Fanqiè
Encyclopedia
In Chinese phonology
, fanqie (Chinese: 反切; pinyin
: fǎnqiè; lit. "reverse-correspondence") is a method to indicate the pronunciation of a character
by using two other characters.
(3rd century AD). Introduction of Buddhism in China around the first century brought Sanskrit
. Its phonetic knowledge might have inspired the idea of fanqie W. S.-Y. Wang and R. E. Asher (1994). "Chinese Linguistic Tradition". The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Sun Yan (孫炎) is generally considered to be the first to adopt fanqie in Erya Yinyi (爾雅音義, "Sounds and Meanings of Erya"). He was a man in Wei state during the period of Three Kingdoms
(220–280 AD).
In the original fanqie, a character's pronunciation is represented by two other characters. The onset (initial consonant) is represented by that of the first of the two characters (上字 "upper word", as Chinese was written vertically); the final (or the "rhyme", including the medial glide, the nuclear vowel and the coda) and the tone
are represented by those of the second of the two characters (下字, "lower word"). The representation of tone notably changed later.
In 601
AD during the Sui Dynasty
, Qieyun
(切韻, "Cutting Rhymes"), a Chinese rhyme dictionary using fanqie was published.
, the tone was represented by the rhyme character. However, owing to sound changes that have occurred since then, a more complicated rule is used today (see four tones
for background information):
Thus + (Rhyme & Tone-2) = (Pronunciation of Character)
For example, the character 東 is represented by 德紅切. The third character 切 indicates that this is a fanqie spelling, while the first two characters indicate the onset and rhyme respectively. Thus the pronunciation of 東 is given as the onset [t] of 德 [tək] with the rhyme [uŋ] of 紅 [ɣuŋ], yielding [tuŋ]. Also, 德 has a yin ru (陰入) tone and 紅 has a yang ping (陽平) tone. Therefore, the tone of 東 is yin ping (陰平). (However, Modern Mandarin has lost the ru tones, so 德 now has a yang ping tone. See below.)
Gari Ledyard
has given this informative example of how an English equivalent to fanqie might look:
; for example, the modern pronunciation of 德 is in a yang tone. A description of these sound changes for Mandarin is given in the Mandarin phonology article. However, it is still rather accurate for southern Chinese spoken variants
such as Cantonese and Hakka, which have preserved many elements of Ancient
and Middle Chinese.
Chinese phonology
Chinese phonology generally means:*Historical Chinese phonology*Modern Standard Chinese phonologyFor the phonology of other varieties of Chinese, see the respective articles of each variety....
, fanqie (Chinese: 反切; pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: fǎnqiè; lit. "reverse-correspondence") is a method to indicate the pronunciation of a character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
by using two other characters.
The Origin
Before fanqie was widely adopted, method of du ruo (讀若, "read as") was used in works such as EryaErya
The Erya is the oldest extant Chinese dictionary or Chinese encyclopedia. Bernhard Karlgren concluded that "the major part of its glosses must reasonably date from" the 3rd century BC....
(3rd century AD). Introduction of Buddhism in China around the first century brought Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. Its phonetic knowledge might have inspired the idea of fanqie W. S.-Y. Wang and R. E. Asher (1994). "Chinese Linguistic Tradition". The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Sun Yan (孫炎) is generally considered to be the first to adopt fanqie in Erya Yinyi (爾雅音義, "Sounds and Meanings of Erya"). He was a man in Wei state during the period of Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
(220–280 AD).
In the original fanqie, a character's pronunciation is represented by two other characters. The onset (initial consonant) is represented by that of the first of the two characters (上字 "upper word", as Chinese was written vertically); the final (or the "rhyme", including the medial glide, the nuclear vowel and the coda) and the tone
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
are represented by those of the second of the two characters (下字, "lower word"). The representation of tone notably changed later.
In 601
601
Year 601 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 601 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Arts and sciences :* The earliest dated English words...
