1 1 2 149 76 1 "*1 21 10 '"4 4 3 1 5 n ng m ong, on an an? en eng. en eu e ei on 6e ung u V n u e 1 "1 "1 ' 3 1 "1 1 "2 '"2 "5 1 2 8 1 1 8 1 366 ng u — n ng an e 499 514 506 755 182 488 29 III. Division. This should be it : it appears in 288 sounds nearly a third, and though u, appears a little oftener, still we may con-^ider u as established, because there must have, been some difference between the I and III Divisions. The 7th Termination has no nasal attached, so that like in the 1st Termination the vowel is also the final. 8th and 11th Terminations. K'ang-hsi groups the 8th with the 9th, but it is wrong, and contrary to the primitive arrangement of the Tables, I follow that and the similarity in the ending. The 8th and 11th Terminations contain 3,383 dialectal sounds, of which 2,266 end in n, 6 in m, 695 in ng or n, and 416 in miscellaneous vowels and consonants. We may therefore assume n, to have been the common terminal sound. 8th Termination. (13th and 14th Tables of K'ang-hsi.) I. Division. The hypothetical vowel o, occurs only in a little over 7% of the total, while a, appears in over 81°/q. II. Division. The vowel a, appears in over 72% of the total. III. Division. The vowel e, ia established by over 1?,°U of the total. 30 IV. Division. The vowel i occurs in 62% but e ot o appear in over ST^/o of the total (of course diphthongs like ie or yo ap- pear in both classes) 11th Termination. (18th and 19th Tables op K'ang-hsi.) I. Division. The vowel o, appears in nearly half the dialectal sounds, but principally as 4, which is the o stretto of the Italian language. III. Division. The vowel e, appears only in about 13°/o while % occurs in 50% probably it was a narrow e, like the one in the III Division of 3rd, and 5th Terminations. rV. Division. The vowel i is established by over 75°/o of the total. It was probably a short *, to distinguish it from the one of the IV Division of 8th Termination. 9th and 10th Terminations. Out of 2,357 sounds 642 end in m, 896 in n, 461 in n^, and 358 in miscellaneous vowels and consonants ; though 9» is in a minority, we must prefer it, because it nowhere appears in such numbers, and because it is necessary to distinguish these two Terminations from the two we have just examined^). (i) Of coQTse the termination m, iB strongly confirmed by tHe Southern dialects, and its existence in the old language well established by Dr. Edkins. It is therefore interesting to test the accuracy of my method, on a conclusion already knowni 9th termination. 10th TER. (Open Sounds. (Or. So.) I II III IV Ill 3 10 31 "l ""3 17 1 • • • 2 5 • •• *10 ""e 4 "3 • • • '"'3 1 "26 8 1 1 81 63 m n ns, n u a (im n ngr a — 29 106 143 3-2 "lo 16 21 65 102 20 • • • 1 "13 15 .5 22 51 5 1 '"7 2 15 11 3 "2 6 10 "1 10 33 ] 1 1 ni n ntr in" 1 e imsr u : t: I n e — 1 3 4 "is "21 1 1 1 1 28 2 4 4 '"5 1 2 8 2 6[ 7 4 G "25 I 22 3 75 13 4 7 1 1 27 ""s 5 8 18 2 1 "13 n 1 ti iio;, n iiiof i u — ni ! 11 ! u ::....:::...:.. j ini 1 1 "i 1 1 '"1 2 "1 1 10 1 '"9 4 '"1 5 10 23 8 2 1 1 1 2 2 4 2 2 10 3 '"e 27 40 30 23 11 4 22 10 5 "1 25 4 ""2 28 50 76 34 22 8 "*4 30 64 117 103 "13 ""5 2 1 111 n n"' am an If ail a , ... em , en"", cii eii e ei 0111 u V — m n — 4 1 • ■* ... •'" "1 m. iia oa 475 372 413 505 592 81 9tli Termination. (15th and 16th Tables in K'ang-hsi.) The vowel o appears in about 13°/^ while a occurs in over 73°;„ of the total. II Division. The vowel a appears in about 68°/o of the total. III Division. The vowel e occurs in over 60°/o of the total. rV Division. The vowel i appears in 69°/^ but e in over 74°/,,. 