A Grammar of Colloquial Chinese, as Exhibited in the Shanghai Dialect

389. The most remarkable use of the copula is in the potential verb groups, where 得 tuh and 勿 veh stand between two verbs; e.g. 打勿贏 ’táng veh yung, fighting he does not conquer; 話得出 wó‘ tuh t’seh, speaking can express it; 走得轉 ’tseu tuk ’tsén, walking you can turn back.

Obs. i. In colloquial use, these words mean he cannot conquer, it can be described in words, he can turn back. If viewed alone as separate sentences, the first verb is the subject, and the second the predicate. So when the last word in these groups is an adjective, it may be regarded as predicate to the verb which stands first. This is particularly obvious where the potential force of 得 tuh and 勿 veh are wanting, 推板勿多 t’é pan veh tú, there is no great difference; 寫得 快 ’siá tuh k’wá‘, he writes fast. Where the potential force exists in these phrases; e.g. 吹勿响 t’sz veh ’h’iáng, it cannot be sounded (of a flute); 豎勿直 ’zû veh dzuh, it cannot be set upright; 改勿正 ’ke veh tsung‘, it cannot be corrected; though the relation of subject and predicate is less manifest, it is perhaps the best explanation.

Obs. ii. When adjectives occupy both the first and last places, there is no potential force, and the second adjective becomes comparative 高得多 kau tuh tú, it is much higher.

Obs. iii. Wherever the potential force is wanting, 來 lé is used convertibly with 得 tuh; i.e. 寫來快 ’siá lé k’wá‘, he writes fast. Of the two 得 is most used by the educated.

390. The subject and predicate are still further lengthened by expletives. 末 meh belongs to the former, and 個, 拉, 哩, 者 kú‘, ’lá, ’lí, ’tsé to the latter.

Obs. Educated natives used these words much less frequently than the common people, except when they modify the verb in time, or as in the case of 末, give a conditional sense. The predicate if an adjective has time given to it by these particles, just as if it were a verb.

Section 7. Subordinate Sentences.

391. Sentences illustrative of verbs of knowing, saying and wishing, etc. taking the initiatory particle that in English, usually follow the proposition or verb they explain.

• 不過聽見儂欵待讀書人 pih kú‘ t’ing kíen‘ nóng‘ k’wén dé‘ tók sû niun, I have merely heard that you treat with generosity literary men.
• 伊話勿能來 í wó‘ veh nung lé, he said he could not come.
• 我曉得伊難過日脚 ’ngú‘ ’h’iau tuh í nan ku‘ nyih kiáh, I know that he lived on with difficulty.
• 我勿相信第隻船將要翻脫 ’ngú veh siáng sing‘ tí‘ tsáh zén tsiáng yau‘ ’fan t’eh, I do not believe this boat is going to overturn.

Obs. i. The clause introduced with that is often placed first. 官府嘸没銀子是人人曉得個 kwén ’fú m meh niung ’tsz ’zz niun niun ’h’iau tuh kú‘, that the mandarins have no money is known by every one; 要進城話拉 yau‘ tsing‘ zung wó‘ ’lá, he said that he wished to go into the city. The educated usually place the verb 話 wó‘ first.

Obs. ii. In Latin the construction of the explanatory clause, is that of the accusative and infinitive.

392. Clauses expressing the object of an act, usually follow the sentence that contain the act.

• 領伊到學堂讀書 ’ling í tau‘ hoh dong tóh sû, take him to school, that he may learn to read.
• 請和尙拜懺 ’t’sing ú zong‘ pá‘ tsan, invite Buddhist priests to perform a service.
• 呌畵工來畵小照 kiau‘ wó‘ kong lé wó‘ ’siau tsau‘, call a painter to draw a likeness.
• 講鄕約勸士農工商做本分꜄ ’kong h’iáng yah k’iön‘ ’zz nóng‘ kóng song tsú‘ ’pun vun‘, read the sacred edict (country regulations), to induce the reading, agricultural, artisan, mid mercantile classes to perform their duties.

Obs. In English, the subordinate clause is introduced often by the final that, as the previous examples are by the explanatory that.

393. The final that or to is often expressed by the auxiliary verbs 要 yau‘, and 呌 kau‘.

• 橫勸豎勸呌伊學好 wáng k’iön‘ ’zû k’iön‘ kau‘ í hoh ’hau, use all kinds of exhortations to make him improve.
• 關窵拉籠裏要伊呌個 kwan ’tiau ’lá ’lóng ’lí yau‘ í kiau kú‘, shut birds in cages that they may sing.

Obs. In examples such as those of the present, and the previous article, the clauses may be inverted. 要捉魚咾出去登拉更舍裏 yau‘ tsoh ng lau t’seh k’í‘ tung ’lá káng só‘ lí, in order to catch fish, he goes out to stay in the watch-hut. 咾 lau must be appended to the clause expressing the object of the action.

394. The final that being often omitted, or expressed by verbs, the way is open to form one sentence out of the two component clauses, so as to improve the general rhythmical effect. This is done in such common sentences as the following.

• 送勒儂看 sóng‘ ’lá nóng k’ön‘, I present it to you to look at.
• 講勒㑚聽 ’kóng ’lá ná‘ t’ing, I speak that you may hear.
• 話撥㑚聽 wó‘ peh ná‘ t’ing, ib.
• 撥飯伊吃 peh van‘ í k’iuh, give him rice to eat.
• 斟酌起來看 tsun tsáh ’k’í lé k’ön‘, deliberate upon it and see.

Obs. These examples differ from those of those of the next article, only in being obviously pronounced as one sentence.

395. The clause expressing the object of the verb is often a single verb repeated or not. (In Latin, often the supine).

• 捨點物事拉我吃吃 só‘ ’tíen meh zz‘ ’lá ’ngú k’iuh k’iuh, give me something to eat.
• 要到店裏去買 yau‘ tau‘ tíen‘ ’lí k’í‘ ’má, go to the shop and buy it.

396. The clause containing the action frequently consists of a substantive, or substantive group, with any of the auxiliary verbs of causing, or instrumentality, and the verb of motion 來, or 去 concluding the clause.

• 呌瞎子來拜斗 kau‘ hah ’tsz lé pá‘ ’teu, call a blind man to worship the north star.
• 担衣裳來晾 tan í zong lé long‘, take the clothes and hang them out to dry.
• 挪石灰漿來刷壁 nó záh hwé tsiáng lé seh pih, bring lime to white-wash the wall.
• 担馬來騎到海灘去 tan ’mó lé gí tau‘ ’hé t’an k’í‘, bring a horse and ride to the sea shore.
• 担棕來絞繩 tan tsóng lé kau zung, bring tsóng wood bark to make ropes.
• 担茄瓢舀水 tan ká biau yau ’sz, bring a cocoa-nut shell to lade water.

Obs. The object of any transitive verb may be made to precede its verb by prefixing some one of these auxiliary verbs and appending 來 lé 去 k’í‘.

397. Substantive groups of many words are inserted between the instrumental verb, and the verb of motion.

• 担合天底下個事體來講究明白 tan heh t’íen ’tí ’au kú‘ zz‘ ’t’í lé ’kong kíeu‘ ming báh, he takes the affairs of the whole world and explains them clearly.
• 担各家人家個姓咾名頭寫拉人丁冊上 tan kok ká niun ká kú‘ sing‘ lau ming deu ’siá ’lá niun ting t’sáh long‘, take the names and surnames of every householder and write them in the register.

