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Four tones (Middle Chinese)
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The four tone classes of Chinese
 ꜂上 shǎng   去꜄  qù
 ꜀平  píng  入꜆  ru(ʔ) 
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You may need rendering support to display the Modifier Tone Letters in this article correctly.
An old illustration of the four tone classes, in their traditional representation on a hand. In modern use, the diacritics all face the character, as in the table above.

The four tones of Chinese poetry and dialectology (simplified Chinese: 四声; traditional Chinese: 四聲; pinyin: sìshēng) are four traditional tone classes[1] of Chinese words. They play an important role in Chinese poetry and in comparative studies of tonal development in the modern varieties of Chinese, both in traditional Chinese and in Western linguistics. They correspond to the phonology of Middle Chinese, and are named even or level (平 píng), rising (上 shǎng), departing or going (去 qù), and entering or checked (入 rù).[2] (The last three are collectively referred to as oblique 仄 (zè), an important concept in poetic tone patterns.) They are reconstructed as mid (˧ or 33), mid rising (˧˥ or 35), high falling (˥˩ or 51), and mid (˧ or 33) with a final stop consonant respectively.[3] Due to historic splits and mergers, none of the modern varieties of Chinese have the exact four tones of Middle Chinese, but they are noted in rhyming dictionaries.

Background

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According to the usual modern analysis, Early Middle Chinese had three phonemic tones in most syllables, but no tonal distinctions in checked syllables ending in the stop consonants /p/, /t/, /k/. In most circumstances, every syllable had its own tone; hence a multisyllabic word typically had a tone assigned to each syllable. (In modern varieties, the situation is sometimes more complicated. Although each syllable typically still has its own underlying tone in most dialects, some syllables in the speech of some varieties may have their tone modified into other tones or neutralized entirely, by a process known as tone sandhi. Furthermore, many varieties of Chinese deleted Middle Chinese final consonants, but these contrasts may have been preserved, helping lead to tonogenesis of contemporary multitonal systems.)

Traditional Chinese dialectology reckons syllables ending in a stop consonant as possessing a fourth tone, known technically as a checked tone. This tone is known in traditional Chinese linguistics as the entering (入 rù) tone, a term commonly used in English as well. The other three tones were termed the level (or even) tone (平 píng), the rising (上 shǎng) tone, and the departing (or going) tone (去 qù).[2] The practice of setting up the entering tone as a separate class reflects the fact that the actual pitch contour of checked syllables was quite distinct from the pitch contour of any of the sonorant-final syllables. Indeed, implicit in the organisation of the classical rime tables is a different, but structurally equally valid, phonemic analysis, which takes all four tones as phonemic and demotes the difference between stop finals [p t k] and nasal finals [m n ŋ] to allophonic, with stops occurring in entering syllables and nasals elsewhere.[4]

From the perspective of modern historical linguistics, there is often value in treating the entering tone as a tone regardless of its phonemic status, because syllables possessing this tone typically develop differently from syllables possessing any of the other three tones. For clarity, these four tones are often referred to as tone classes, with each word belonging to one of the four tone classes. This reflects the fact that the lexical division of words into tone classes is based on tone, but not all tone classes necessarily have a distinct phonemic tone associated with them. Some contemporary fāngyán such as Taiwanese Hokkien, Jin and Penang are said to preserve the entering tone, which is used as a marker to differentiate them from other varieties and also genetically classify them via the comparative method.

The four Early Middle Chinese (EMC) tones are nearly always presented in the order level (平 píng), rising (上 shǎng), departing (去 qù), entering (入 rù), and correspondingly numbered 1 2 3 4 in modern discussions. In Late Middle Chinese (LMC), each of the EMC tone classes split in two, depending on the nature of the initial consonant of the syllable in question. Discussions of LMC and the various modern varieties will often number these split tone classes from 1 through 8, keeping the same ordering as before. For example, LMC/modern tone classes 1 and 2 derive from EMC tone class 1; LMC/modern tone classes 3 and 4 derive from EMC tone class 2; etc. The odd-numbered tone classes 1 3 5 7 are termed dark (陰 yīn), whereas the even-numbered tone classes 2 4 6 8 are termed light (陽 yáng). Hence, for example, LMC/modern tone class 5 is known in Chinese as the yīn qù (dark departing) tone, indicating that it is the yīn variant of the EMC qù tone (EMC tone 3). In order to clarify the relationship between the EMC and LMC tone classes, some authors notate the LMC tone classes as 1a 1b 2a 2b 3a 3b 4a 4b in place of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, where a and b correspond directly to Chinese yīn and yáng, respectively.

Baxter's transcription, an alphabetic notation for representing Middle Chinese, represents the rising (上 shǎng) tone with a trailing X, the departing (去 qù) tone with a trailing H, and it leaves the level and entering tones unmarked.

Names

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In Middle Chinese, each of the tone names carries the tone it identifies: 平 level ꜁biajŋ, 上 rising ꜃dʑɨaŋ, 去 departing kʰɨə꜄, and 入 entering ȵip꜇.[5] However, in some modern Chinese varieties, this is no longer true. This loss of correspondence is most notable in the case of the entering tone, syllables checked in a stop consonant [p̚], [t̚], or [k̚] in Middle Chinese, which has been lost from most dialects of Mandarin and redistributed among the other tones.

