The Chiehyunn System and the Current State of Chinese Historical Phonology

Abstract

Since the nineteenth century the field of historical phonology has encompassed two separate enterprises. The first and older of these is the phonological interpretation of written sources. The second is phonological reconstruction, within which may be distinguished comparative and internal reconstruction. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Chinese historical phonology was a field dominated by the first major approach, the interpretation of texts. It was only in the final years of the century that, particularly among the younger generation of scholars, interest shifted towards phonological reconstruction based on the comparative method. As the twenty-first century begins, we face the question of how the two major approaches, interpretive and reconstructive, are to be reconciled and integrated into a single discipline. Put another way, we must ask what role traditional philological sources should play in the continually developing field of Chinese historical phonology. This paper is a reflection on that question.