Phags-pa Chinese and the Standard Reading Pronunciation of Early Míng: A Comparative Study

There are a number of striking similarities between the Chinese ’Phags-pa spelling system (completed 1269) and the Standard Reading pronunciation recorded in alphabetic notation by the Korean sinologist, Sin Sukchu, around 1450. The ’Phags-pa system may represent a koine pronunciation of the thirteenth century, while the Standard Readings probably reflect an early form of the principal Gua#nhua$ standard pronunciation used during the Míng Dynasty. The present paper tests the hypothesis that the system found in the ’Phags-pa spellings could be directly ancestral to that of Sin Sukchu’s Standard Readings. Comparison of the two reveals that the Standard Readings include phonological distinctions not found in the ’Phags-pa system and therefore suggests that there could not be a direct line of development between the two. It is proposed that they may instead represent “sister” koine systems of the Yuán/Míng period, and certain historical implications of this hypothesis are then considered.