Menggu Ziyun
Encyclopedia
Menggu Ziyun ["Rimes in Mongol Script"] is a 14th century rime dictionary
of Chinese
as written in the 'Phags-pa script that was used during the Yuan Dynasty
(1271–1368). The only surviving examplar of this dictionary is an 18th century manuscript copy that belonged to Stephen Wootton Bushell
(1844–1908), and is now held at the British Library (Or. 6972). As the only known example of a 'Phags-pa script dictionary of Chinese, it is important both as an aid for interpreting Yuan dynasty texts and inscriptions written in Chinese using the 'Phags-pa script, and as a source for the reconstructed pronunciation of Old Mandarin.
when he worked as a physician at the British Legation in Beijing
, China
from 1868 to 1900, probably in 1872 during a trip to Inner Mongolia
and the ruins of Xanadu
, the fabled summer capital of the Yuan emperors. In April 1909, a year after his death, Bushell's widow, Florence Bushell, sold the manuscript to the British Museum
in London, and it is now held by the British Library (shelfmark Or. 6972).
The manuscript is written on thin, brown paper which has been mounted on white backing paper and bound in two traditional stitched volumes
, each 24.7 × 17.3 cm. Each folio of the manuscript is 22.5 × 28.8 cm in size, folded in half as is normal in stitch-bound volumes. The text is written in vertical columns running from left to right across the page, which is the opposite of traditional Chinese books, but follows the layout of Mongolian
and 'Phags-pa texts. The first volume comprises an unnumbered title folio and 33 numbered folios, and the second volume comprises an unnumbered title folio and 31 numbered folios, of which page 30b and 31a are blank except for the volume and page numbers. The missing section covers the rimes in -a and -e, as well as the first part of the appended Taboo Characters section, which Junast
and Yang Naisi have calculated should actually take up three full folios (i.e. the second volume of the original edition would have comprised 33 folios).
The manuscript does not indicate when and by whom it was copied, and there are no ownership seals. However, on the basis of tabooed characters
of Qing Dynasty emperors, the manuscript has been dated to the Qianlong era
(1736–1795). The manuscript may be a second or third hand copy of an original Yuan Dynasty edition, made by someone who did not necessarily understand the 'Phags-pa script, and so the 'Phags-pa letters are often poorly written or corrupted, and there are many transcription errors such as missing, misplaced and incorrectly written Chinese characters.
(1644–1912) writers mention having seen manuscript copies of the text, but the British Library manuscript is now the only known copy.
The British Library manuscript includes two prefaces in Chinese dated 1308, one by Liu Geng 劉更 and one by Zhu Zongwen 朱宗文 (Mongolian name Bayan) of Xin'an 信安 (modern Changshan County
in Zhejiang
). The prefaces both indicate that this edition of the dictionary was composed by Zhu Zongwen, but that it is a revised edition based on a collation of several editions that were in circulation at the time, including one edition published in Hubei
and one edition published in Eastern Zhejiang
. The original 'Phags-pa dictionary that is ancestral to the 1308 edition was probably compiled by imperial order soon after the 'Phags-pa script was devised in about 1269, intended for use in teaching the new script to Chinese officials.
Two late 13th century books which may be related to Menggu Ziyun are recorded in Yuan Dynasty sources, one called Měnggǔ Yùnlüè 蒙古韻略 ("Summary of the Mongol Rimes") and one called Měnggǔ Yùnlèi 蒙古韻類 ("Mongol Rime Categories") that was compiled by Li Hongdao 李宏道. Although neither work is extant, it has been conjectured that they could be primary sources used by Zhu Zongwen in compiling his edition, or possibly even earlier editions of Menggu Ziyun published under a different title. A preface for Měnggǔ Yùnlèi that has survived, and it indicates that it used a system of 15 rime classes and 32 initials, which is very similar to the system used in Menggu Ziyun.
word mongɣol 'Mongol'.