398. A relative clause precedes its word as an adjective, and is connected with it by the particle 個 kú‘.

• 做慣拉個生活勿吃力個 tsú‘ kwan‘ ’lá kú‘ sáng weh veh k’iuh lih kú‘, work to which one is accustomed does not fatigue.
• 行方便個人家子孫要多者 háng fong bíen‘ kú‘ niun ká ’tsz sun yau‘ tú ’tsé, he who gives alms will have many descendants.
• 圍困拉個城頭有四五六個 wé k’wun‘ ’lá kú‘ dzung deu ’yeu sz‘ ’ng lók kú‘, of besieged cities there are five or six.

Obs. The relative or adjective clause standing thus in apposition with a noun, may be considered as forming with it the subject of the sentence, i.e. the logical subject as distinguished from the grammatical, which consists of the substantive only.

399. Circumstances of cause, manner, instrumentality, etc. precede in the same way, the words to which they belong.

• 皇帝送個翎毛咾蟒袍總要看重個 wong tí‘ sóng‘ kú, ling mau lau ’mong bau ’tsóng yau‘ k’ön‘ ’dzóng kú‘, peacock’s feathers and embroidered tunics presented by the emperor are sure to be highly valued.
• 祖宗傳下來個派頭勿好改換 ’tsú tsóng dzén ’au lé kú‘ p’á‘ deu, veh ’hau ’ké wén‘, customs delivered down by ancestors should not be changed.
• 聖人賢人講個道理莫非三綱五常 sung‘ niun híen niun ’kong kú‘ ’dau ’lí móh fí san kong ’ú dzáng, the doctrine taught by sages and learned men is all on the three relations and five constant virtues.
• 山上泉眼出個水淸個 san long‘ dzíen ’ngan t’seh kú‘ ’sz, t’sing kú‘, water that comes from mountain springs is clear.
• 石頭造拉個房子堅牢個 záh deu ’zau ’lá kú‘ vong ’tsz kíen lau kú‘, houses built of stone are strong.

Obs. Many such sentences admit of the clauses being inverted. Thus, 天定拉個數目人勿曉得 may also be read, niun veh ’h’iau tuh t’íen ding‘ ’lá kú‘ sú‘ máh, man does not know the times decreed by heaven.

400. There are some auxiliary verbs, and preposition forms employed to introduce the subject, which then appears in the form of a subordinate sentence.

• 話到死過以後個事體難講 wó‘ tau‘ ’sí kú‘ ’í heu‘ kú‘ zz‘ ’t’í nan ’kong, in reference to what happens after death, it is difficult discussion.
• 造到發大財是勿能個 ’zau tau‘ fah dú‘ ’dzé ’zz veh nung kú‘, as to getting rich, I cannot.
• 講到登基坐江山勿見得實蓋能造化 ’kong tau‘ tung kí ’zû kong san veh kíen‘ tuh zeh ké‘ nung ’zau hwó‘, but as to ascending the throne, and taking his seat on the rivers and mountains, it is not likely he will be so fortunate.

Obs. These words are not indispensable to the introduction of a subject as a subordinate clause; e.g. 大是大個 tú‘ ’zz dú‘ kú‘, as to size it is large.

401. Similar to these is the construction of the verb forms prefixed to interrogative pronouns which thereby become relatives.

• 隨便那裏一樣事體要做差個 zûe bíen‘ ’á ’lí ih yáng‘ zz‘ ’t’í, yau‘ tsú t’só kú‘, whatever thing it be, he will do it wrong.
• 勿論啥官總要得賄個 veh lun‘ sá kwén ’tsóng yau‘ tuh ’hwé kú‘, mandarins of all offices whatsoever will take bribes.
• 勿拘幾許兵卒總會戰敗 veh kü ’kí hó‘ ping tseh, ’tsóng wé‘ tsén‘ bá‘, however many soldiers there be, we are sure to conquer.

402. Subordinate clauses expressive of time and place, are placed before the principal clauses.

• 住拉啥地方勿肯話 dzû‘ ’lá sá‘ tí‘ fong, veh ’k’ung wó, he is unwilling to say where he lives.
• 清明節氣幾時黃曆上有 t’sing ming tsih k’í‘ ’kí zz, wong lih long‘ ’yeu, the time at which the Tsing-ming solar period occurs, is recorded in the calendar.
• 到明朝我又到伊壗頭去 tau‘ ming tsau ’ngú í‘ tau‘ í han‘ deu k’í‘, on the next day I went to him again.

403. The subject consisting of a verb and substantive, often takes the form of a subordinate introductory clause.

• 待別人要用禮貌 té‘ bih niun yau‘ yung‘ ’lí mau‘, in treating others, a man should be polite.
• 存心要存得好 dzun sing yau‘ dzun tuh ’hau, in keeping the heart, a man should keep it well.

404. Many subordinate circumstantial clauses are introduced by verbs and precede the principal proposition.

• 落大雨個辰光去者 loh dú‘ ’ü kú‘ zun kwong k’í‘ ’tsé, while it was raining heavily he went.
• 照之我個想頭要換朝代者 tsau‘ tsz ’ngú kú‘ ’siáng deu, yau‘ wén‘ dzau dé‘ ’tsé, according to my idea, the dynasty needs to be changed. (or, will be, &c.,).
• 照之古聖王個話頭一心一德 tsau‘ tsz ’kú sung‘ wong kú‘ wó‘ deu ih sing ih tuh, according to the words of the ancient king, “one in heart and one in virtue.”
• 讀之七年書咾考之秀才 tók tsz t’sih níen sû lau ’kau tsz sieu‘ zé, having studied seven years, he took his degree of Bachelor.
• 囂之書開來咾讀之兩張者 h’iau tsz sû k’é lé lau tók tsz ’liáng tsáng ’tsé, having opened the book, he read two sections.
• 得勝之多囘咾末脚死拉戰塲上 tuh sung‘ tsz tá wé lau meh kiáh ’sí ’lá tsén‘ dzáng long‘, after gaining many victories, he died at last on the field of battle.

Obs. i. Sometimes the verb of the subordinate clause is when preceded by the negative particle, put at the end; e.g. 兵丁勿算武官死有五十干 ping ting veh sön‘, ’vú kwén ’sí ’yeu ng seh kûn, without counting the common soldiers, fifty military mandarins died.

Obs. ii. Circumstantial subordinate propositions often come between the subject and predicate, 貪官已經受之姓張箇銀子就拿姓李箇放拉監牢裏 t’én kwén ’í kiung ’zeu tsz sing‘ Tsáng kú‘ niung ’tsz dzieu‘ nó sing‘ ’Lí kú‘ fong‘ ’lá kan lau ’lí, the avaricious mandarin having received money from Mr. Cháng, will take Mr. Li and put him in prison; 好人做之將官總勿瞎殺一個人 ’hau niun tsú‘ tsz tsiáng‘ kwén ’tsóng veh hah sah ih kú‘ niun, the good man on becoming a general, will not kill a single man without reason.

405. Many subordinate clauses are causal, and are connected with the principal sentence by the particle 咾 lau, or they are inserted in the principal clause with 因爲 yung wé‘ to introduce them.

