The Phonetic System Of "Tai Law" In The Rhyme Book Of The Ming Dynasty And Yunnan Dialect

From the Late Yuan Dynasty to the Early Ming Dynasty, it is an important stage that mid-ancient pronunciation transformed to modern ones, and also the critical period when modern Mandarin bred. Especially in Ming Dynasty, with the massive immigration of Han into Yunnan, it made the phonetic system of Yunnan Dialects begin to take shape under the influence of Chinese Mandarin in Ming Dynasty. This could be verified in these three books which were published in Yunnan, Yun Lue Yi Tong during the early and the mid-Ming Dynasty, and Tai Lv Article in late Ming. Ge zhongxuan’s Tai Lv Article, published in Late Ming Dynasty, following the two Yun Lue Yi Tong, and was also important historical materials recorded the further formation of Chinese national common language and Yunnan Dialect. Tai Lv Article, with the anther two Yun Lue Yi Tong, just represents the three cross-section of Chinese phonetic development in Ming Dynasty, co-articulated the evolutional track of Chinese pronunciation throughout the Ming Dynasty. Hence its value in the study of phonetics is evident.Tai Lv Article recorded Chinese Mandarin phonetic system of late Ming Dynasty, according to the phonetic system and then compiled three rhyme figures to record the real voice features in this period, initials:the voiced consonants turning into voiceless sounds, the level tones owned aspirated voiceless consonants, the oblique tones owned unaspirated voiceless consonants. Nichome initials have merged and retroflexed further, micro consonant experienced V-f-(?) transition phases, suspect consonant disappeared in the mainstream and with merged with metaphor suspect into [(?)] initials (individual reserved [rj], minority became [n]),three consonants [te, te’, e] started to separate from the Fine, See two initials, but not yet completely stereotyped,20initials in total. As to vowels, from Yun Lue Yi Tong,20rhyme-section further simplified and merged into12rhyme sounds, the apical vowels [(?),(?)] formed,[y] vowel stereotyped and act as prenuclear glides, four breath established, ended vowels disappeared, Huan vowel no longer independent;[α],[ε] no opposition.entering finals weakened into a glottal consonant [-?],match with Yin rhyme,43vowels in total. In the perspective of Tone, the level tone, rising tone, falling tone, entering tone and checked tone, these five categories are inherited from Yun Lue Yi Tong. Divide into the yin and yang equally, the rising tone of voiced initials transferred to a falling tone, the checked tone become the independent sound. It is visible that the collocational rule of phonology is in line with the basic rules of Chinese speech evolution, meanwhile modern Mandarin has been partially completed or further developed. Obviously, the basic phonetic system the book accounted is Chinese Mandarin in Ming Dynasty, while somephenomena divorced from the basic evolution rules of Chinese phonetics just reflected the further formation of Yunnan Mandarin Ming Dynasty.Such as Yang rhyme [-m] coda and [-η] coda mixed,[-n] coda [-η] coda mixed,Flat cacuminal is not divided,Qi Chihu and Pursed mouths mixed,etc.There are a lot of similarities with the current characteristics of the Yunnan Dialect.Following the direction of the previous studies, this paper carried the in-depth historical study of Tai Lv Article which represented Chinese common language phonetics of late Ming dynasty, and the investigation and assessment on the spreading and descending of versions, the hand-down of the content and the evolution of the phonetics, to clarify the trace of the evolution development of Chinese phonetics, and to figure out the change of Chinese and Yunnan dialect from Ming Dynasty till now,to lay a foundation for further sorting and study Tai Lv Article.