10th Termination. (17th Table of K'ang-hsi.) In the I Division there are only 2 characters, in the II only 12, and in the IV only 16, exclusive of Ju Sheng; we may therefore confine our attention to the III Division. Ill Division. The vowel e, appears in only about 10°/o while i, occurs in over 61°/o. It may have been a narrow e like the one in the III Divisions of 3rd, 5th, and 11th Termina- tions. 12th and 13th Terminations. These are only apparently separated, because all the characters of the former are found in the latter, either in the table for open, or in that for closed sounds. We shall therefore only examine the latter Termination. 32 13th Termination. (2 1st and 22iirD Tables of K'ang-hsi.) Out of 1,624 sounds 1,452 end in ng (or au,iau,etc., ■which are the Japanese equivalents for this nasal) 2 in n, and 170 in miscellaneous vowels and consonants, we may therefore assume ng to have been the final nasal, as we have found in the 2d, 3rd, and 4th Terminations. There must,- however, be some difference in the vowels, and as the simple ones are exhausted, I suggest the hypothesis that a termination ang was added to the four characteristic vowels of the 4 Divisions, producing the finals oanq, ang {aang), eang, iang. Let us see how existing facts bear on this hypothesis, I. Division, The two vowels of the hypothetical form, o and a appear respectively in over 37°/o and 60° /„ of the total, but as they commonly appear in this Division with all Terminations, no stress can be laid on the fact. II. Division. Here the vow^el a, appears in 55°/o of the total, but it does so everywhere, and we cannot tell whether in this instance it is long. Ill Division. The vowel e appears in over 21°/o and a in over 65°/,, of the total : the last figure is important, because the vowel a rarely appears in the III Division: with all other Termi- nations it occurs from 1 to oO°/o with an average under 14°/o. . We may consider the hypothesis verified by- this Division 13th termination. (Open Sounds.) o" I II III IV 3 98 39 36 6 43 6 24 10 11 27 3 "47 12 6 3 2 "1 ng fiff, n UDET.... u a , a 1 284 4 12 52 '"2 1 4 58 1 3 25 1 170 6 1 22 "7 13 '15 ne ns" UnET u..... on"' e, .. , ang o 10 1 4 "86 "28 ne in 1 • • ■ ""3 '30 • •• 2 1 "53 105 49 40 1 28 1 1 71 19 14 '"1 1 1 onff oa ansr. afier au ae one en eu 6e u , "1 1 "'9 1 "'2 • •• 1 • •* nsj* onff u oa onp" 594 226 608 196 33 IV Divisioir, The two vowels i, and a, occur reapectiv^ely in over 70 and 67%, not only, but the finals ianff, iang, iau, iae appear in over 53°/o of the total. The hypothesis is fully borne out by this Division 14th and 15th Terminations. These are not grouped together in K*ang-hsi, and in the old arrangem! nt they were also kept apart, but I think I am justified in treating them as forming a group. I'hey have in common a vowel termination, which with the characteristic vowels of the Divisions forms diphthongs It is very difficult to distinguish between the terminal vowels of the two, but I think I am justified in advancing what follows. I consider that in the 14th termination an o, was added to the four characteristic vowels, forming the diphthongs oo, ao, eo, io. In the 15th terminatioft I think a «, was added to the same vowels forming the diphthongs (m, au eu, iu. The modern dialectal sounds show that these views are probably correct. 14th Termination. (23rd Table of K'ang-hsi.) I Division. The vowel o, appears in over 43% but the vowel u, appears in over 60°/o- II Division. The vowel a, appears in over 57% of the total, the termination o, appears in over 30°/o but u appears as termination in over 64°/o of the total. 