The book comprises the following sections:
The main text comprises 813 entries ordered by rime class and initial sound. Three folios covering some 37 syllables with -a and -e rimes are missing in the extant manuscript, and so it is thought that the original text would have comprised about 850 entries in total. Each entry consists of a syllable written in 'Phags-pa script at the top, below which are a list of Chinese character
s that are representable by this 'Phags-pa syllable, ordered according to the four traditional Chinese tones
('level', 'rising', 'falling' and 'entering'). The 'Phags-pa script does not indicate tonal differences, and so Chinese characters with the same pronunciation but different tones
are represented using the same 'Phags-pa syllable. A total of 9,118 Chinese characters are given under the surviving 813 entries, although as Chinese characters may have more than one pronunciation, some characters are included under multiple entries.
classes listed at the start of the dictionary, and within each rime class by rime subclass (there are 71 subclasses in total, as shown in the table below). Within each rime subclass entries are ordered according to the thirty-six traditional initial onsets.
The rime classes in Menggu Ziyun follow those given in Gǔjīn Yùnhuì Jǔyào 古今韻會舉要, a lexicographical compendium originally compiled by Huang Gongshao 黃公紹 (died 1297), and published in an abridged form by Xiong Zhong 熊忠 in 1297. However, the Chinese characters under each entry may be based on Xīnkān Yùnlüè 新刊韻略, a rime book compiled by Wang Wenyu 王文郁 during the late Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) (the text is known from a manuscript copy of an edition published in 1229).
The 36 initials are a traditional classification of initial onsets used in Chinese books dating back to the Tang Dynasty
(618–907), but by the Yuan Dynasty they represented an idealized phonetic system that did not accurately reflect the Old Mandarin language that the 'Phags-pa script was designed to represent. The discrepancy between the theoretical and actual phonology of Yuan Dynasty Chinese is indicated by certain peculiarities in the use of 'Phags-pa letters to represent the 36 initials in Menggu Ziyun:
This use of variant forms of the letters fa, ha, sha and ya for different initials is not reflected in surviving inscriptions in the 'Phags-pa script, and is probably an attempt by Zhu Zongwen to artificially distinguish historical phonetic differences that were no longer valid in Yuan Dynasty Old Mandarin.
Rime dictionary
thumb|upright=1.0|A page from Shiyun Hebi , a rime dictionary of the [[Qing Dynasty]]A rime dictionary, rhyme dictionary, or rime book is an ancient type of Chinese dictionary used for writing poetry or other genres requiring rhymes. A rime dictionary focuses on pronunciation and collates...
of Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
as written in the 'Phags-pa script that was used during the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1271–1368). The only surviving examplar of this dictionary is an 18th century manuscript copy that belonged to Stephen Wootton Bushell
Stephen Wootton Bushell
Stephen Wootton Bushell CMG MD was an English physician and amateur Orientalist who made important contributions to the study of Chinese ceramics, Chinese numismatics and the decipherment of the Tangut script.-Biography:...
(1844–1908), and is now held at the British Library (Or. 6972). As the only known example of a 'Phags-pa script dictionary of Chinese, it is important both as an aid for interpreting Yuan dynasty texts and inscriptions written in Chinese using the 'Phags-pa script, and as a source for the reconstructed pronunciation of Old Mandarin.
The British Library manuscript
The British Library manuscript was acquired by the antiquarian and art historian S. W. BushellStephen Wootton Bushell
Stephen Wootton Bushell CMG MD was an English physician and amateur Orientalist who made important contributions to the study of Chinese ceramics, Chinese numismatics and the decipherment of the Tangut script.-Biography:...
when he worked as a physician at the British Legation in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
from 1868 to 1900, probably in 1872 during a trip to Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
and the ruins of Xanadu
Xanadu
-Description of Xanadu by Toghon Temur :The lament of Toghon Temur Khan , concerning the loss of Daidu and Heibun Shanduu in 1368, is recorded in many Mongolian historical chronicles...
, the fabled summer capital of the Yuan emperors. In April 1909, a year after his death, Bushell's widow, Florence Bushell, sold the manuscript to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in London, and it is now held by the British Library (shelfmark Or. 6972).
The manuscript is written on thin, brown paper which has been mounted on white backing paper and bound in two traditional stitched volumes
Traditional Chinese bookbinding
Traditional Chinese bookbinding refers to the method of bookbinding that the Chinese have used in recent centuries, before converting to the modern codex form.It is also called stitched binding...