• 做事體勿勸謹咾勿成功者 tsú‘ zz‘ ’t’í veh giun ’kiun lau veh zung kóng ’tsé, not being diligent in performing his duty, he did not succeed.
• 家當敗完之咾做之窮人者 ká tong‘ bá‘ wén tsz lau tsú‘ tsz giong niun ’tsé, he wasted all his property and became poor.
• 打傷之人咾帶之枷者 ’táng song tsz niun lau tá‘ tsz ká ’tsé, for beating and wounding a man, he was condemned to wear the cangue.
• 衣裳摜拉石頭上碎完者 í zong gwán‘ ’lá záh deu long sé‘ wén ’tsé, the clothes from being beaten on stones are torn to pieces.
• 總督嘸奈何咾服毒者 tsóng‘ tóh m ’né ú lau vóg dók ’tsé, the viceroy having no alternative, poisoned himself.
• 上司參之伊咾革脱之官者, ’zong sz t’sén tsz í lau kák t’eh tsz kwén ’tsé, his superior having reported him as culpable, he was discharged.
• 勿要因為事體多咾勿盡心 veh yau‘ yung wé‘ zz‘ ’t’í tú lau‘ veh zing‘ sing, do not on the ground of having so much to do, pay no attention.

Obs. Conjunctions may be prefixed to the introductory clause. 因爲三 代前頭題過第個名字勿可再題 yung wé‘ san dé‘ zíen deu tí kú‘ tí‘ kú‘ ming zz‘ veh ’k’ó tsé‘ dí, because three generations ago this name was used, it could not be employed again.

406. Conditional introductory clauses are formed by means of particles, or they are understood to be conditional from their position, or from the nature of the sentence.

a. Examples of conditional clauses without particles.

• 勿敎訓個兒子伊總要入下流 veh kiau‘ h’iün‘ kú‘ ní ’tsz í ’tsóng yau‘ zeh ’au lieu, if you do not teach your son, he will certainly fall to the lowest grade of character.
• 勿呑金原要受皇帝個埋怨咾殺脱 veh tung kiun niön yau‘ ’zeu wong tí‘ kú‘ má yön‘ lau sah t’eh, if he does not take gold and commit suicide, he must suffer the emperor’s displeasure and be put to death.

b. Examples with 末 meh, at the end of the conditional clause.

• 家裏窮末勿要怨恨爺娘勿發財 ká ’lí gióng meh veh yau‘ yön‘ hung‘ yá niáng veh fah dzé, if you belong to a poor family, you should not be discontented that your parents are not rich.
• 發財發福末勿要怠慢脫時落運個人 fah dzé fah fóh meh veh yau‘ té‘ man‘ t’eh zz loh yün‘ kú‘ niun, if you grow rich, do not treat superciliously those who are unfortunate.
• 兒子話勿來末來巴勿得要伊會話 ní ’tsz wó‘ veh lé meh, pó veh tuh yau‘ í wé‘ wó‘, if their son cannot speak, they wish much that he should be able.
• 要做好官末, 只要念頭動, 舌頭動, 筆頭動, 造出多 許善事體 yau‘ tsú‘ ’hau kwén meh, tseh yau‘ nían deu ’tóng, zeh deu ’tóng, pih deu ’tóng, ’zau t’seh tú hau‘ ’zén zz‘ ’t’í, if you want to be a good magistrate, you have only to move your thoughts, tongue and pen, and you can do much good.

c. Examples of the conditional clause as a case supposed, introduced by conditional conjunctions.

• 若使考過秀才要伊去鄕試 zák sz‘ ’k’au kú‘ sieu‘ zé yau‘ í k’í‘ h’iáng sz‘, if he has taken his Bachelor’s degree, they wish him to go to the examination for that of Master.
• 若使勿高興讀書千方百計騙伊到學堂去 zák sz‘ veh kau hiung‘ dók sû, t’síen fong pák kí‘ p’íen‘ í tau‘ hoh dong k’í‘, if he is unwilling to learn to read, they use a thousand arts to trick him into going to school.
• 若然勿聽好說話必定敗家蕩產 záh zén veh t’ing ’hau seh wó‘ pih ding‘ bá‘ ká dong‘ ’t’san, if you are unwilling to listen to good advice, you will certainly ruin your family and lose your property.
• 倘有婚喪喜慶應該請伊吃酒 ’t’ong ’yeu hwun song ’h’í k’iung‘, yung ké ’t’sing í k’iuk ’tsieu, if there be marriages, funerals and rejoicing days, you ought to invite them to a feast.

d. Examples of the conditional clause as a fact introduced by 旣然 kí‘ zén, or 末 meh.

• 旣然望雨落勿要惹厭日頭 kí‘ zén mong‘ ’ü loh, veh yau‘ ’zá íen‘ nyih deu, if you long for rain, still you should not murmur at sun-shine.
• 旣然嘸末勿要昨日話有 kí‘ zén m meh veh yau‘ zóh nyih wó‘ ’yeu, there being none, you need not have said yesterday that there was any.
• 旣然要末再去買末者 kí‘ zén yau‘ meh tsé‘ kí‘ ’má meh ’tsé, since you want it, go again and buy it.

e. Examples of conditional clauses introduced into the midst of the principal clause.

• 但是娘子雖然聰明勿好撥伊辦外頭個事務 tan‘ ’zz niáng ’tsz sûe zén t’sóng ming veh ’hau peh í pan‘ ngá‘ deu kú‘ zz‘ vú‘, but your wife, although she be clever, you should not allow to act in matters beyond her sphere.

Obs. Several illustrations have occurred in the preceding pages of the fact that the laws of position often render particles superfluous. Thus, in adverbial phrases of succession, and, by, etc. are omitted in 一個一個 ih kú‘ ih kú‘ one by one; 一日大一日 ih nyih dú‘ ih nyih, greater and greater every day. So, prepositions are usually omitted in subordinate clauses of cause, manner, agent, etc. because they precede their subject and are readily understood. The omission of the conjunction, for the same reason does not affect conditional clauses (a).

407. If the verb and adjective groups with 得, 勿, 來 are rightly considered as originally forming independent propositions, including in themselves a subject and its predicate, they must be regarded in many instances as subordinate clauses.

a. One of these groups may form an adjective clause, or a predicate to a subject.

• 做勿來個事體多 tsú‘ veh lé kú‘ zz‘ ’t’í tú, things that cannot be done are many.
• 禮體好得極 ’lí ’t’í ’hau tuh giuh, the system of observances is excellent.

b. A group may form the explanatory clause to the verb of a preceding sentence.

• 勿好話弄勿來 veh ’hau wó‘ lóng‘ veh lé, you must not say that you cannot do it.

408. There are some fragmentary clauses placed at the end of a proposition that need especial notice.

a. 罷 pá‘ to end, or then there is no more to be said.

• 小銅錢換之末就罷哉 ’siau dóng díen wén‘ tsz meh dzieu‘ bá‘ ’tsé, as to the small cash, you have but to change them, that is all.
• 身邊勿帶就罷 sun píen veh tá‘ dzieu‘ bá‘, if you have none, that is enough.
• 現在話明白就是哉 híen‘ ’dzé wó‘ ming báh dzieu‘ ’zz ’tsé, you have now made it all clear, and that is enough.
• 勿肯末罷哉 veh ’k’ung meh bá‘ ’tsé, if you will not, there is an end of it.

b. Several adverbial clauses used with adverbs of similarity.

• 皇帝如同父母一般 wong tí‘ zû dóng ’vú ’mú ih pén, the emperor is just like one’s parents.
• 兄第忒我一樣 h’iúng dí‘ t’eh ’ngú ih yáng‘, my brother is just as I am.
• 恰像我能 hah ziáng‘ ’ngú nung, like me.

c. Some words with the negative.