34 III Division. The vowel e, occurs in 28°/o while i, in 61°/o of the total. Terminal o, is represented by 22°/^^, terminal «, by 68Vo, IV Division. The vowel i, appears in 72°/o of the total. Terminal o, represents 21'*/o, terminal u, 67°/o. 15tli Termination. (24th Table of K'ang-hsi) I. Division. The vowel o, appears in over 42°/o a, and e, ia about i9°/o. Terminal u, appears in 67°/o, terminal o, in II. Division. The vowel a, appears only in 24°/o, while o, or ^^'' in 30°/o. Terminal u, appears in 7^°/o ; terminal o, in S^/o. III. Division. The vowel e, appears only in 8°/o, while i, in 30°/o, and 0, in 22°/o. Terminal u appears in 77°/o, terminal o, in 8°/o- IV. DiVISON. The vowel i, appears in over 56°/o. Terminal u appears in over 90°/o. Terminal o, only in 7°/o. (I ) The tendency of the diphthong * - o 4th It * o - 5» It o - « 6,, It m * * « 7„ it * * a 8" ir m * * • 9» » - * « - 10 „ M - 11 » l> * 0- - * 13 „ » - « « « 14 „ »> - * - * 15 „ tt 9|> - - * *= =6 7 6 7 total 26 _^ =5 1 8 3 „ 17 Twenty-six Divisions are in favour, and 17 against the hypothesis, all doubtful cases I have considered ne^ gative. 36 The adjoining Table shows the Hhyrae-Tables in tlie old order, and gives the finals according to the hypothesis advanced. The Tables thus appear as a Syllabary of the sounds of the ancient language. I now may resume the arguments in favour of the theory. 1st. The hypothesis resists the severe ordeal of being tried by the whole mass of phonetic specimens, and it holds good in the majority of cases, notwithstanding all the disturbing influences of so many dialects, several very corrupt. 2nd. iEven in the Tables, where one or more of the hypothetical vowels do not occur in the majority of cases, it will be noticeable that they always have a tendency to appear in the place assigned to them by my theory. If o does not represent the majority of any I Div. it. will be seen always to appear there strongest, and gradually to dwindle away in the other Divisions. The same happens with each* other vowel : i if not occurring in a majority of the sounds of any IV Division, is seen to appear principally there, and only sporadically in the others. 3rd. The numerical evidence is still stronger if we confine our attention to the Southern dialects, especially Cantonese; 4th. It is also supported by the authority of Chiang-yung and other native philologers, whose obscure meaning seems to be explained by my hypothesis CO. Chinese philologers not having an alphabet, lack symbols to represent abstract (1) Chiang Yung (Xt 7jc) says: Tha Rhym3-Ta,ble? of K'aag.hsi arranged ia the old ordar aad with the fiaaU resultiag from the present investigation. Number of Table FinaK 4 „ jg (Closed Sounds) uag, uag. 12 „ JI (Open 11 ) aang. (Closed >i ) uaang. 5 J) ih (Open 11 J ei, i. (Closed 11 ) wei, m. 7 „ m( 1' 11 J u, ii. 6 „ Sf (Opsn 11 oi. ai, ei, i. (Closed 11 / uoi, uxi, uei, m. 11 „ IS (Opsn >» en, en, in. (Closed 11 1 ii§n,""uen, uin. 8 „ lU (Open 11 J on, an, en, in. (Closed 11 ) uon, uan, uen, uTn. 14 „ ^ (Open V J 00 (o) ac, eo, io. 1 „ ^ ( ., 11 0, a, e, i. (Closed 11 / I uo, ua, ue. 13 „ g (Open 'ii ; oang. aang, eanj, iang. (Closed f» J iioang, uaang, ueang. 3 „ # (Open 11 ) Snjr, eng. (Closed 11 ) (too fe* to be noticel.) 2 „ ® (Open )> )ang,eng,ing. 15 « ?i ( » >l ) ou,au,ea,iu. io„gg( „ 11 )em. 9 „ ^ ( » 11 ) om, am, era,im. 37 sounds, and it is almost impossible for them to communicate such abstract conceptions to others at least by writing. If they succeed; in having clear viewd on phonology, they cannot impart them, except verbally to their immediate disciples. 5th. It is confirmed hy certain soumis in the Wei-hien dialect asgiven by Dr. Mateer in his "Mandarin Lessons." There, as I have mentioned, one finds the sounds Tsr, Tsr', for characters, which are found in K'ang-hsi's Tables under cerebral sibilant initials, showing that in Weihien they keep a trace of these cerebrals. In Mateer's Sound Table these sounds occur only with the vowels a, and e, exactly as they should do according to my hypothesis. 