In modern Chinese varieties, tones that derive from the four Middle Chinese tone classes may be split into two registers, dark (陰 yīn) and light (陽 yáng) depending on whether the Middle Chinese onset was voiceless or voiced, respectively. When all four tone classes split, eight tones result: dark level (陰平), light level (陽平), dark rising (陰上), light rising (陽上), dark departing (陰去), light departing (陽去), dark entering (陰入), and light entering (陽入). Sometimes these have been termed upper and lower registers respectively, but that may be a misnomer, as in some dialects the dark registers may have the lower tone, and the light register the higher tone.

Chinese dictionaries mark the tones with diacritical marks at the four corners of a character:[6] ꜀平 level, ꜂上 rising, 去꜄ departing, and 入꜆ entering. When yin and yang tones are distinguished, these are the diacritics for the yin (dark) tones; the yang (light) tones are indicated by underscoring the diacritic: ꜁平 light level, ꜃上 light rising, 去꜅ light departing, 入꜇ light entering. These diacritics are also sometimes used when the phonetic realization is unknown, as in the reconstructions of Middle Chinese at the beginning of this section. However, in this article, the circled numbers ①②③④⑤⑥⑦⑧ will be used, as in the table below, with the odd numbers ①③⑤⑦ indicating either 'dark' tones or tones that have not split, and even numbers ②④⑥⑧ indicating 'light' tones. Thus, level tones are numbered ①②, the rising tones ③④, the departing tones ⑤⑥, and the entering (checked) tones ⑦⑧.

In Yue (incl. Cantonese) the dark entering tone further splits into high (高陰入) and low (低陰入) registers, depending on the length of the nucleus, for a total of nine tone classes. Some dialects have a complex tone splittings, and the terms dark and light are insufficient to cover the possibilities.

The number of tone classes is based on Chinese tradition, and is as much register as it is actual tone. The entering 'tones', for example, are distinct only because they are checked by a final stop consonant, not because they have a tone contour that contrasts with non-entering tones. In dialects such as Shanghainese, tone classes are numbered even if they are not phonemically distinct.

Origin

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See also: Tone (linguistics) § Tonogenesis

The tonal aspect of Chinese dialects that is so important today is believed by some linguists to have been absent from Old Chinese, but rather came about in Early Middle Chinese after the loss of various finals. According to Sagart (1999:11),[7]

"Old Chinese was a toneless language. Tones arose between Old Chinese and Early Middle Chinese (that is between 500 BCE and 500 CE) as a result of the loss of final laryngeals."

The four tones of Middle Chinese, 平 píng level, 上 shǎng rising, 去 qù departing, and 入 rù entering, all evolved from different final losses from Old Chinese. The 上, or rising tone, arose from the loss of glottal stops at the end of words. Support for this can be seen in Buddhist transcriptions of the Han period, where the rising tone was often used to note Sanskrit short vowels, and also in loans of words with final [q] in the source language, which were borrowed into Chinese as shǎng tone. The glottal stop even survives in some Min and Hakka dialects, either as a phonetic glottal stop, a short creaky vowel, or denasalization, which for example the final -ng of Old Chinese has changed to modern [ɡ] in shang-tone words.[8] This evolution of final glottal stop into a rising tone is similar to what happened in Vietnamese, another tonal language.[9] The 去, or departing tone, arose from the loss of [-s] at the end of words. Support for this theory is found when examining Chinese loans into neighbouring East Asian languages. For example, in Korean, the word for comb, pis, is a loan of the Chinese word bì 篦, which means that when the word comb was borrowed into Korean, there was still an [-s] sound at the end of the word that later disappeared from Chinese and gave rise to a departing 去 tone. The 入, or entering tone consisted of words ending in voiceless stops, [-p], [-t], and [-k]. Finally, the 平, or level tone, arose from the lack of sound at the ends of words, where there was neither [-s], a glottal stop, nor [-p], [-t], or [-k].[7]

Distribution in modern Chinese and Sino-Vietnamese

[edit]

Sample dialects and their realization of tone are given below.

Different authors typically have different opinions as to the shapes of Chinese tones. Tones typically have a slight purely phonetic drop at the end in citation form. It is therefore likely that a tone with a drop of one unit (54, say, or 21) is not distinct from a level tone (a 55 or 22); on the other hand, what one author hears as a significant drop (53 or 31) may be perceived by another as a smaller drop so it is often ambiguous whether a transcription like 54 or 21 is a level or contour tone. Similarly, a slight drop before a rise, such as a 214, may be from the speaker approaching the target tone and so may also not be distinctive (from 14).[10]