• 苦惱勿堪, ’k’ú ’nau veh k’én, intolerably wretched.
• 路上爛來勿堪 lú‘ long‘ lan‘ lé veh k’én, the road is exceedingly dirty.

d. After substantives needing to be spoken of in the dual number 兩個 ’liáng kú‘, or 兩個字 liáng kú‘ zz‘ are appended; the former is applied to living agents, and the latter to characters as representatives of abstract nouns.

• 吾你弟兄兩個勿好爭論 ngú ’ní dí‘ h’iung ’liáng kú‘ veh ’hau tsáng lun‘, we are brothers and ought not to quarrel.
• 善咾惡兩個字本來對面個 ’zén lau oh ’liáng kú‘ zz‘ ’pun lé té‘ míen‘ kú‘, virtue and vice are originally opposite terms.

e. Prepositions of motion take after the nouns they govern, the fragments 兩 ’liáng, 一淘 ih dau, separately or together.

• 我忒儂出外兩日咾再來 ’ngú t’eh nóng‘ t’seh ngá‘ ’liáng nyih lau tsé‘ lé, you and I will go out for two days and return.
• 伊忒我一淘牽兩隻牛睏拉水裏 í t’eh ’ngú ih dau k’íen ’liáng tsáh nieu k’wun‘ ’lá ’sz ’lí, he and I together led two oxen to lie down in the water (or 一氣).

Obs. These are perhaps fragments of propositions, of which only the predicate remains.

Section 8. Coordinate Sentences.

409. In further illustration of the connection of groups and propositions, it may be observed, that coordinate sentences often occur in juxtaposition without any particle.

a. There may be several subjects to one predicate.

• 文武百官鄕紳士庶禿出求雨 vun ’vú puh kwén, h’iáng sun ’zz sû‘ t’ók t’seh lé gieu ’ü, the civil and military mandarins, the gentry and common people are all come out to pray for rain.
• 按察司布政司撫臺各省有個 ön‘ t’sah sz‘, pú‘ tsung‘ sz‘, ’fú dé, kok ’sáng ’yeu kú‘, a judge, treasurer and lieutenant-governor belong to each province.

b. There may be several predicates to one subject, or several explanatory clauses to one proposition.

• 多請朋友勿兔浪用錢財廢事失業 tú ’t’sing páng ’yeu veh ’míen long‘ yúng‘ zíen zé fí‘ zz‘ seh nyih, if you invite friends much, you will not avoid wasting money and expending property.
• 風水兩個字池湖末水龍氣末風 fóng ’sz ’liáng kú‘ zz‘, dzz ú meh ’sz, lóng k’í‘ meh fóng, in the phrase wind and water, the pond represents the water, and the winding path (dragon vapour) the wind.
• 松江提督手下有前營後營左營右營中營一府裏五營 Súng kong dí toh ’seu ’au ’yeu dzíen yung ’heu yung tsú‘ yung yeu‘ yung tsóng yung ih ’fú ’lí ’ng yung, the general at Súng-kiáng has under him, the front, hind, left, right and central divisions, in all five for the whole prefecture.

410. The connective 咾 lau is very frequently introduced between groups; and the constituents of any group of coordinate words may be broken up into separate subjects, or predicates or objects by the insertion of this particle.

• 墳墓週圍種個樹木咾築個籬笆 vun mú‘ tseu wé tsóng‘ kú‘ zú‘ móh lau tsók kú‘ lí pó, round the grave are planted trees, and a hurdle hedge is erected.
• 一家裏向有爺咾娘咾小囝咾差囝咾丫頭 ih ká ’lí h’iáng ’yeu yá lau niáng lau ’siau nön lau t’sá nön lau au deu, in one family there are the father and mother, children, men and women servants.
• 知縣要管個一縣裏個漕白犯法咾咾詞訟咾騐屍個事體 tsz yön‘ yau‘ ’kwén kú‘ ih yön‘ ’lí kú‘ zau báh ’van fah lau lau zz zóng‘ lau níen‘ sz kú‘ zz‘ t’i‘, the city magistrate presides over the revenue, crimes, lawsuits and inquests of his district.
• 關稅咾兵丁咾啥是道臺管拉個 kwan súe‘ lau ping ting lau sá‘ ’zz ’tau dé ’kwén ’lá kú‘, the customs and army matters are superintended by the Intendent of Circuit.

Obs. It has been shewn in section 7, that 咾 lau also frequently terminates causal subordinate sentences.

411. When there are two coordinate ideas to be expressed connectedly, as with both—and—而且, 也 and 又 are employed.

• 又是長又是闊 í‘ ’zz dzáng, í‘ ’zz k’weh, it is both long and broad.
• 也要加長也要加闊 ’á yau‘ ká dzáng, ’á yau‘ ká k’weh, you must make it both longer and broader.

Obs. i. Even as an initiatory particle is expressed by 就是. 就是生意淸也勿要甩脱工夫 dzieu‘ ’zz sáng í‘ tsing ’á veh yau‘ hwah t’eh kúng fú, even if trade is slack, you must not waste time.

Obs. ii. 也 is also used when no sentence precedes, as in 外國米也有否 ngá‘ kóh ’mí ’á ’yeu ’vá, is there rice in foreign countries?

Obs. iii. When the clauses are negative, the negative particle is inserted after the conjunction, 也勿會開口也勿會動身 ’á veh wé‘ k’é ’k’eu, ’á veh wé‘ ’dóng sun, he can neither speak nor move.

412. When two objects are compared, they stand as coordinate clauses with the verb 比 ’pí between them, and the attribute of comparison at the end.

• 生果子勿此熟果子甜個 sáng ’kú ’tsz veh ’pí zóh ’kú ’tsz díen kú‘, unripe fruit cannot be compared to ripe fruit in sweetness.
• 做生意勿此念書個好 tsú‘ sáng í‘ veh ’pí nian‘ sû kú‘ ’hau, to engage in trade is not so good as studying books.
• 儂比之我年紀大 nóng‘ ’pí tsz ’ngú níen ’kí dú‘, you are older than I.

Obs. i. 又 í‘ is sometimes prefixed to the attribute; e.g. 伊比我又好 í ’pi ngú‘ í‘ hau, he is still better than I.

Obs. ii. 又 í‘ with the negative is thus seen to have the force of a separative particle, while in the examples of the preceding article it is clearly connective (both—and—) in one case, and separative in the other (neither— nor—).

413. Propositions introduced by the adversative particles only, but, yet, etc. (v. Art. 310), form another class of coordinate sentences.

• 小道理聖人賢人勿屑為但是平常人全要曉得個 ’siau ’dau ’lí sung‘ niun híen niun veh sih wé tan‘ ’zz bing dzáng niun zén yau‘ ’h’iau tuh kú‘, small matters are not attended to by the wise and learned, but ordinary people must know them.
• 好人該當親近個倒要遠開伊 ’hau niun ké tong t’sing ’giun kú‘ ’tau yau‘ yön k’é í, you ought to attach yourself to good men, but on the contrary you avoid them.
• 爺娘個棺材勿可以常停拉家裏恐防火燒 yá niáng kú‘ kwén zé‘ veh ’k’ó ’í dzáng ön ’lá ká ’lí ’k’óng bong ’hú sau, your parents coffins must not be long retained in the house, lest a fire should break out.