, each 24.7 × 17.3 cm. Each folio of the manuscript is 22.5 × 28.8 cm in size, folded in half as is normal in stitch-bound volumes. The text is written in vertical columns running from left to right across the page, which is the opposite of traditional Chinese books, but follows the layout of Mongolian
Mongolian script
The classical Mongolian script , also known as Uyghurjin, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most successful until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946...
and 'Phags-pa texts. The first volume comprises an unnumbered title folio and 33 numbered folios, and the second volume comprises an unnumbered title folio and 31 numbered folios, of which page 30b and 31a are blank except for the volume and page numbers. The missing section covers the rimes in -a and -e, as well as the first part of the appended Taboo Characters section, which Junast
Junast
Junast was a Chinese linguist of Mongolian ethnicity who specialized in the study of the Monguor language, Eastern Yugur language and the 'Phags-pa script.-Biography:...
and Yang Naisi have calculated should actually take up three full folios (i.e. the second volume of the original edition would have comprised 33 folios).
The manuscript does not indicate when and by whom it was copied, and there are no ownership seals. However, on the basis of tabooed characters
Naming taboo
Naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in the ancient Chinese cultural sphere.-Kinds of naming taboo:...
of Qing Dynasty emperors, the manuscript has been dated to the Qianlong era
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
(1736–1795). The manuscript may be a second or third hand copy of an original Yuan Dynasty edition, made by someone who did not necessarily understand the 'Phags-pa script, and so the 'Phags-pa letters are often poorly written or corrupted, and there are many transcription errors such as missing, misplaced and incorrectly written Chinese characters.
Authorship and editions
Based on its format, the British Library manuscript of Menggu Ziyun is thought to be a copy of an earlier printed edition. Although no extant printed editions are known, one mid 19th century writer, Luo Yizhi 羅以智, mentions that he had seen a Yuan Dynasty printed edition of the dictionary. Other Qing DynastyQing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644–1912) writers mention having seen manuscript copies of the text, but the British Library manuscript is now the only known copy.
The British Library manuscript includes two prefaces in Chinese dated 1308, one by Liu Geng 劉更 and one by Zhu Zongwen 朱宗文 (Mongolian name Bayan) of Xin'an 信安 (modern Changshan County
Changshan County
Changshan County is a county under the jurisdiction of Quzhou city in Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China. The district's total area is 1099 square kilometers, and its population is 320,000 people. The district's postal code is 324200...
in Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
). The prefaces both indicate that this edition of the dictionary was composed by Zhu Zongwen, but that it is a revised edition based on a collation of several editions that were in circulation at the time, including one edition published in Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
and one edition published in Eastern Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
. The original 'Phags-pa dictionary that is ancestral to the 1308 edition was probably compiled by imperial order soon after the 'Phags-pa script was devised in about 1269, intended for use in teaching the new script to Chinese officials.
Two late 13th century books which may be related to Menggu Ziyun are recorded in Yuan Dynasty sources, one called Měnggǔ Yùnlüè 蒙古韻略 ("Summary of the Mongol Rimes") and one called Měnggǔ Yùnlèi 蒙古韻類 ("Mongol Rime Categories") that was compiled by Li Hongdao 李宏道. Although neither work is extant, it has been conjectured that they could be primary sources used by Zhu Zongwen in compiling his edition, or possibly even earlier editions of Menggu Ziyun published under a different title. A preface for Měnggǔ Yùnlèi that has survived, and it indicates that it used a system of 15 rime classes and 32 initials, which is very similar to the system used in Menggu Ziyun.
Contents
The book is written in Chinese using a mixture of Chinese characters and 'Phags-pa transcription, with section titles and rime class headings given in both scripts. Only the two prefaces and the appended list of taboo characters are written entirely in Chinese characters. The title of the book in 'Phags-pa script ( mong xol tshi ʼwin) is anomalous in that it does not exactly transcribe the corresponding Chinese characters (Měnggǔ Zìyùn 蒙古字韻) as mong xol is not a transcription of the Chinese characters 蒙古 (měnggǔ, meaning 'Mongol'), but is a direct phonetic representation of the MongolianMongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
word mongɣol 'Mongol'.
The book comprises the following sections:
- Preface in Chinese written by Liu Geng 劉更 and dated 1308
- Preface in Chinese written by Zhu Zongwen 朱宗文 and dated 1308
- Table of errors in earlier editions of Menggu Ziyun that are corrected in this edition
- Diagram illustrating the pronunciation of 'Phags-pa letters (incomplete in the extant manuscript)
- Table of the thirty-six initial sounds of Chinese in the 'Phags-pa script
- Table of seal scriptSeal scriptSeal script is an ancient style of Chinese calligraphy. It evolved organically out of the Zhōu dynasty script , arising in the Warring State of Qin...
forms of 'Phags-pa letters - Table of the fifteen Chinese rime classes under which the entries are ordered
- The main text of the dictionary
- Appendix listing taboo charactersNaming tabooNaming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in the ancient Chinese cultural sphere.-Kinds of naming taboo:...
