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Mandarin () was the common spoken language of administration of the Chinese empire during the
Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
and Qing dynasties. It arose as a practical measure, to circumvent the mutual unintelligibility of the
varieties of Chinese Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast of ma ...
spoken in different parts of China. Knowledge of this language was thus essential for an official career, but it was never formally defined. The language was a koiné based on
Mandarin dialects Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
. The southern variant spoken around
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
was prevalent in the late Ming era, although later on a form based on the
Beijing dialect The Beijing dialect (), also known as Pekingese and Beijingese, is the prestige dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, the official language in the People's Republic of ...
took the stage by the mid-19th century and developed into
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
in the 20th century. In some 19th-century works, it was called the court dialect.


History

By the late imperial period, local varieties of Chinese had diverged to the extent that people from different provinces could not understand one another. In order to facilitate communication between officials from different provinces, and between officials and the inhabitants of the areas to which they were posted, imperial administrations adopted a koiné based on various northern dialects. Mandarin of the early Ming dynasty was not identical to any single dialect. Though its variant spoken in the area of
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, which was the first Ming capital and a major cultural center, gained prestige gradually through the course of the dynasty. This standard language of the Ming and Qing dynasty, sometimes referred to as Middle Mandarin, was not based on the Nanjing dialect. In 1375, the Hongwu Emperor commissioned a dictionary known as the () intended to give a standard pronunciation. The dictionary was unsuccessful, criticised on one side for departing from the tradition of the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
rime dictionaries A rime dictionary, rhyme dictionary, or rime book () is an ancient type of Chinese dictionary that collates Chinese character, characters by tone (linguistics), tone and rhyme, instead of by radical (Chinese character), radical. The most import ...
and
rime table A rime table or rhyme table () is a Chinese phonological model, tabulating the syllables of the series of rime dictionaries beginning with the ''Qieyun'' (601) by their onsets, rhyme groups, tones and other properties. The method gave a significa ...
s, and on the other for not accurately reflecting the contemporary standard of elegant speech. The Korean scholar
Shin Suk-ju Shin Suk-ju ( ko, 신숙주, hanja: ; August 2, 1417 – July 23, 1475) was a Korean politician during the Joseon Dynasty. He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475. He came from the Goryeong Shin clan (고령 ...
published the ( "Correct Rhymes from the Hongwu Reign with Korean Translation and Commentaries"보물 홍무정운역훈 권3~16 (洪武正韻譯訓 卷三 - 국가문화유산포털
/ref>) in 1455, augmenting the by giving the Chinese pronunciation of each word using the newly-created
Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
alphabet. In addition to these "standard readings", he recorded a rather different body of "popular readings", some of which are also preserved in the works of
Choe Sejin Choe Sejin (, ͡ɕʰwe̞ sʰed͡ʑin 1465 – February 10, 1542) was a Korean linguist, and a translator and interpreter of the Chinese language during the Joseon Dynasty. He is of the Goesan Choe clan and his courtesy name was Gongseo (공 ...
. Kim Kwangjo, in his extensive study of these materials, concluded that Shin's standard readings constitute an idealized phonology of the earlier dictionary, while the popular readings reflect contemporary speech. In contrast, Yùchí Zhìpíng and
Weldon South Coblin Weldon South Coblin, Jr. (born February 26, 1944) is an American Sinologist, linguist, and educator, best known for his studies of Chinese linguistics and Tibetan. Life and career Coblin attended the University of Washington as an undergraduate st ...
hold that the two readings reflect different versions of 15th-century standard speech. The term (), or "language of the officials", first appeared in Chinese sources in the mid-16th century. Later in that century, the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionary Matteo Ricci used the term in his diary: The missionaries recognized the utility of this standard language, and embarked on its study. They translated the term into European languages as (Portuguese) and (Spanish), meaning the language of the
mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
s, or imperial officials. Ricci and
Michele Ruggieri Michele or Michael Ruggieri (1543– 11 May 1607), born Pompilio Ruggieri and known in China as Luo Mingjian, was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary. A founding father of the Jesuit China missions, co-author of the first European–Chinese di ...
published a Portuguese-Mandarin dictionary in the 1580s.
Nicolas Trigault Nicolas Trigault (1577–1628) was a Jesuit, and a missionary in China. He was also known by his latinised name Nicolaus Trigautius or Trigaultius, and his Chinese name Jin Nige (). Life and work Born in Douai (then part of the County of Flanders ...
's guide to Mandarin pronunciation was published in 1626. Grammars of Mandarin were produced by
Francisco Varo Francisco Varo (October 4, 1627 - January 31, 1687) was a Dominican friar, missionary in China, and author of the second grammar of Mandarin Chinese in a western language, "Arte de la lengua mandarina" (1703). His Chinese names were Wan Fangjige ( ...
(finished in 1672 but not printed until 1703) and
Joseph Prémare Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(1730). In 1728, the
Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...
, unable to understand the accents of officials from
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
and
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
, issued a decree requiring the governors of those provinces to provide for the teaching of proper pronunciation. Although the resulting Academies for Correct Pronunciation (, ) were short-lived, the decree did spawn a number of textbooks that give some insight into the ideal pronunciation. Although
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
had become the capital in 1420, its speech did not rival the prestige of the Nanjing-based standard until the middle of the Qing dynasty. As late as 1815, Robert Morrison based the first English–Chinese dictionary on the lower Yangtze koiné as the standard of the time, though he conceded that the Beijing dialect was gaining in influence. By the middle of the 19th century, the Beijing dialect had become dominant and was essential for any business with the imperial court. The new standard was described in grammars produced by
Joseph Edkins Joseph Edkins (19 December 1823 – 23 April 1905) was a British Protestant missionary who spent 57 years in China, 30 of them in Beijing. As a Sinologue, he specialised in Chinese religions. He was also a linguist, a translator, and a philolo ...
(1864), Thomas Wade (1867) and
Herbert Giles Herbert Allen Giles (, 8 December 184513 February 1935) was a British diplomat and sinologist who was the professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge for 35 years. Giles was educated at Charterhouse School before becoming a British ...
(1873). In the early 20th century, reformers decided that China needed a national language. The traditional written form,
Literary Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...
, was replaced with
written vernacular Chinese Written vernacular Chinese, also known as Baihua () or Huawen (), is the forms of written Chinese based on the varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China, in contrast to Classical Chinese, the written standard used during imperial China up to ...
, which drew its vocabulary and grammar from a range of Northern dialects (now known as Mandarin dialects). After unsuccessful attempts to define a cross-dialectal spoken standard, it was realized that a single spoken form must be selected. The only realistic candidate was the Beijing-based , which was adapted and developed into modern
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
, which is also often called Mandarin.