AD during the Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
, Qieyun
Qieyun
The Qieyun is a Chinese rime dictionary, published in 601 CE during the Sui Dynasty. The title Qieyun literally means "cutting rimes" referring to the traditional Chinese fănqiè system of spelling, and is thus translatable as "Spelling Rimes."Lù Făyán was the chief editor...
(切韻, "Cutting Rhymes"), a Chinese rhyme dictionary using fanqie was published.
Modern form
In Middle ChineseMiddle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
, the tone was represented by the rhyme character. However, owing to sound changes that have occurred since then, a more complicated rule is used today (see four tones
Four tones
The four tones of Chinese phonology are four traditional tone-classes of words derived from the four phonemic tones of Middle Chinese. They are even level , rising , going departing , and entering checked .-Names:In Middle Chinese, each of the tone names carries the tone it identifies: 平 even ,...
for background information):
- The yin-yang (陰陽) classification, which depends on whether or not the onset character's initial is voicedVoice (phonetics)Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds, with sounds described as either voiceless or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts. Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal cords vibrate...
. - The ping-shang-qu-ru (平上去入) classification, which is kept from Middle Chinese, is determined by the rhyme character's tone.
Thus + (Rhyme & Tone-2) = (Pronunciation of Character)
For example, the character 東 is represented by 德紅切. The third character 切 indicates that this is a fanqie spelling, while the first two characters indicate the onset and rhyme respectively. Thus the pronunciation of 東 is given as the onset [t] of 德 [tək] with the rhyme [uŋ] of 紅 [ɣuŋ], yielding [tuŋ]. Also, 德 has a yin ru (陰入) tone and 紅 has a yang ping (陽平) tone. Therefore, the tone of 東 is yin ping (陰平). (However, Modern Mandarin has lost the ru tones, so 德 now has a yang ping tone. See below.)
Gari Ledyard
Gari Ledyard
Gari Keith Ledyard is Sejong Professor of Korean History Emeritus at Columbia University. He is best known for his work on the history of the hangul alphabet.-Biography:...
has given this informative example of how an English equivalent to fanqie might look:
- To show the pronunciation of an unknown character, one "cut" the initial consonant from a second character and the rhyme from a third, and combined them to show the reading of the first. To use an English example, one could indicate the pronunciation of the word sough by "cutting" sun and now (= sow), or "cut" sun and cuff (= suff) to show the alternate pronunciation. This method was a bit circular in that it required knowledge of the pronunciations of the characters that were "cut," but it proved to be a workable system and lasted well into the twentieth century.
Language change
Owing to the development of the Chinese language over the last millennium and a half, the fanqie spellings are not always accurate for northern languages of Modern ChineseModern Chinese
Modern Chinese can refer to the following:*Modern Chinese history*Any or all of the modern varieties of Chinese, most commonly**Standard Chinese or Modern Chinese, sometimes known as Mandarin, the national language of the People's Republic of China...
; for example, the modern pronunciation of 德 is in a yang tone. A description of these sound changes for Mandarin is given in the Mandarin phonology article. However, it is still rather accurate for southern Chinese spoken variants
Spoken Chinese
Chinese comprises many regional language varieties sometimes grouped together as the Chinese dialects, the primary ones being Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min. These are not mutually intelligible, and even many of the regional varieties are themselves composed of a number of...
such as Cantonese and Hakka, which have preserved many elements of Ancient
Old Chinese
The earliest known written records of the Chinese language were found at a site near modern Anyang identified as Yin, the last capital of the Shang dynasty, and date from about 1200 BC....
and Middle Chinese.
General references
- Gari Ledyard: "The international linguistic background of The correct sounds for the instruction of the people" in The Korean alphabet : its history and structure, edited by Young-Key Kim-Renaud; Univ. of Hawai'i Press, cop. 1997, ISBN 0-8248-1723-0 (bd.) ISBN 0-8248-1989-6 (pb.) .