Distribution of the four tone classes in modern Chinese
Each tone class is numbered ① to ⑧, depending on its reflex of Late Middle Chinese, followed by its actual pronunciation, using a tone letter to illustrate its contour and then a numerical equivalent.
major group subgroup local variety Early Middle Chinese tone class number of
tone classes
(number of
phonemic tones)
꜀平 Level ꜀①꜁② ꜂上 Rising ꜂③꜃④ 去꜄ Departing ⑤꜄⑥꜅ 入꜆ Entering ⑦꜆⑧꜇
Syllable onset
voiceless voiced voiceless voiced voiceless voiced voiceless voiced
son obs son obs tenuis asp son obs (short) (long) son obs
Sample characters: 加坡 人 平 岛考 马 棒 布 怕 外 大 北七 八 入 白
Mandarin Beijing Beijing ① ˥ 55 ②[a] ˧˥ 35 ③ ˨˩˦ 21(4)[b] ⑤ ˥˩ 51[c] (any)[d] ⑤ ② 4
Taipei[12] ① ˦ 44 ②[a] ˧˨˧ 323 ③ ˧˩˨ 31(2)[b] ⑤ ˥˨ 52 (any)[d] ⑤ ② 4
Northeastern Harbin ① ˦ 44 ②[a] ˨˧ 23 ③ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑤ ˥˧ 53 (any) 4
Shenyang ① ˧ 33 ②[a] ˧˥ 35 ③ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑤ ˥˧ 53 (any) 4
Jiao–Liao Dalian ① ˦˨ 42 ① or ② ②[a] ˧˥ 35 ③ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑤ ˥˧ 53 ③ ⑤ ② 4
Ji–Lu Tianjin ① ˨˩ 21 ②[a] ˧˥ 35 ③ ˩˩˧ 113 ⑤ ˥˧ 53 ① ⑤ ② 4
Jinan ① ˨˩˧ 213 ②[a] ˦˨ 42 ③ ˥ 55 ⑤ ˨˩ 21 ① ⑤ ② 4
Zhongyuan
(Central Plain)		 Xi'an ① ˧˩ 31 ②[a] ˨˦ 24 ③ ˦˨ 42 ⑤ ˥ 55 ① ② 4
Dungan ① ˨˦ 24 ③ ˥˩ 51 ⑤ ˦ 44 ① ③ 3
Lan–Yin
 Lanzhou ① ˧˩ 31 ②[a] ˥˧ 53 ③ ˦˦˨ 442 ⑤ ˩˧ 13 ② 4
Yinchuan ① ③ ⑤ 3
Southwestern Wuhan ① ˥ 5 ②[a] ˨˩˧ 213 ③ ˦˨ 42 ⑤ ˧˥ 35 ② 4
Chengdu ① ˥ 5 ②[a] ˨˩ 21 ③ ˦˨ 42 ⑤ ˨˩˧ 213 ② 4
Luzhou ① ˥ 5 ②[a] ˨˩ 21 ③ ˦˨ 42 ⑤ ˩˧ 13 ⑦[e] ˧ 3 5
Kunming ① ˦ 4 ②[a] ˧˩ 31 ③ ˥˧ 53 ⑤ ˨˩˨ 212 ② 4
Jiang–Huai Nanjing ① ˧˩ 31 ②[a] ˩˧ 13 ③ ˨˩˨ 212 ⑤ ˦ 44 ⑦[e] ˥ 5 5 (4)
Nantong ① 35 ②[a] 21 ③ 55 ⑥ ⑤ 213 ⑥ 42 ⑦[e] 55ʔ ⑧[e] 42ʔ 7 (5)
Jin Bingzhou Taiyuan ① ˩ 11 ③ ˥˧ 53 ⑤ ˦˥ 45 ⑦[e] ˨ 2 ⑧[e] ˥˦ 54 5 (3)
Wu Taihu Shanghainese ① ˥˨ 52 ⑥[f] ⑤ ⑥[f] ⑤ ˧˧˦ 334 ⑥[f] ˩˩˧ 113 ⑦[e] ˥ 5 ⑧[e][f] ˨˧ 23 5 (2)[f]
Suzhou ① ˦ 44 ②[f] ˨˦ 24 ③ ˥˨ 52 ⑥[f] ⑤ ˦˩˨ 412 ⑥[f] ˧˩ 31 ⑦[e] ˦ 4 ⑧[e][f] ˨˧ 23 7 (3)[f]
Yixing[13] ① ˥ 55 ②[f] ˩˥ 15 ③ ˥˩ 51 ④[f] ˧˥ 35 ④/⑥ ⑤ ˥˩˧ 513 ⑥[f] ˨˩ 21 ⑦[e] ˥ 5/⑧ ⑧[e][f] ˩˧ 13 8 (3)[f]
Oujiang Wenzhounese ① ˦ 44 ②[f] ˧˩ 31 ③ʔ/④ʔ[f] ˧˥ 35 ⑤ ˥˨ 52 ⑥[f] ˨ 22 ⑦/⑧[f] ˧˨˧ 323 8 (4–6)[f]
Huizhou Ji-She Jixi ① ˧˩ 31 ② ˦ 44 ③ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑤ ˧˥ 35 ⑥ ˨ 22 ⑦[e] ˧˨ 32 6 (5)
Xiang New Changsha ① ˧ 33 ② ˩˧ 13 ③ ˦˩ 41 ⑥ ⑤ ˥ 55 ⑥ ˨˩ 21 ⑦[e] ˨˦ 24 6 (5)
Gan Changjing Nanchang ① ˦˨ 42 ⑤ ② ˨˦ 24 ③ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑥ ⑤ ˥ 55 ③ ⑥ ˨˩ 21 ⑦[e] ˥ 5 ⑧[e] ˨˩ 21 7 (5)
Hakka Meizhou Meixian ① ˦ 44 ② ˩ 11 ③ ˧˩ 31 ⑤ ˥˨ 52 ⑦[e] ˨˩ 21 ⑧[e] ˦ 4 6 (4)
Yue Yuehai Guangzhou,
Hong Kong		 ①a ˥ 55 ~ ①b ˥˧ 53 [g] ②[a] ˨˩ 21~11 ③[h] ˨˥ 25 ④[h] ˨˧ 23 ④/⑥[i] ⑤ ˧ 33 ⑥ ˨ 22 ⑦a[e] ˥ 5 ⑦b[e] ˧ 3 ⑧[e] ˨ 2 9~10 (6~7)
Shiqi ① ˥ 55 ② ˥˩ 51 ③ ˩˧ 13 ⑤ ˨ 22 ⑦a[e] ˥ 5 ⑧[e] ˨ 2 6 (4)
Siyi Taishanese ① ˧ 33 ②[a]? ˩ 11 ③ ˥ 55 ④[a]? ˨˩ 21 ① ⑥ ˧˨ 32 ⑦a[e] ˥ 5 ⑦b[e] ˧ 3 ⑧[e] ˨˩ 21 8 (5)
Gou-Lou Bobai ① ˦ 44 ②[a]? ˨˧ 23 ③ ˧ 33 ④[a]? ˦˥ 45 ⑤ ˧˨ 32 ⑥ ˨˩ 21 ⑦a[e] ˥˦ 54 ⑦b[e] ˩ 1 ⑧a[e] ˦ 4
(long)		 ⑧b[e] ˧˨ 32
(short)		 10 (6)
Pinghua Southern Nanning ① ˥˨ 52 ②[a]? ˨˩ 21 ③ ˦ 44 ④[a]? ˨˦ 24 ⑤ ˥ 55 ⑥ ˨ 22 ⑦[e] ˦ 4 ⑧a[e] ˨˦ 24 ⑧b[e] ˨ 2 9 (6)
Min Northern Jian'ou ① ˥˦ 54 ⑤ ③ ˨˩ 21 ⑤ ˨ 22 ⑥ ˦ 44 ⑦[e] ˨˦ 24 ⑧[e] ˦˨ 42 6 (4)
Eastern Fuzhou ① ˥ 55 ② ˥˧ 53 ③ ˧ 33 ③/⑥[j] ⑥ ⑤ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑥ ˨˦˨ 242 ⑦[e] ˨˦ 24 ⑧[e] ˥ 5 7 (5)
Central Yong'an ① ˦˨ 42 ② ˧ 33 ③ ˨˩ 21 ④ ˥˦ 54 ⑤ ˨˦ 24 ⑦[e] ˩˨ 12 6
Southern Amoy ① ˥ 55 ② ˧˥ 35 ③ ˥˧ 53 ③/⑥[k] ⑤ ˨˩ 21 ⑥ ˧ 33 ⑦[e] ˩ 1 ⑧[e] ˥ 5 7 (5)
Quanzhou ① ˧ 33 ② ˨˦ 24 ③ ˥ 55 ③/④ [l] ④ ˨ 22 ⑤[m] ˦˩ 41 ⑥[m] ˦˩ 41 ⑦[e] ˥ 5 ⑧[e] ˨˦ 24 8 (6)
Teochew ① ˧ 33 ② ˥ 55 ③ ˥˨ 52 ④ ˧˥ 35 ⑤ ˨˩˧ 213 ⑥ ˩ 11 ④/⑥[n] ⑦[e] ˨ 2 ⑧[e] ˦ 4 8 (6)