414. Illative and causal sentences form another class of coordinate sentences.

• 故此嘸沒出頭個日子 kú‘ ’t’sz m meh t’seh deu kú‘ nyih ’tsz, therefore there is no day of escape.
• 半個身體三個時辰浸拉水裏所以怪勿得有點勿自在 pén‘ kú‘ sun ’t’í san kú‘ zz zun tsing ’lá ’sz ’lí ’sú ’í kwá‘ veh tuh ’yeu ’tíen veh zz‘ ’zé, his body was up to the waist in water for 6 hours, and therefore it is not to be wondered at that he feels a little uncomfortable.

415. In causal sentences, the causal conjunctions are used, or the word for “cause” at the end of the sentence; sometimes both are employed.

• 勿能得勝兵丁勿好個緣故 veh nung tuk sung‘, ping ting veh ’hau ku‘ yön kú‘, he cannot conquer, because the soldiers are bad.
• 文理爲哈勿好因爲讀書少 vun ’lí wé‘ sá‘ veh ’hau yung wé‘ dók sû ’sau, why is his style of writing bad? because he has read but little.

Obs. The answer to a question requiring “because,” is very often ended with 咾 lau, which then takes that sense. But this is an irregular colloquialism, since lau as connective conjunction ought to be followed by another clause. 船吹壞脫哉風大咾 zén t’sz wá‘ t’eh ’tsé fóng dú‘ lau, the boat was broken to pieces, the wind being high.

416. Conjunctions forming pairs of sentences, have already been partially illustrated in Arts, 322–330. It may in addition be observed, that short phrases sometimes take the place of conjunctions.

a. Thus for, not only—even—, we have 勿要話 veh yau‘ wó‘ and 就是 dzieu‘ zz in the supplemental sentence.

• 勿要話爺娘敎訓伊勿轉, 勿要話親友勸戒伊勿轉, 就是菩薩也點化伊勿轉 veh yau‘ wó‘ yá niáng kiau‘ h’iün‘ í veh ’tsén, veh yau‘ wó‘ t’sing ’yeu k’iön‘ ká‘ í veh ’tsén, dzieu‘ ’zz pú sah ’á ’tíen hwó‘ í veh ’tsén, do not say that his parents were unable to influence him by instruction, and his friends by exhortations; supernatural beings even could not reclaim him by their warnings.

b. English initiatory phrases, such as I suppose that, probably, are represented by 只怕, 恐怕 tseh p’ó‘, ’k’ung p’ó‘, or by 我想 ’ngú ’siáng, it appears to me that.

• 打殺之雄窵雌窵獨干子躱拉恐怕要氣殺 ’táng sah tsz yióng ’tiau t’sz ’tiau tók kûn ’tsz ’tú ’lá ’k’úng p’ó‘ yau‘ k’í‘ sah, if the male bird were killed, the female from being solitary, would probably die of grief.

Obs. i. On the one side—on the other side—are represented by the common substantive for side with—ih one in both clauses. The preposition and article are rejected as unnecessary, cf. Art. 328.

Obs. ii. Although is sometimes expressed by a verb, in the sense let it be that, 憑儂地獄拉前面, 伊也勿肯囘心改念 bing nóng‘ tí‘ niók ’lá zien míen‘, í ’á veh ’k’ung wé sing ’ké nían‘, granting you that hell were in sights, he would still be unwilling to repent. 隨儂 sûe nóng‘, 但憑儂 ’tan bing nóng‘, are also used in the same sense.

417. Comparisons are introduced by several compounds of 如 zû, and some fragmentary sentences, as 比方, ’pí fong, for example.

• 病好爺娘十分快活猶如尋着之寶貝一般 ping‘ ’hau ’yá niáng zeh fun k’á‘ weh yeu zû zing zák tsz ’pau pé‘ ih pén, when they recover from sickness, the parents are delighted just as if they had found a treasure.
• 如同樹木個根 zû dóng zû‘ móh kú kun, it is like the root of a tree.
• 假如見之꜂長輩勿要忽畧伊 ’kiá zû kíen‘ tsz ’tsáng pé‘ veh yau‘ hweh liáh í, suppose that you see your elders, you must not treat them disrespectfully.
• 比如担別人家個祖宗認做自家個祖宗有第個道理否 ’pí zú tan bih niun ká kú‘ ’tsú tsóng, niun tsú‘ zz‘ ká kú‘ ’tsú tsóng, ’yeu tí‘ kú‘ ’tau ’lí ’vá, if for example you take the ancestors of others, and recognize them as your own, could this be right?

Section 9. On Antithesis.

418. Of antithesis there are three kinds; (a) that of words in the formation of groups; (b) that which gives an interrogative force by the juxtaposition of positive and negative clauses, (c) That of sentences contrasted in sound or sense.

Obs. The first of these should be placed with the sections on groups, but the other kinds (b) and (c) are naturally discussed after propositions, and therefore they are all placed together here.

419. Substantives that are opposite in sense, when they combine into groups are treated just as other coordinate words.

• 晝夜 tseu‘ ya‘, day and night.
• 山海 san ’hé, land (hills) and sea.

420. Adjectives and verbs when they form antithetic groups often lose their proper character as attributives, and become substantives.

• 斬絞流徒 ’tsan kau lieu dú, beheading, strangling and banishment.
• 酸甜苦鹹 sûn díen ’k’ú han, sour, sweet, bitter, salt.
• 第條路多少遠近 tí‘ diau lú‘ tú ’sau ’yön ’giun, how far is it by this road?

421. Antithesis in the formation of interrogatives has an important grammatical use. Thus, a verb with or without its object expressed successively in the affirmative and negative form, asks a question.

• 去過勿曾去過 k’í kú‘ veh zung k’í‘ kú‘, have you gone or not?

Obs. The subject is prefixed and is not repeated; e.g. 遭蹋字紙㑚 想罪過勿罪過 tsau t’ah zz‘ ’tsz ná‘ ’siáng zé‘ kú‘ veh zé‘ kú‘, do you think the misuse of written-paper is a sin or not?

422. Among instances of the antithesis of propositions, many consist simply of a tautology of ideas by introducing opposite qualities or actions with the negative particle.

• 有銅錢就做, 嘸沒銅錢勿要做 ’yeu dóng díen dzieu‘ tsú‘, m meh dóng díen veh yau‘ tsú‘, if you have money do it, if not you need not do it.
• 各人要心平勿要做怨恨 koh niun yau‘ sing bing veh yau‘ tsú‘ yön‘ hung‘, every one ought to be contented, and not dissatisfied.

Obs. This figure of speech would in many of its examples be intolerable in English, but the brevity and rhythmical structure of Chinese sentences make it agreeable. It gives an air of simplicity to conversation, and allows the speaker time to prepare his next idea, without forcing his thinking faculties to a too rapid productiveness. The same advantage is obtained by the use of a long group, where in English, one or two of its constituent words would be sufficient.

423. Of antithetical propositions some of the most ornamental are those that consist of the words of a common group lengthened into clauses.

