Zhōngyuán Yīnyùn
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Zhōngyuán Yīnyùn (Traditional Chinese: 中原音韻; Simplified Chinese: 中原音韵; "The phonology of the Central Plains") is a rime book from the Yuan Dynasty compiled by Zhōu Déqīng (周德清) in 1324. An important work for the study of historical Chinese phonology, it testifies many phonolgical changes from Middle Chinese to Mandarin, such as the reduction and disappearance of final stop consonants and the reorganization of the tones. Though often termed a "rime dictionary", the work does not provide meanings for its entries.
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[edit] Background
The Zhōngyuán Yīnyùn continued the tradition of Qieyun and other rime books. However, due to the phonological changes took place from the Sui Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, the information needed to be updated in accordance with the then phonological system.
From the middle of the 13th Century to the end of the 14th Century, Běiqǔ (北曲) underwent quick development. The author of Sanqu (散曲), Zhōu Déqīng, delved into the research on Běiqǔ, discovering that it created many problems by not adhering to the rules of classical poetic composition. He thought that in order to better develop Běiqǔ , one would need to make a definite standard, especially in respect to language. According to his own experience, he was able to propose a set of rules for composing and reciting Běiqǔ, which came to be known as "Zhōngyuán Yīnyùn".
[edit] Structure
In the earlier rime books, characters are first grouped by tone, then by rime. However, in Zhongy Yinyun, the selected 5,866 characters , commonly rhymed in songs of the time, are first grouped into 19 rime groups, then further into four tonal groups: ping sheng yin (陰平 "feminine level tone"), ping sheng yang (陽平 "masculine level tone"), shang sheng (上聲 "rising tone"), qu sheng (去聲 "departing tone"). The traditional ru sheng (入聲 "entering tone") is assigned to the the aforementioned four groups according to contemporary rules. This novel way of dividing the traditional four tones is known as "dividing the level tones into yin and yang, assigning the entering tone to the other three tones" (平分陰陽，入派三聲).
Within each rime-tonal group, homophonic characters are further grouped together, with each homophonic group separated by an empty circle. As a common character, whose pronunciation every literate person is supposed to know, is used to head each homophonic group, fanqie spelling is not employed, as in the earlier rime books, for indicating the pronunciations of the characters.
Zhou regarded the principal works of The Four Great Yuan Playwrights (元曲四大家 Yuanqu si dajia) as foundational to verse in general; he considered their works to be "rimes joined with nature, words able to connect with the language of the world" (韻共守自然之音，字能通天下之語), and at the same time also distinguished where the playwrights used rimes in non-standard places.
Zhōngyuan Yīnyun's second half, Zhengyu Zuoci Qilie (正語作詞起例), employs various examples to explain in detail both the rime charts' methods of use as well as issues concerning Běiqǔ's creation, standards and other aspects.
[edit] List of rimes
歌戈韻 Ge-Ge
家麻韻 Jia-Ma
車遮韻 Che-Zhe
齊微韻 Qi-Wei
支思韻 Zhi-Si
魚模韻 Yu-Mo
皆來韻 Jie-Lai
蕭豪韻 Xiao-Hao
尤侯韻 You-Hou
寒山韻 Han-Shan
先天韻 Xian-Tian
桓歡韻 Huan-Huan
監鹹韻 Jian-Xian
廉籤韻 Lian-Qian
真文韻 Zhen-Wen
侵尋韻 Qin-Xun
庚清韻 Geng-Qing
江陽韻 Jiang-Yang
東鍾韻 Dong-Zhong
[edit] Influence
In respect to contemporaneous and later Běiqǔ works, Zhōngyuán Yīnyùn has played a very strong guiding role; moreover, many later rhyme works have regarded it as a model on which they based their interpretations. Up until the flourishing of Nanqu (南曲 -- "Southern Verse"), Zhōngyuán Yīnyùn still held a tremendous influence.