, derived from the Decrees and Regulations of Yuan Dynasty (元典章)
The main text comprises 813 entries ordered by rime class and initial sound. Three folios covering some 37 syllables with -a and -e rimes are missing in the extant manuscript, and so it is thought that the original text would have comprised about 850 entries in total. Each entry consists of a syllable written in 'Phags-pa script at the top, below which are a list of Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s that are representable by this 'Phags-pa syllable, ordered according to the four traditional Chinese tones
Four tones
The four tones of Chinese phonology are four traditional tone-classes of words derived from the four phonemic tones of Middle Chinese. They are even level , rising , going departing , and entering checked .-Names:In Middle Chinese, each of the tone names carries the tone it identifies: 平 even ,...
('level', 'rising', 'falling' and 'entering'). The 'Phags-pa script does not indicate tonal differences, and so Chinese characters with the same pronunciation but different tones
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
are represented using the same 'Phags-pa syllable. A total of 9,118 Chinese characters are given under the surviving 813 entries, although as Chinese characters may have more than one pronunciation, some characters are included under multiple entries.
Phonetic features
The entries in Menggu Ziyun are arranged by the fifteen rimeSyllable rime
In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. It is the part of the syllable used in poetic rhyme, and the part that is lengthened or stressed when a person elongates or stresses a word in speech.The rime is usually the...
classes listed at the start of the dictionary, and within each rime class by rime subclass (there are 71 subclasses in total, as shown in the table below). Within each rime subclass entries are ordered according to the thirty-six traditional initial onsets.
The rime classes in Menggu Ziyun follow those given in Gǔjīn Yùnhuì Jǔyào 古今韻會舉要, a lexicographical compendium originally compiled by Huang Gongshao 黃公紹 (died 1297), and published in an abridged form by Xiong Zhong 熊忠 in 1297. However, the Chinese characters under each entry may be based on Xīnkān Yùnlüè 新刊韻略, a rime book compiled by Wang Wenyu 王文郁 during the late Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) (the text is known from a manuscript copy of an edition published in 1229).
| No. | Name | 'Phags-pa finals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 東 dōng | -ung, -ėung |
| 2 | 庚 gēng | -ing, -hing, -yung, -ėing, -wung, -ying |
| 3 | 陽 yáng | -ang, -yang, -wang, -hang, -ong, -wėng |
| 4 | 支 zhī | -i, -hi, -ėi, -ue, -ėue, -yue, -wi |
| 5 | 魚 yú | -u, -ėu |
| 6 | 佳 jiā | -ay, -way, -yay, -hiy, -iy |
| 7 | 真 zhēn | -in, -un, -ėun, -hin, -yin, -win |
| 8 | 寒 hán | -an, -on, -wan, -yan |
| 9 | 先 xiān | -en, -ėn, -wėn, -ėon, -yen |
| 10 | 蕭 xiāo | -aw, -ew, -ėw, -waw, -yaw, -wėw |
| 11 | 尤 yóu | -iw, -uw, -hiw, -yiw, -ow |
| 12 | 覃 tán | -am, -em, -ėm, -yam, -yem |
| 13 | 侵 qīn | -im, -him, -yim |
| 14 | 歌 gē | -o, -wo |
| 15 | 麻 má | -ė, -wa, -ya, -wė, -we, [-a, -e] |
| No. | Name | Phonetic value | 'Phags-pa letter | 'Phags-pa Initial | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 見 jiàn | *[k] | g- | ||
| 2 | 溪 qī | *[kʰ] | kh- | ||
| 3 | 群 qún | *[ɡ] | k- | ||
| 4 | 疑 yí | *[ŋ] | ng- | ||
| 5 | 端 duān | *[t] | d- | ||
| 6 | 透 tòu | *[tʰ] | th- | ||
| 7 | 定 dìng | *[d] | t- | ||
| 8 | 泥 ní | *[n] | n- | ||
| 9 | 知 zhī | *[ʈ] | j- | ||
| 10 | 徹 chè | *[ʈʰ] | ch- | ||
| 11 | 澄 chéng | *[ɖ] | c- | ||
| 12 | 娘 niáng | *[ɳ] | ny- | ||
| 13 | 幫 bāng | *[p] | b- | ||
| 14 | 滂 pāng | *[pʰ] | ph- | ||
| 15 | 並 bìng | *[b] | p- | ||