Sino-Vietnamese[20][21] Northern Hanoi[22] ① ˦ 44 ② ˧˨ 32 ③ ˧˩˨ 312 ④ ˧˨˥ 325 ④/⑥ ⑤ ˧˦ 34 ⑥ ˨ 22 ⑦ ˦˥ 45 ⑧ ˨˩ 21 8 (6)
Central Hue[23] ① ˥˦˥ 545 ② ˦˩ 41 ③ ˧˨ 32 ③/⑥ ⑤ ˨˩˦ 214 ⑥ ˧˩ 31 ⑦ ˦˧˥ 435 ⑧ ˧˩ 31 7 (5)
Southern Saigon[24] ① ˦ 44 ② ˧˩ 31 ③ ˨˩˦ 214 ③/⑥ ⑤ ˧˥ 35 ⑥ ˨˩˨ 212 ⑦ ˦˥ 45 ⑧ ˨˩ 21 7 (5)
major group subgroup local variety voiceless son obs voiceless son obs tenuis asp son obs (short) (long) son obs number of
tone classes
(number of
phonemic tones)
voiced voiced voiceless voiced voiceless voiced
Syllable onset
꜀平 Level ꜀①꜁② ꜂上 Rising ꜂③꜃④ 去꜄ Departing ⑤꜄⑥꜅ 入꜆ Entering ⑦꜆⑧꜇
Early Middle Chinese tone class
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v A muddy consonant becomes aspirated here rather than tenuis. (Note a historical entering tone will not be aspirated.)
  2. ^ a b In the citation form, Beijing tone ③ may end with a rising segment.
  3. ^ Mandarin 4th tone.
  4. ^ a b Irregular development, due to dialect mixing in the capital. However, colloquial readings tend to display tones ① and ③, whereas literary readings tend to display ② and ⑤. The preservation of the literary readings is chiefly due to 協韻 xiéyùn, artificial preservation of rhyming pronunciations for words that rhyme in classical poetry.[11]
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar The entering tone(s) are distinct because they are checked by a final stop. (Wenzhounese is an exception: Entering tone is distinct without a final stop.)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t In Wu and Old Xiang, the 'light' tones are always dependent on voiced initials, and so are not phonemically distinct. In Wenzhounese, rising tone is likewise marked with a final glottal stop.
  7. ^ A lexical tone change for some speakers in Guangzhou, mostly obsolete in Hong Kong. High Level becomes High Falling when the character isn't used as a concrete noun. For other speakers, both realizations are interchangeable, and High Level seems to be dominant.
  8. ^ a b Some studies show that in Hong Kong Cantonese the two rising tones are used interchangeably by some younger speakers indicating an ongoing merger,[14][15] but this is in fact extremely uncommon[citation needed].
  9. ^ A muddy consonant becomes aspirated here and the syllable acquires tone ④ in colloquial readings, but in literary pronunciations it is tenuis and the syllable becomes tone ⑥.
  10. ^ In the Fuzhou dialect and the Fuqing dialect, the traditional rising tone with voiced sonorant onsets have undergone a split, where in literary readings they are in tone ③ with their unvoiced counterparts, but in colloquial readings they are merged into ⑥.[16]
  11. ^ In Zhangzhou and Amoy Hokkien variants of Southern Min, the traditional rising tone with former voiced obstruent onset has become tone ③ in literary reading pronunciations but tone ⑥ in colloquial pronunciations.[17] In the Quanzhou variant of Southern Min, it is the sonorants that were voiced and in the rising tone in Middle Chinese that have split. In literary pronunciations they have merged into tone ③, but they have become tone ④ in colloquial pronunciations.[17]
  12. ^ In the Quanzhou variant of Southern Min, it is the Middle Chinese sonorants that have split in the historic rising tone. In literary pronunciations they have merged into tone ③, but they have become tone ④ in colloquial pronunciations.[18]
  13. ^ a b In the Quanzhou Hokkien variety of Southern Min, the traditional 'light' and 'dark' departing tone categories are only differentiated by their behavior under tone sandhi; they are pronounced the same in isolation.
  14. ^ In Teochew, some Middle Chinese departing tone syllables with voiced obstruent initials develop tone ④ instead of the expected tone ⑥.[19]