Phonology

The initials of
Shin Suk-ju Shin Suk-ju ( ko, 신숙주, hanja: ; August 2, 1417 – July 23, 1475) was a Korean politician during the Joseon Dynasty. He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475. He came from the Goryeong Shin clan (고령 ...
's standard readings (mid-15th century) differed from those of
Late Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The S ...
only in the merger of two series of retroflexes: Sin's system had fewer finals than Late Middle Chinese. In particular, final stops ''-p'', ''-t'' and ''-k'' had all merged as a final glottal stop, as found in modern Jiang-Huai Mandarin: This system had mid vowels and , which have merged with the
open vowel An open vowel is a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels (in U.S. terminology ) in reference to the low position of the tongue. In the cont ...
in the modern standard language. For example, and are both ''guān'' in the modern language, but were distinguished as and in Sin's system. The Middle Chinese level tone had split into two registers conditioned by voicing of the initial, as in modern Mandarin dialects. In comparison with Shin's standard readings, the major changes in the late Ming language described by European missionaries were the loss of the voiced initials and the merger of finals with . The initials and had become voiced fricatives and respectively. had merged into before mid and low vowels, and both initials had disappeared before high vowels. By the early 18th century, the mid vowel / had merged with . However unlike the contemporary Beijing pronunciation, early 19th century Mandarin still distinguished between palatalized velars and dental affricates, the source of the spellings "Peking" and "Tientsin" for modern "Beijing" and "Tianjin".


Vocabulary

Most of the vocabulary found in descriptions of Mandarin speech before the mid-19th century has been retained by the modern standard language. However several words that appear in the more broadly-based written vernacular of the Qing and earlier periods are absent from early accounts of standard speech. These include such now-common words as 'to drink', 'very', 'all, whatsoever' and 'we (inclusive)'. In other cases a northern form of a word displaced a southern form in the second half of 19th century, as in ''dōu'' 'all' (formerly ) and 'still, yet' (formerly ).


References

Works cited * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

Modern studies * * * * Early European dictionaries and grammars * * * * * * * * Volume
12
an
3
* ** * Volume
1
an
2
* *


External links


''Hóngwǔ Zhèngyùn'' (洪武正韻)
at the Internet Archive. {{Authority control Mandarin Chinese Ming dynasty Qing dynasty culture History of the Chinese language Languages attested from the 14th century