• 上有天理下合人情 ’záng ’yeu t’íen ’lí, ’hau heh niun zing, it coincides with the law of heaven on one hand, and the natural sentiments of mankind on the other.
• 先有風後有雨 síen ’yeu fóng ’heu ’yeu ’ü, wind comes first and rain after.
• 明醫家會救人, 笨醫家會殺人 ming í ká wé‘ kieu‘ niun, pun‘ í ká wé‘ sah niun, a good physician can cure men, while an incompetent one can kill them.
• 遠水救勿得近火 ’yön ’sz kieu‘ veh tuh ’giun ’hú, distant water cannot save from a fire that is near.
• 前世無讐今世無寃 zíen sz‘ vú zeu kiun sz‘ vú yön, if in a former life you were the enemy of no one, you will have no enemy in this.
• 東耳𦕰進西耳𦕰出 tóng ’ní ’tú tsing‘ sí ’ní ’tú t’seh, enter by the left ear and disappear by the right.
• 推勿轉頭挬勿轉腦 t’é veh ’tsén deu peh veh ’tsén ’nau, he cannot be brought to change for the better.

Obs. This is a principal means of decorating the 文章 vun tsáng, the literary compositions on which the educated class expend so much time and effort. With the classics before them, and ten or twenty thousand words at command, there is a wide field for variety. In addition to the care required in the general structure of the essay, that all its parts may be conformed to rule, the separate sentences must be framed in obedience to the laws of grouping and antithesis, so that there may be no infringement of the order of the words, as they stand in the ancient books.

424. Another class of antithetical propositions consists of such as correspond word for word with each other in structure and relative meaning. Many proverbs are of this kind.

• 債有生寃有頭 tsá‘ ’yeu ’tsû yön ’yeu deu, to every debt there is a creditor, and to every enemy a foe.

Obs. Prémare has a large collection of such proverbs, to which the reader is referred.

Section 10. On Rhythmus.

425. Chinese sentences spoken or written are symmetrically arranged. The same rhythmus that pleases and aids the reader, in such works as the Historical Novels exists in a less elaborated form in the colloquial medium of daily life. In the style of a fluent Chinese speaker, clauses of four words each, will be found to occur more frequently than of any other length. This measure may be called for the Shánghái dialect the Double Iambus, the accent being on the last syllable of a group of two words; e.g. 財主人家有喪事要請和尚道士做做攻德 ze-tsú-niun-ká ’yeu song zz‘ yau‘ ’t’sing hú-zong‘-’tau-’zz tsú‘-tsú‘ kúng-tuh, rich men at a funeral will invite Buddhist and Taúist priests, to perform a religious service. Here there are 3 groups of four.

Obs. i. Chinese colloquial syntax might be divided into two heads, treating of grammatical (or syntactical), and prosodial (or rhythmical) relations respectively. Under the former might be placed, government, propositions, and a part of the system of groups. Under the latter would be properly found repetition, antithesis, and the remainder of the system of grouping. The latter might be called prosody, but that word is more properly applied to the laws of poetry. In the present work it has been thought more convenient to mix these divisions under a common heading.

Obs. ii. Words in the fourth tone are just as important in the groups as other words, unless they happen to be enclitics; e.g. 大關節目 tá‘ kwan tsih móh, the general object. The last two words have no less emphasis of voice than the former, and 目 móh is distinctly accented.

Obs. iii. In dialects where the accent is on the penultimate syllable, the four-word measure might be called a Double Trochee. These classical names of feet are not strictly applicable, descriptive as they are of the long and short syllables of poetry. They are here used for want of better terms, just as is done by writers on English versification, to express the pronunciation of words as accented or not accented. At Súng-kiáng the fú city to which Shánghái belongs, the accent changes to the penultimate.

Obs. iv. In 讀起來看 read, and tók ’k’í lé k’ön‘, read it and try, the accent is on the first and last words of both these sentences, the middle words being enclitic.

426. The three-word foot may be called, if it consists of two unaccented, and one accented syllable, an anapaest; e.g. 壁立直 pih lih dzuh, exactly straight; 敲敲鼓 k’au k’au ’kú, to beat a drum; 梁惠王 liáng wé‘ wong, a king in Mencius. If the accent is on the first word of three, the foot might be called a dactyl; e.g. 做末者 tsú‘ meh ’tsé, do it. Instances of such dactyls are rare and are chiefly confined to sentences containing enclitics, which reject the accent. In some cases, the accent is on the middle word as in 放颻子 fong‘ yau‘ ’tsz, to fly a kite; 子 ’tsz as an enclitic throws back the accent on the preceding word.

427. The number two occurs in innumerable combination, which may be called iambs; i.e. 上山 ’zong san, ascend a hill.

428. Common recognized groups numbering more than four coordinate words are not very numerous. They may be readily resolved into smaller feet of two, three, or four words, by attending to the cæsura, which will be always found in them; e.g. 喜怒哀懼愛惡欲 ’h’í nú‘ é gü‘ é‘ ú‘ yóh, joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, desire. That mark of division occurs after the fourth word for groups of seven, and after the second for groups of five; others may be divided into groups of two or three words each.

Obs. i. The cæsura of seven word and five word versification in good poetry, and in street ballads, is generally after the fourth and second words, but variations occur according to the taste of the writer, and the exigencies of composition.

Obs. ii. By marking the cæsura, groups of four words may be divided into smaller divisions of two, and those of three words into parts of one and two words. Thus the secondary accent heard in the first part of the group, and referred to in the sections on tones may be accounted for, as properly belonging to the smaller groups, or single word, to which it is affixed.

Obs. iii. The accent here spoken of is, that which is understood by the word in English and French, viz. that emphasis which is predominantly on the penultimate or antepenultimate in the former, and on the last syllable in the latter language. It is one simply of position, and is so far independent of tones on the one hand, and of the quantity of vowels as long or short, on the other. English versification is entirely regulated by the accent of position, and not by the consideration of vowels and syllables being long and short. Thus in the line “our voices keep tune, and our oars keep time,” the quantity of “keep,” and “our” is long, yet they stand as short syllables. Chinese poetry is like that of England in possessing rhymes, and instead of a rhythmus of long and short vowel quantities, such as formed the framework of Greek and Latin versification, it has one of even and uneven tones.

Obs. iv. In some groups of four, the accent is on the first and fourth words; e.g. 鄕下百姓 h’iáng ’au pák sing‘, country people. But it is most frequently on the 2nd and 4th, e.g. 富貴貧賤 fú‘ kwé‘ bing dzíen‘, rich and poor; 去邪歸正 k’í‘ ziá kwé tsung‘, to abandon vice and reform. When it passes to the first or third, it is because the word on which it should be is an enclitic or has a weak tone. Cf. Part 1. section 3. for remarks on the accent of three-word groups.

429. From this analysis it may be concluded, that much of Chinese prose falls spontaneously into groups of two, three and four words, with an accent of position to mark them; enclitics do not usually take the accent and are very often not to be counted as independent members of the groups to which they are attached.

Obs. i. It has been already shown that the tones of a dialect are affected by the rhythmus. This happens for example, in the Amoy dialect particularly in the penultimate, where the second and seventh tones change into the high quick rising, and high quick falling respectively. In Chinese prose compositions, it is usual to end sentences with a word in the first tone, and one of the three other tones alternately. In their versification, words that rhyme have their alphabetical sound, and their tones in harmony. For an account of the use of tones in poetry, see Remusat’s grammar.

Obs. ii. The tendency of words as thus illustrated, to agglutinate into groups numerically conditioned, is made the basis of all new sentences, and insensibly regulates the composition of the native speaker. He would be quite as likely to transgress the laws of intergovernment among the parts of speech, as to overlook the rhythmus of his words.

APPENDIX I.

ON THE HIGHER COLLOQUIAL, CALLED VUN ’LI ’T’U BAH,
文理土白.

