Yùdìng yīnyùn chǎnwēi 御定音韻闡微
Imperially-Fixed Subtle Exposition of Phonology by 李光地 (Lǐ Guāngdì, 1642–1718, fèngchì zhuàn); imperially commissioned Kāngxī 54 (1715), completed Yōngzhèng 4 (1726)
About the work
A Qīng imperial yīnyùn (rhyme-and-phonology) reference, in 18 juàn, replacing the Yuán Yùnhuì jǔyào and Míng Hóngwǔ zhèngyùn lines as the official Qīng standard. Imperially commissioned by Kāngxī in his 54th year (1715) and entrusted to Dàxuéshì Lǐ Guāngdì 李光地 for design; the actual compilation was largely by his student Wáng Lánshēng 王蘭生; after Lǐ’s death in 1718 the project was completed under Shàngshū Xú Yuánmèng 徐元夢 and presented Yōngzhèng 4 (1726). Yōngzhèng’s preface explains the historical context (the foreign origin of the 36 zìmǔ doctrine via Buddhist xīyù learning in the Hàn) and signals the imperial-Manchu intervention: instead of fǎnqiè spelling on the inherited SòngMíng pattern, the book uses Manchu-script héshēng qièzì 合聲切字 method — which read slowly is two characters, read fast is one sound — claimed to be more natural and adequate to all Chinese sounds. Each rhyme uses 36 zìmǔ sequencing (after Hán Dàozhāo’s 韓道昭 Wǔyīn jíyùn and Xióng Zhōng’s 熊忠 Yùnhuì jǔyào models). Glosses give all variant readings of competing schools — those that agree with the héshēng method are accepted, those that disagree are revised by the héshēng method. Under the new regime: upper-character (initial-determining) graphs are drawn from the zhī, wēi, yú, yú, gē, má rhymes — these being the productive sources of the 12 Manchu zìtóu; lower-character (rhyme-determining) graphs use 影 母 for qīngshēng and 喻 母 for zhuóshēng — both throat-positions, whence all sound originates. Distinguished by Sìkù tíyào as “since the rhyme-book began, no method more direct than this; and no book more precise.”
Tiyao
Imperially commissioned in Kāngxī 54 (1715); completed Yōngzhèng 4 (1726). The Shìzōng Xiàn Huángdì wrote the preface, narrating the Shèngzǔ Rén Huángdì’s principal direction of the compilation, and the book was carved and circulated. From the time of Hàn Míngdì, xīyù (Western Region) qièyùn studies entered China together with the Buddhist scriptures — the so-called “fourteen sounds threading the entirety of script” doctrine. But that book did not circulate. Through HànWèi, Sūn Yán founded the fǎnqiè method; in QíLiáng, Wáng Róng [玉融] composed shuāngshēng poetry; the děngyùn sprouted, in fact resonating with the older method. From Shén Gǒng on, the doctrine flourished — to today there survive Sīmǎ Guāng’s Zhǐzhǎngtú KR1j0058, Zhèng Qiáo’s Qīyīnlüè, the anonymous Sìshēng děngzǐ KR1j0066, Liú Jiàn’s Qièyùn zhǐnán KR1j0067 — the rules grew dense, but so did the awkwardness. Only our Manchu-script 12-zìtóu, by héshēng qiè (combined-sound spelling), reads slowly into 2 graphs, reads fast as 1 sound — entirely from the natural human voice. Tested against the Zuǒzhuàn’s “dīngníng” = 鉦, “gōudú” = 穀; the Guóyǔ’s “bótí” = 披; the Zhànguócè’s “bósū” = 胥 — these match the Three-Dynasties Old method too. Hence the imperial direction to court scholars: take this as standard. First the yùnpǔ, fixing the four-děng light-and-heavy; each bù uses the modern rhyme-class title with the Guǎngyùn sub-class appended — preserving the older system, with notes on which should merge and which should split. Within each rhyme entries are sequenced by the 36 zìmǔ, after the Hán Dàozhāo / Xióng Zhōng pattern. Below each entry: the readings of competing schools — those that agree are accepted; those that disagree are revised by héshēng; no flair for novelty, no compromising for false agreement. Initial-determining (upper) graphs are drawn mainly from 支 / 微 / 魚 / 虞 / 歌 / 麻 — these classes able to generate all sounds — i.e., the first set of Manchu zìtóu. Rhyme-determining (lower) graphs: qīngshēng takes 影 母, zhuóshēng takes 喻 母 — these two being throat-initials of the rhyme proper, since all sound emanates from and returns to the throat. Where a sound has no graph, a graph from another rhyme / mǔ of the closest sound is borrowed: jīnyòng (currently used) / xiéyòng (cross-used) / jièyòng (borrowed) — three rules. Cross-checking by these the implicit relations can be made explicit — i.e. the same idea as the Hànrú gloss “X dúrú Y” or “X yīnjìn Y”, but with a precision the ancients lacked. Since the rhyme-book began, no method has been more direct; nor any book more precise. (Translated from Sìkù tíyào at Zinbun 0089802.html.)
Abstract
The Yīnyùn chǎnwēi (1726) is the principal Qīng imperial rhyme-book, in 18 juàn. The work’s distinctive contribution is the use of the Manchu-script héshēng qièzì (combined-sound spelling) method to standardise fǎnqiè — a substantial departure from the inherited SòngMíng tradition, achieved by the imperial editors’ Manchu-Chinese bilingualism. The system is built on the 36 zìmǔ of the děngyùn tradition (after Hán Dàozhāo 韓道昭 and Xióng Zhōng 熊忠) but uses the Manchu 12-zìtóu phonological economy as its analytical metal. Lǐ Guāngdì designed the project (1715); his student Wáng Lánshēng did most of the compilation; after Lǐ’s death (1718) Xú Yuánmèng oversaw the completion. The Pèiwén shīyùn (the Qīng poetic-rhyme standard, the 106-rhyme píngshuǐyùn in its imperial form) provides the rhyme-class outer framework. Modern phonology (Wáng Lì 1985, Pulleyblank 1991) treats it as a primary witness for early-Qīng standardised pronunciation. notBefore = notAfter = 1726.
Translations and research
- Yú Mǐn 余敏. 2008. Qīng-dài yīn-yùn-xué shǐ 清代音韻學史. — Standard tradition history.
- Pulleyblank, Edwin G. 1991. Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin. Vancouver: UBC. — Treats the Chǎn-wēi as a primary witness for early-Qīng phonology.
- Coblin, W. South. 2000. “A Brief History of Mandarin.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 120.4. — Discussion of imperial-period Mandarin standardization.
Other points of interest
The application of the Manchu héshēng (combined-sound) method to Chinese fǎnqiè is the principal innovation of the book — a Manchu-Chinese phonological bridge unique to Qīng imperial scholarship. The successor work Yīnyùn shùwēi KR1j0077 (1771–1786) explicitly extends this methodology with the same imperial héshēng approach.