Knowra Old Chinese Old Chinese Old Chinese is the reconstructed ancestor of Chinese varieties spoken during the Zhou dynasty and earlier. Its sounds and grammar are inferred from early texts, rhyme patterns, and later phonetic evidence.
Phonological reconstruction : The inference of earlier sound systems from regular correspondences and historical evidence. Old Chinese phonemes are inferred by comparing rhymes, sound series, and later pronunciations.
Shang Chinese : The language or languages represented in writing from China’s Shang dynasty, before the Zhou period. Oracle-bone records offer the earliest substantial written evidence relevant to Old Chinese.
Bernhard Karlgren : A Swedish sinologist who pioneered systematic reconstruction of earlier Chinese pronunciation using rhyme dictionaries and rhyme tables. His influential reconstructions shaped the modern study of Old Chinese sounds.
Baxter–Sagart reconstruction : A modern reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology developed by William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart. It is a prominent proposal, not a directly attested pronunciation or universally accepted system.
Qieyun : A Chinese rhyme dictionary compiled in 601 CE that classifies syllables by tonal category, rhyme, and onset. Its categories preserve distinctions useful for reconstructing earlier Chinese pronunciations.
Middle Chinese : The reconstructed sound system underlying medieval Chinese rhyme dictionaries and rhyme tables. It is a later stage whose contrasts can be traced back toward Old Chinese.
Wang Li : A Chinese linguist whose research helped establish modern Chinese historical phonology and classical philology. His Old Chinese reconstruction became a major alternative to Karlgren’s system.
Zhengzhang reconstruction : A reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology proposed by Zhengzhang Shangfang. Its choices differ from Baxter and Sagart’s on important consonant and rhyme analyses.
Chinese rhyme tables : Medieval charts that organize Chinese syllables by initial, rhyme, division, and tone. Their systematic categories provide evidence about sound contrasts inherited from earlier stages.
Classical Chinese : The literary language used in much of premodern Chinese writing, modeled on early texts. Its surviving texts preserve vocabulary and syntax from periods when Old Chinese was spoken.
Show all 21