Occasionally in the preceding pages, examples have been introduced, from the style of conversation prevailing among literary men. A common knowledge of the books, and the existence of a universal mandarin colloquial, have given rise to an enlarged vocabulary of phrases bearing this name. The consideration of their etymological and syntactical peculiarities belong to the grammar of the books and of mandarin, the two sources from whence they are derived.

An example or two will be given. Among the verbs, the auxiliary of destruction 脱 t’eh, is replaced by 掉 tiau‘. 殺掉 sah diau‘, to kill; 滅掉 mih diau‘ destroy. Many new groups are also employed, whose meaning would not be understood by the common people. 燈燭煇煌 tung tsóh hwé wong, the brightness of the candle in its lanthorn; 衣冠楚楚 í kwé ’t’sú ’t’sú, his dress and hat look neat.

In carrying on conversation with the educated, it is necessary to know these phrases when they occur, and it is a great advantage to be able to use them, but in an elementary work like the present, it is enough to say that the path to that knowledge lies in the study of the books, and of the general language. This part of the colloquial medium is common ground to all dialects, where no distinction remains, but that of pronunciation. In many cases, however, phrases not used in the every-day dialect of this district, and which therefore, are considered 文理 vun ’lí, are found in the colloquial of other parts of China, much farther removed from mandarin.

APPENDIX II.

ON THE NATIVE TABLES OF INITIALS AND FINALS.

Marshman long ago made a study of these tables, for which he was peculiarly fitted from his knowledge of Sanscrit. On comparing the alphabetic system of that language with the Chinese tables, now to be considered, he at once pronounced them identical in principle. This conclusion is fully confirmed by what Chinese authors say. The explanation in K’áng-hí’s Dictionary of “the method of separating a word into its component sounds,” (切字樣法） says, “now tabulated rhymes are in the Sanscrit called 夫等韻者梵語悉曇. “Here we speak of mother characters, the sounds from which all words originate,” 此云字母 乃是一切文字之母. “That which in Sanscrit is called p’í-k’á-lah is here called the division of sounds, which constitutes the foundation of the science of words,” 梵語毘佉囉此云切韻一切文字之根本 Remusat long since pointed out that the language meant by the word 梵 Fan, is Sanscrit. He says in his Life of the Grand Lama, Pa-sz-pa, translated from the Chinese History of the Mongols in Remusat’s Melanges Asiatiques, Vol. II. 145, “Ce sont les religieux Indiens qui l’ont (the 36 initials) fait connaítre á notre empire.” “Nos prêtres chinais ont retenu cet usage qu’ils avaient pris des Indiens.”[1]

The accompanying table is taken from Bopp’s Sanscrit grammar, the characters of the Chinese tables being placed instead of the Sanscrit characters.

Marshman possessed a genuine philological spirit, which often appears in the midst of the somewhat extravagant theories in which he frequently indulged. He saw in the present instance, that in the Chinese spoken language, the consonants g, d, b, etc. should each commence a series of words, and this led him to the remark “that a further investigation of the Chinese pronunciation, would probably discover some vestige of this existing at the present day.” Diss, p. 37.

The passage cited in page 43, also ascribes the arrangement of these tables to a Buddhist priest; he improved upon the system of finals invented By Shin-yoh, who wrote one of the twenty one histories, viz. that of the northern Sóng dynasty.

It will now be shown that in a great part of central China such a system prevails. Before attempting to sketch the boundaries of that tract of country, a brief statement will be given of what conditions must be fulfilled, in order to identify an existing pronunciation with these relics of the Buddhist industry of former days.

By referring to the table in page 44, it will be seen that there are in all 36 initials including, beside those whose Sanscrit equivalents are now given, f, f’, v, w, z, zh, a lower h and y, and the compounds of t and d, with s, z, sh and zh.

The required dialect should have therefore an extensive system of initials, and as the modern tonic Dictionaries of Canton and Cháng-cheú, very accurately represent the dialects of those places, it may be assumed of the Dictionary tables, that they are no less careful in exhibiting the pronunciation of their time.

Among the finals, ng, n and m, terminate words in the three long tones, and the corresponding mutes k, t, p, are recognized as the terminations of words in the short tone, few of them having a vowel ending.

This is very clearly perceptible in the tables of the 字彙 a Dictionary, which was published many years before that of K’áng-hí, and in those of the Dictionary called 洪武正韻 hóng ’wú chung‘ yün‘. In the latter for example words in the short tone ending in k, are classed under 屋, 藥, 陌. Those in t are found under 質, 曷, 轄, 屑. Those in p are under 緝 合 葉 pron. tsip, etc.

The same careful separation of the finals ng, n and m is also found in these Dictionaries. The modern mandarin sound kíen, is found subdivided into the four words kíen, kiem, kan, kam; e.g. the 字彙 classes words in íen under the headings, 堅, 廉, 艱, 監. Mandarin words in óng are found under two heads, 公 kóng and 弓 kióng respectively. While the first medial i is thus affected, the other medial u is found as it is in modern mandarin spelling, except that 戈 is spelt kwo, and heads a class distinct from another which is ranged under 歌.[2]

The number of classes into which the finals are divided varies in different Dictionaries. That of the 字彙, perhaps the must convenient arrangement, consists of 44, This includes the 入聲 finals k, t, p, as the same in sound with ng, n, m. The difference between these two sets of letters, is supposed to be due only to rapid pronunciation occasioned by the tone. In that work, the finals are as follow:—

1. Kóng 公, kí 基, kung 庚, kin 巾, kiün 鈞, kwáng 光, kwei 規, kwái 乖, kwá 瓜, kié 迦, kó 歌, kán 干, kwán 關 kiem 監, keú 鉤.
2. Káng 岡, kü 居, kun 根, kim 金, king 扃, kwung 觥, kú 姑, kái 該, kiá 嘉, k’iö 㵃, kwön 官, kíen 堅, kán 艱, kaú 高, kieú 鳩.
3. Kiaú 驅, kióng 弓, king 京, tshim 簪, kwun 裩, kiáng 江, tsz 貲, kiái 皆, ná 拿, kwó 戈, kiuen 絹, kiem 兼, kam 甘, kiaú 交.

The remaining principal element of these tables is their arrangement according to tones; which are neither five, seven, nor eight, but always four. Thus, 東, 通, 同 are all in the first tone 平聲, under the initials t, t’, d. So also 兵評平明 are all in the first tone 平聲, under the initials p, p’, b, m.

Among the words registered in the second tone, are many that are in modern Chinese in the third tone. Such are—

後上動奉坐部禍倖跪近是市緖善弟道父婦犯罪造重在緩罷下丈蕩牝舅社單被倍似曙柱拒忿殍抱竪

下 being in the second tone, we see the probable reason why it was not chosen for the name of the third tone. The character 去 was preferred, because it exemplified the tone of which it was the name.

The tables thus described are employed, to spell words throughout the Chinese dictionaries from K’áng-hí and the 正字通, upwards to the T’áng dynasty and even earlier. There is but one system and one set of tones, the tone is included in the final, or second word in the 反切, Fan t’sih while the first gives the initial, and both are in constant accordance with the tables. The characters 犯 and 下 for example are always given in the 上聲 second tone, but the latter is as a verb also given in the 去聲 third tone. Different dictionaries choose different words to spell with, but the system is one; e.g. 動 is spelt with 徒 dú and 樬 ’tsóng, making ’dóng. It is added 𠀤同上聲, it is the same as dóng read in the second tone.

In considering to which system of pronunciation now existing these characteristics best apply, there occur several objections to the modern mandarin.