See also

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References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Four tones (Middle Chinese)

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The four tones of refer to the four primary tonal categories that characterized the phonological system of the language as documented in the Qieyun dictionary compiled around 601 CE, which served as a foundational for standardizing pronunciation during the . These tones—known as píngshēng (level tone), shǎngshēng (rising tone), qùshēng (departing tone), and rùshēng (entering tone)—emerged by the 6th century CE as a key feature distinguishing (roughly 600–1300 CE) from earlier and influencing the tonal structures of modern Chinese dialects. The píngshēng was a level contour, typically reconstructed with a mid-level pitch (e.g., ˧), applying to syllables without a final stop; the shǎngshēng featured a rising contour (e.g., ˥˧), often derived from Old Chinese glottal stops (-ʔ); the qùshēng had a falling contour (e.g., ˧˩), originating from final -s consonants; and the rùshēng was a short, ending in a stop consonant (e.g., -p/-t/-k), which later disappeared in many northern dialects like Mandarin. These tones originated from the loss of final consonants in , a process first proposed by André-Georges Haudricourt in , where the tones developed from specific final consonants (such as glottal stops leading to rising tones and fricatives to falling ones), marking a shift from a non-tonal to a tonal around the 4th–5th centuries CE. In , the tones were further divided into yin (clear) and yang (muddy) registers based on the voicing of the syllable-initial consonant—voiceless initials yielding yin tones and voiced ones yang—resulting in an eight-tone system that expanded possibilities for rhyme and prosody in poetry. The rùshēng, in particular, was distinctive for its brevity and stop endings, affecting syllable structure and contributing to mergers in modern varieties, such as its redistribution into the other three tones in Mandarin. Scholarly reconstructions, such as those by William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart, rely on the and later rime dictionaries to map these tones, highlighting their role in tracing the evolution of Chinese phonology across dialects.

Historical Context

Early Middle Chinese Tones

Early (EMC), dating to approximately the and primarily documented in the rime dictionary compiled in 601 CE under Lu Fayan, represents a pivotal stage in the evolution of Chinese , distinct from Late Middle Chinese (LMC) of the period (post-7th century). The standardized a literary blending northern and southern dialects, serving as a reference for and , but EMC's system predates the more elaborated analyses of LMC rhyme tables, which introduced divisions based on vowel quality and initial voicing. The core tonal framework of EMC comprises four tone categories—level (píngshēng), rising (shǎngshēng), departing (qùshēng), and entering (rùshēng)—with the first three applied to open syllables ending in vowels, semivowels, or nasals, and the entering defined by syllable-final stops (-p, -t, -k), functioning as a prosodically short, checked category without independent pitch contrast. The Qieyun organizes entries into these four categories for rhyming purposes, using the fǎnqiè method to spell pronunciations via initial and final components. For instance, syllables like nga (level), ngaX (rising), ngaH (departing), and ngak (entering) illustrate the tonal markers, with stop-final forms inherently belonging to entering. Phonetic reconstructions of EMC tones, informed by comparative evidence from modern s and patterns, assign approximate pitch to these categories: the level tone as mid-level [˧], the rising tone as mid-rising [˧˥], the departing tone as high-falling [˥˩], and the entering tone as a mid short [˧] abruptly terminated by the stop coda. These values capture the relative pitches inferred from reflexes, such as Vietnamese and Korean loanwords, where level often appears steady, rising ascend moderately, and departing falls from a higher register, while entering's brevity emphasizes its checked role. The EMC tonal system played a foundational role in early phonological analysis, as seen in the Qieyun's rhyme groupings that preserved distinctions crucial for versification and later scholarship. These categories informed the development of rime tables like the Yùnjìng (c. 1150 CE), which expanded EMC's framework by incorporating articulatory features, thus bridging to LMC's more complex tone splits influenced by initial consonant voicing. This four-tone structure, including the checked entering category, set the groundwork for the register distinctions in subsequent stages.