| 16 | 明 míng | *[m] | m- | ||
| 17 | 非 fēi | *[p̪] | f- | Normal form of the letter fa | |
| 18 | 敷 fū | *[p̪ʰ] | f¹- | Variant form of the letter fa | |
| 19 | 奉 fèng | *[b̪] | f- | Normal form of the letter fa | |
| 20 | 微 wēi | *[ɱ] | w- | Letter wa represents [v] | |
| 21 | 精 jīng | *[ts] | dz- | ||
| 22 | 清 qīng | *[tsʰ] | tsh- | ||
| 23 | 從 cóng | *[dz] | ts- | ||
| 24 | 心 xīn | *[s] | s- | ||
| 25 | 邪 xié | *[z] | z- | ||
| 26 | 照 zhào | *[tɕ] | j- | ||
| 27 | 穿 chuān | *[tɕʰ] | ch- | ||
| 28 | 床 chuáng | *[dʑ] | c- | ||
| 29 | 審 shěn | *[ɕ] | sh¹- | Variant form of the letter sha | |
| 30 | 禪 chán | *[ʑ] | sh- | Normal form of the letter sha | |
| 31 | 曉 xiǎo | *[x] | h- | Normal form of the letter ha | |
| 32 | 匣 xiá | *[ɣ] | x- | ||
| h¹- | Variant form of the letter ha | ||||
| 33 | 影 yǐng | *[ʔ] | ·- | glottal stop Glottal stop The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of... |
|
| y- | Normal form of the letter ya | ||||
| 34 | 喻 yù | *[j] | ʼ- | null initial | |
| y¹- | Variant form of the letter ya | ||||
| 35 | 來 lái | *[l] | l- | ||
| 36 | 日 rì | *[ɲ] | zh- | ||
The 36 initials are a traditional classification of initial onsets used in Chinese books dating back to the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(618–907), but by the Yuan Dynasty they represented an idealized phonetic system that did not accurately reflect the Old Mandarin language that the 'Phags-pa script was designed to represent. The discrepancy between the theoretical and actual phonology of Yuan Dynasty Chinese is indicated by certain peculiarities in the use of 'Phags-pa letters to represent the 36 initials in Menggu Ziyun:
- The 'Phags-pa letters ja, cha and ca are each used to represent two different initials, one from the palatal series (9–11) and one from the palatal-retroflex series (26–28), suggesting that in Yuan Dynasty Old Mandarin these two series had converged.
- Initials 17–19 are represented by two forms of the 'Phags-pa letter fa. Although the table of 36 initials at the head of the dictionary assigns the normal form of the letter fa to initials 17 and 19, and the variant form of the letter fa to initial 18, the actual entries in the dictionary are not consistent about which form of the letter to use for which initial. However, as no rime subclass has more than two of the three initials, only two forms of the letter fa are required to distinguish the initials from each other.
- Initials 29 (*[ɕ]) and 30 (*[ʑ]) are represented by two forms of the 'Phags-pa letter sha, and were probably pronounced the same in Yuan Dynasty Old Mandarin.
- Initial 32 (*[ɣ]) is represented using both 'Phags-pa letter xa and a variant form of 'Phags-pa letter ha. However the distribution of the two letters is complementary, with the letter xa used before back vowelBack vowelA back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark...
s and i, and the variant form letter ha used before the semivowelSemivowelIn phonetics and phonology, a semivowel is a sound, such as English or , that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.-Classification:...
y and front vowelFront vowelA front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also...
s other than i. - Initial 33 (*[ʔ]) is represented using both 'Phags-pa letter ·a and the normal form of 'Phags-pa letter ya.
- Initial 34 (*[j]) is represented using both 'Phags-pa letter ʼa and a variant form of 'Phags-pa letter ya.
This use of variant forms of the letters fa, ha, sha and ya for different initials is not reflected in surviving inscriptions in the 'Phags-pa script, and is probably an attempt by Zhu Zongwen to artificially distinguish historical phonetic differences that were no longer valid in Yuan Dynasty Old Mandarin.