The mandarin of Nán-king and Yáng-cheú in Kiáng-nan, of Ngán-k’ing in Ngán-hwei, and of Ch’áng-shá in Hú-nan has five tones, viz. 上平, 下平, 上聲, 去聲, 入聲. In the northern parts of Kiáng-nan another system begins. Words in the 入聲 júh shing become distributed among the other four tones, and this peculiarity extends over the northern provinces including the metropolitan city. The 上平 and 下平 differ as much from each other, as they both do from the other tones, so that the nomenclature of tones, when first invented, could not have referred to the Nanking or Peking mandarin, as they are at present. Evidently the literati speaking those dialects have taken their names of tones from the dictionary system, and not vice versâ. Nor have these two modes of pronunciation since the Yuen dynasty any such finals as m among the long tones, or k, t, p in the júh shing. Not to insist on the differences in the medial vowel i, the want of the initials g, d, b, is another reason for our seeking elsewhere for the prototype of the dictionary system. The western provinces of China are the same in principle as to their pronunciation. Like the mandarin of northern China, they always admit the aspirate after k, t, p, in the 下平, and reject it, except in irregular instances, in all words that are in the southern and eastern provinces in the 下上, 下去, and 下入.

Further, the irregularities of the initial consonants found in the mandarin provinces, are not taken into account in the native tables. Such are the changes of ki into chi at Peking; l into n, and n into l in many dialects; the coalescing of ki and tsi in others. The 下平 aspirates, and some other changes are included in the second table formed to accompany K’áng-hí’s dictionary; yet that table is but a modern and incomplete revision of the older system.

If any one desires native tables of the mandarin pronunciation, he must look for them in the 五方元音 and such works, which give them with great accuracy; though of course their authority is not equal to that of the celebrated dictionaries already cited.

For investigating the sounds of Canton and Fúh-kien, every facility is afforded by the careful dictionaries of those systems of pronunciation that have been prepared by native authors. The Cháng-cheú dialect with its fifteen initials, and its want of a lower 上聲 is definitely marked. Although like the Canton pronunciation it contains the finals m, p, t, k, admits a medial i in words such as 弓, and rejects it in 艱, thus agreeing with the tables in some of their peculiarities, it can only be regarded so far as the tables are concerned, as an isolated, out-lying member of the general system of dialects. The finals, m, t, p, k, disappear on the Fúh-kíen coast at Hing-hwá.

The Canton dialect possesses very regular tones, none of them being inverted in pitch as in Fúh-kíen and Kiáng-sí, and it has among them the lower 上聲, or as it is usually called, the sixth tone. In this tone are found perhaps half of the words, having the dictionary initials, g, d, b, zh, z, some of which are given in page 218. But they are pronounced k, t, p, etc. E.g. 似, 倍, 柱, 重, 婦, 牝. These words with many others are in the Canton 分韻. marked lower 上聲. In mandarin they are 去聲.

Nowhere do we find such an accurate general correspondence with the tables, as in the pronunciation of the central parts of China. The tones are such, that the dictionary system is seen at once on examination to apply to them with accuracy. The alphabetical peculiarities of the native tables are found with one or two doubtful exceptions, to be embraced in a tract of country, which will now be roughly indicated.

In the north, the thick series of consonants, g, z, etc. marking the lower series, i.e. in southern China words in tones 5–8, makes its appearance in 南通州 Nán T’óng-cheú, a prefecture lying along the northern bank of the Yáng-tsz-kiáng, where it enters the ocean. The transition from d, etc. where the region of the northern mandarin is approached, is marked by the introduction of the aspirate.

Thus, 地 dí‘ becomes t’í‘, before it becomes tí‘. The two pronunciations are mixed in Chun-kiáng fú 鎭江, There the mandarin system of five tones crosses the river to the south and extends to Nanking. All round Háng-cheú bay, the two correlate series of consonants, and the four-tone system mark the colloquial dialect. Chu-san and Ningpo, Shaú-hing and Hang-cheú, on the south, are at one with Sú-cheú, Ch’áng-cheú and Súng-kiáng, on the north. Perhaps the whole of Cheh-kiáng province has substantially the same spoken medium. Passing the point where the three provinces Cheh-kiáng, Fúh-kíen and Kiáng-sí meet, the thick consonants are still found partially prevailing in the two prefectures of the latter province Kwáng-sin and Kíen-cháng, lying to the west of the Wú-í hills. But at 撫州 Fú-cheú, a little farther westward they have entirely disappeared, and are replaced by aspirates. Instead of dí‘ earth, they there say t’í, for bing sickness, p’ing, and so through all words beginning with k, t, p, in the lower series. The same peculiarity marks the Hakka dialect and that of Kiá-ying cheú 嘉應侧, in the eastern part of Canton province. Nothing can be said in the present notice of the southern parts of Kiáng-sí, but Nán-ch’áng the provincial capital has the aspirates only in the fifth tone where they should properly be, and in the other lower tones has k, t, etc. distinguished from words in the upper series, simply by difference in tone. Immediately north of this city, on both sides of the Pó-yáng lake, the broad consonants occur again. It might be expected that through Ngan-hwei, a connecting chain of dialects should link the broad pronunciation of this region, including the Potteries 景德鎮, and 南康府 on the other side of the lake, with the similar system extending over Cheh-kiáng, and a great part of Kiáng-sú. This line exists and extends through Ning-kwóh fú, but it is so narrow that it does not reach the great river on the north, nor the city of Hwei-cheú on the south. The last mentioned place has two dialects within its walls, in one of which two sets of tones exist, the tones of conversation being quite distinct from those of reading. This is independent of the alphabetical differences of the reading and the spoken sounds, which also here appear to reach their maximum. Near this city, the pronunciation varies so fast that three dialects are found in one híen. The belt of country across Ngan-hwei, where the lower series of consonants is in use, is bordered on the north by dialects containing the aspirates, that so frequently form the medium of transition to the thin consonants and fewer tones of mandarin.

Beyond the Pô-yáng lake westward, are also found the g, d, lb, initials on the banks of the 洞庭湖 Tóng t’ing hú, in Hú-nán. Boatmen from the district of 安化, on the south of that celebrated lake, may be readily conversed with by using the thick consonants in all words in the lower series of tones. Round these two lakes, the favourite resort of the Chinese muse, and from the natural beauty of which Lí Tái-puh drew the inspiration of his poetry, the same system of pronunciation with that of Háng-cheú and Sú-cheú, the most polished cities in China, is found to exist. This consideration with the extent of the territory thus delineated, may help to remove any strangeness in the assertion, that the native tables of sounds made in the Liáng dynasty, and copied into K’áng-Hí’s dictionary are not at all founded on the modern mandarin pronunciation, but on what is now a provincial system.

In the territory thus delineated, there is not the same uniformity in final that exists in initials. Of the three terminating consonants is the 入聲 k only is developed at Shánghái, and even this is wanting in all the large cities near, including those in the northern part of Cheh-kiáng. N is not as a final in the long tones, clearly separated from ng, and there is no representation of m.

On the other hand t and p, with their correlates n and m are found at Fú-cheú fú, 撫州府 in Kiáng-sí but k does not appear. At 南康府 Nán-káng fú, at the western extremity of the same province, p and m are distinctly represented, but there is no k or t, and ng is confounded with n. Kien and kan are distinguished at Shánghái, and in these more southerly cities. Kóng 公 is separated from 弓 kióng at Fú-cheú fú.