Development to Four Tones

The transition from Early (approximately 5th–7th centuries CE) to Late (7th–10th centuries CE) marked the refinement and standardization of the tonal system, with the four tone categories—level (píngshēng), rising (shǎngshēng), departing (qùshēng), and entering (rùshēng)—already established in the but further developed through emerging yin (high register, associated with voiceless initials) and yang (low register, associated with voiced initials) distinctions within the level, rising, and departing tones. These registers expanded the system to eight tones, reflecting pitch and voicing variations while maintaining the four primary categories for phonological and poetic purposes. The rime dictionary Qieyun, compiled in 601 CE by Lu Fayan and his colleagues, played a pivotal role in this development by systematically documenting the four tones based on the prestige dialects of the northern capital and southern , incorporating the yin-yang registers as subcategories within each tone except the entering tone, which was primarily defined by its short duration and stop codas (-p, -t, -k). This work captured the tone splits that had occurred between approximately 500 and 700 CE, driven by phonological shifts such as the loss of certain final laryngeals and the influence of initial consonant voicing on pitch contours. Later expansions, such as the Guangyun (1008 CE), further refined these categories by integrating additional dialectal data from the Tang-Song transition (roughly 700–900 CE), solidifying the four-tone system with its eight-register framework amid ongoing regional variations. The entering tone solidified as the fourth distinct category during this era, distinguished by its exclusive association with stop-final syllables and functioning as a prosodically short tone class. Dialectal variations across northern and southern regions contributed to these splits, with northern dialects showing more merger tendencies and southern ones preserving sharper contrasts, ultimately influencing the consolidation observed in Guangyun. These changes, occurring amid broader phonological evolutions like medial developments and rhyme reorganizations, established the four-tone framework that persisted into Early Modern Chinese.

Terminology and Notation

Traditional Names

The traditional names for the four tones of , as systematically articulated in early medieval phonological treatises, are píngshēng (平聲, level tone), shǎngshēng (上聲, rising tone), qùshēng (去聲, departing tone), and rùshēng (入聲, entering tone). These designations were first prominently outlined by the scholar Shěn Yuē (沈約, 441–513 CE) and his contemporaries, such as Zhōu Yóng (周顥), in discussions of prosodic theory around 500 CE, emphasizing their role in distinguishing syllables for literary and rhetorical purposes. The etymological roots of these names derive from the perceived pitch characteristics of each tone category: píngshēng evokes an even, level pitch without significant rise or fall; shǎngshēng suggests an upward or rising movement in intonation; qùshēng implies a departing or fading contour, often interpreted as falling away; and rùshēng denotes an abrupt entry or checked termination, typically associated with a or short duration. These terms reflect the intuitive descriptions of tonal contours in classical phonological analysis, as preserved in texts like the rime dictionary compiled in 601 CE. In historical texts and traditional , these tone names were essential for composing regulated verse (jintishi, 近體詩), a formal poetic genre that emerged in the and required strict alternation between píng (level) tones and zé (oblique) tones—encompassing shǎngshēng, qùshēng, and rùshēng—to create rhythmic balance and auditory harmony. For instance, lüshi (律詩, regulated poems) followed specific alternating patterns of píng and zé tones for line endings (e.g., ping-ze in adjacent couplets), enforcing tonal contrast and parallelism across couplets. This usage underscored the tones' structural importance in classical , influencing practices and aesthetic judgments. Although the four primary tones formed the foundational categories, later refinements in phonology, particularly in the Qieyun system, introduced subdivisions based on the yin (陰, voiceless initial) and yang (陽, voiced initial) registers of consonants, yielding eight subcategories: yīnpíng (陰平), yángpíng (陽平), yīnshǎng (陰上), yángshǎng (陽上), yīnqù (陰去), yángqù (陽去), yīnrù (陰入), and yángrù (陽入). These yin-yang distinctions served as precursors to the expanded eight-tone framework in subsequent rime dictionaries, while maintaining the core four-tone classification for broader phonological and poetic applications.

Modern Scholarly Notation

In modern linguistic scholarship, the four tones of are represented using standardized notations that facilitate phonological analysis and comparison with contemporary dialects and Sino-Xenic pronunciations. These systems prioritize clarity in distinguishing the level (píngshēng), rising (shǎngshēng), departing (qùshēng), and entering (rùshēng) categories, often drawing on the rhyme dictionary's framework while incorporating refinements from rhyme tables and evidence. In Baxter's transcription, the level tone is unmarked (e.g., kae), the rising tone is marked with -X (e.g., kaeX), the departing tone with -H (e.g., kaeH), and the entering tone by a final stop without additional marking (e.g., kaet). This system, refined in Baxter and Sagart's collaborative work, uses letters A, B, C, D to categorize tones—A for level, B for rising, C for departing, and D for entering—in tabular representations, allowing for precise mapping to Old Chinese origins. Another variant employs Chao tone letters to represent contours, such as ꜀ for level (high-level), ꜂ for rising (mid-rising), ꜄ for departing (high-falling), and checked syllables indicated by stops under a short level tone ꜀ for entering. In International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) reconstructions, the tones are typically rendered with contour values derived from dialect correspondences and historical phonetics: the level tone as mid [˧] (or 33 in numerical notation), the rising tone as mid-rising [˧˥] (35), the departing tone as high-falling [˥˩] (51), and the entering tone as mid [˧] (33) accompanied by a glottal or stop coda (-p, -t, -k). These values reflect a consensus from comparative studies, though slight variations occur; for instance, Pulleyblank proposed a level tone at in late Middle Chinese contexts to account for higher pitch in open syllables. Notations vary across scholars to balance historical fidelity and analytical utility. Bernhard Karlgren's early 20th-century system relied on broad phonetic approximations influenced by modern northern dialects, assigning level as even-pitched, rising as circumflex, departing as falling, and entering as clipped, but this has been critiqued for overemphasizing Beijing Mandarin. In contrast, modern refinements by Pan Wuyun integrate rhyme table data and uvular distinctions, maintaining the four-tone core while subdividing into eight registers ( splits based on initial voicing: e.g., yin-level vs. yang-level), emphasizing the four categories as primary for Qieyun-based analysis. Baxter and Sagart further adapt this by prioritizing Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Korean evidence, avoiding speculative contours in favor of categorical markers to highlight tonogenesis links. These evolutions ensure notations support rigorous reconstruction without assuming exact pitch realizations lost to time.