6th. The hypothesis agrees perfectly with the old ;arraugement of the Tables, it explains the meaning of the ^ and ^ (Termination and Division), and ofihe different groups, and produces a harmonious system which agrees almost in detail and always in spirit with the present system of finals in the Canton dialect. 7th. The suggestion that the Ehyme-Tables of K'ang- hsi are a complete Syllabary of the ancient language is supported by every reason of probability and historical analogy. We know that Indians collaborated at the compilation of these tables, and a syllabary is the natural idea for all people who have been accustomed to use an alphabet. It is also the method pursued by the Indian Buddhists and their disciples in other countries. In Japan we have all the syllables of the language arranged (in the goju m) by vowels, in the following succession a, i, u, e, 0, which is the order of the Sanscrit alphabet : the same system and order is found in Thibetan. Far from being astonished at finding a syllabary shadowed out even now in 38, tke Tables of Kfang-hsi, we ouglit to be surprised if the contour were bidden by tbe mists of time. If the results of this essay have, as I hope, advanced our knowledge of the ancient phonology, and enable us to distinguish clearly those ancient * Rhymes which the Chinese have laboured for ages to discoveri and have been obliged gradually to throw away as their knowledge became dimmer, it is a conclusive proof that without the early use of an alphabet and the clear notions it gives, it is impossible to discuss phonetic questions. I cannot flatter myself that, in a question which has occupied the keenest intellects of China through many ages, I have not been perhaps preceded by others, but through the absence of alphabetical abstractions and the want of their convenient symbols, the ideas of Chinese authors have been rather liazy and they were utterly incapacitated from communicating their results to the world. I close this essay with a table of Rhymes according to the Kuang-yiiu. These are not all given in K'ang-hsi's Rhyme-Tables, and when given, are often differently combined : they probably represent a pronunciation which was already antiquated when the tables were compiled, and only preserved in poetry, where obsolete forms are maintainel in all languages. The results of the general investigation on K'ang-hsi's Rhyme-Tables were, therefore, not alone sufficient to discriminate all the rhymes of the Kuang-yiin. I had to supplement the conclusions arrived at with the formulas given by native philologers for using the fan-ch'ieh system. The sounds given in the next Table represent the results (carefully weighed) obtained by these different methods. nng (ung)? iing aang 1 ei ei nei ii (u)? u Ul lii uoi oi en uen aa uen in uen ugn 6n on uon uan 'P J: 2i A m m m m ^ ^ m m mm n m ^ m % m m Bg g ^ :^ jh ^ m % ^ mum a s 's m m 1^ ^ ^ m m m M Wi m 7C BS '^ ^ U B m m m u m ^ ^ 1 m m m an in en io PO ao 00 o uo a eang oang ang (uang) ?. eng ing eng eng eu ou iu em om (uom) ? . em im am em uem (1) ^ .h ^ A Hi m m m ^ m m m Hi m m m ^ /> ^ W J5 J» S Bif f^ Wi ^ m :JS ^ ^ 1^ II ii m m m m m ^ ^ S B* m m W ii ® h: ^- IH2 % -^ m « J? 1^ |i» HI :i^ ^ « v^LN s ^ ^ i^ lii: H ^ ^ % ^ ^ ^ 1^ li H m m m m ^ te Iff a rg ss s (!) In these three groups it seems that the characters have been mixed up, as in the same line one finds the vowels e and a. N.B. — Doubtful forms have been put in brackets. At the Office of The China' j^meUe:, Shanghai. KELLY & WALSH, I^d., Shanghai, Hongkong and YokohaiviA:. OTTO HARRASSOWITZ, Leipzig. KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRtJBNER & Co., Ld., London. ^Y^ 1 M '"m^u 44,i^ . iut '