Phonological Characteristics

Description of Each Tone

The pitch contours of Middle Chinese tones are not known with certainty and are reconstructed approximately based on comparative evidence and modern reflexes. The level tone, known as píngshēng (平聲), is characterized by a steady mid-level pitch, conventionally reconstructed as [˧] or 33 on the five-point Chao tone scale. It possesses the longest duration among the tones on open syllables, contributing to a sense of stability in prosody, and is subdivided into yīnpíng (陰平) for syllables with voiceless onsets and yángpíng (陽平) for those with voiced onsets, the former typically realized in a higher register and the latter in a lower register. The rising tone, or shǎngshēng (上聲), exhibits an approximate mid-rising pitch contour [˧˥ or 35], with moderate duration that allows for a perceptible upward movement in pitch, distinguishing it phonologically from level tones. This tone is associated with original codas (-ʔ) in certain reconstructions of preceding stages, and like the level tone, it features a yin/yang split based on onset voicing, resulting in higher-register realizations for voiceless initials and lower-register for voiced. The departing tone, qùshēng (去聲), displays an approximate high-falling contour [˥˩ or 51], often with variable but generally shorter duration than the level tone, creating a sense of resolution or departure in prosody. It is linked to original -s codas in some historical reconstructions and includes the standard yin/yang subdivision, where voiceless onsets yield higher-register variants and voiced onsets lower-register ones. Within structure, these tones—level, rising, and departing—form the core prosodic framework, with their contour shapes and register distinctions (higher for yin, lower for yang) interacting with onsets and to define lexical contrasts and rhythmic patterns across open s.

The Entering Tone

The entering tone in Middle Chinese was defined by short syllables terminating in stop codas, namely -p, -t, or -k, distinguishing it from the open syllables of the other tones. Unlike the level, rising, and departing tones, which featured distinct pitch contours, the entering tone lacked a full melodic shape and was typically realized with a mid-level pitch, often notated as [˧] or [˧ʔ] to indicate its abrupt closure. This tone category was subdivided into yin entering (for syllables with voiceless onsets, associated with a higher register) and yang entering (for those with voiced onsets, linked to a lower register), reflecting the broader yin-yang tonal split in the system. Although primarily a coda-based category rather than a pitch-defined one, the entering tone played a crucial prosodic role equivalent to the other tones in classical and regulated verse, where it contributed to rhythmic patterns and schemes. Its syllables were notably shorter in duration than those of the non-entering tones, due to the glottal or oral stop closure that truncated the . Reconstructing the entering tone presents challenges, particularly in determining whether it functioned as a genuine tone or as a prosodic feature tied to syllable structure and closure. Scholars such as Edwin G. Pulleyblank have analyzed its evolution, arguing that its "tonal" status may have been secondary to its checked quality before the loss of stop codas in later varieties. In early rime dictionaries like the (601 CE), entering tone syllables were segregated into dedicated sections, separate from the level, rising, and departing categories, to facilitate phonological organization and rhyming. A representative example is the word for "seven" (七), reconstructed as Middle Chinese */t͡ɕip/ in the entering tone, belonging to the -ip rime group.

Origins and Evolution

From Old Chinese

Old Chinese, the language of the period roughly before 200 BCE, lacked lexical tones, with syllables typically concluding in stop consonants such as -p, -t, -k, fricative or laryngeal finals like -s or -h, or glottal stops -ʔ. This atonal nature is inferred from the absence of tonal distinctions in early written records and comparative linguistics. Evidence from oracle bone inscriptions (jiǎgǔwén, dating to the late 2nd millennium BCE) and bronze inscriptions (jīnwén, from the 1st millennium BCE) shows no phonetic components or graphic variants indicating tone contrasts, as the script primarily captured segmental features like initials and finals. Similarly, rhymes in the Shī Jīng (Book of Odes, compiled ca. 1000–600 BCE) group words by final consonants and vowels without tonal categorization, further supporting an atonal system. Comparative reconstruction within Sino-Tibetan languages also points to a non-tonal Proto-Sino-Tibetan ancestor, as tones are absent or independently developed in non-Sinitic branches like Tibeto-Burman, with phylogenetic analyses confirming tones emerged later in the Sinitic lineage. The transition to the four tones of occurred through tonogenesis, a process of spanning approximately 500 BCE to 500 CE, driven by the loss of these final , which left behind prosodic contours that became phonemic. Specifically, syllables ending in stops -p, -t, -k evolved into the entering tone (rùshēng), characterized by an abrupt termination; those with glottal stops -ʔ developed into the rising tone (shǎngshēng); finals in -s (often a ) led to the departing tone (qùshēng), with a lengthening or falling effect; and open syllables (without codas, often ending in sonorants like -m, -n, -ŋ) resulted in the level tone (píngshēng). This mapping is evidenced by correspondences between reconstructed forms and Middle Chinese rhyme dictionary categories in the Qièyùn (601 CE), where finals align systematically with tone classes. The foundational hypotheses for this tonogenesis were advanced by André-Georges Haudricourt in 1954, who proposed that Middle Chinese tones arose from the loss of final consonants in an originally atonal Old Chinese. These ideas were later refined by , who emphasized the role of post-codas (e.g., distinguishing pre-final laryngeals) in conditioning the tone splits, drawing on detailed phonological modeling of pre-Qin texts and Sino-Tibetan cognates to clarify the pathways from atonal finals to tonal contrasts.

Factors in Tonogenesis

The development of tones in involved phonetic conditioning by initial consonants, particularly through differences in voice onset time (VOT), which refers to the duration between the release of a stop and the onset of voicing in the following . Voiceless initial consonants, characterized by longer positive VOT, conditioned higher pitch contours, leading to the yin register (higher register tones), while voiced initials, with shorter or negative VOT, resulted in lower, often qualities associated with the yang register (lower register tones). This register split applied to the four tones, resulting in an eight-tone system that expanded possibilities for rhyme and prosody in poetry, a process widely recognized in reconstructions of . Dialectal variations played a key role in tonogenesis, with evidence suggesting that the process may have originated in northern varieties of before spreading southward. Northern dialects, as reflected in early rime dictionaries like the (compiled in 601 CE based on the Chang'an dialect), exhibit the canonical four-tone system with clear register distinctions, indicating an earlier completion of tonogenesis in the north. In contrast, southern dialects show greater tonal complexity, with additional splits and mergers likely arising from regional phonological innovations and substrate influences, resulting in modern varieties that often have five to nine tones. These north-south differences highlight how tonogenesis was not uniform but conditioned by geographic and sociolinguistic factors across speech communities. Contact with non-Sinitic languages, particularly in southern regions, may have accelerated tone emergence by reinforcing pitch-based distinctions in bilingual settings. , many of which developed tones independently through similar mechanisms like consonant loss, likely exerted areal influence on southern Chinese dialects during periods of migration and interaction from the late era onward. This contact is posited to have promoted the exaggeration of f0 () differences into phonemic tones, especially in areas of overlap such as the basin, though the exact directionality remains debated. Recent computational research post-2020 has modeled tonogenesis in the Sino-Tibetan family, focusing on VOT-tone correlations to simulate the gradual shift from consonantal contrasts to lexical tones. For instance, studies using information-theoretic measures on Tibetan dialects quantify how pitch cues progressively assume functional load during register splits, providing quantitative support for the phonetic pathways observed in Chinese. These models address gaps in traditional reconstructions by integrating acoustic data from modern dialects to infer diachronic stages, confirming that VOT differences reliably predict early tone differentiation across related languages.

Representation in Reconstructions

Systems of Notation

The transcription of Middle Chinese tones has evolved from traditional methods embedded in early phonological texts to contemporary scholarly systems designed for precision and digital compatibility. In the rime dictionary compiled in 601 CE, tones were not explicitly marked but indicated through , a spelling technique that combined the initial from one character with the rime (vowel and coda) and tone category from a second character, with the tone inferred from the rhyme group's classification into level (ping), rising (shang), departing (qu), or entering (ru). This approach relied on the reader's familiarity with the tonal affiliations of rhyme sections, allowing indirect notation without dedicated symbols. Subsequent historical systems, such as the rime tables in the 12th-century Yunjing, organized syllables into grids categorizing tones alongside initials and finals, explicitly labeling sections for each of the four tones to facilitate of phonological contrasts. These tables treated tones as primary divisions, with entering tones distinguished by their association with stop codas (-p, -t, -k), providing a visual framework for reconstruction that influenced later . Modern notations adapt romanization systems like , employing diacritics or numbers to denote the four tones—such as ā or superscript 1 for level (ping), á or 2 for rising (shang), ǎ or 3 for departing (qu), and short vowels with stops or 4 for entering (ru)—to approximate distinctions in linear text. In the Baxter-Sagart reconstruction, tones are appended as letters to transcriptions: A for level, B for rising, C for departing (often with -H for historical -s), and D for entering (marked by stop codas), as in forms like *phjeŋA for a level-tone . This ASCII-compatible method facilitates computational analysis while linking to etymologies. Specialized digital notations include modifier tone letters (U+A700–U+A707), which represent the four tones with yin (high register) and yang (low register) splits: ꜀ (yin ping), ꜁ (yang ping), ꜂ (yin shang), ꜃ (yang shang), ꜄ (yin qu), ꜅ (yang qu), ꜆ (yin ru), and ꜇ (yang ru), enabling precise markup in philological databases. These symbols address the yin-yang register split, where voiceless initials yield higher-pitched yin tones and voiced initials lower-pitched yang tones, expanding the four basic categories into eight for accurate representation. Notating these features in linear systems poses challenges, particularly in distinguishing yin-yang splits without additional markers, as the registers emerged from initial voicing contrasts and require subscripts or dual symbols to avoid ambiguity in compact transcriptions. The entering tone further complicates linear notation, as its short duration and stop coda integration can merge with other categories in tone-less modern varieties, necessitating explicit coda indicators or separate labels to preserve its distinct phonological role.

Examples and Illustrations

To illustrate the four tones of , consider representative lexical examples drawn from reconstructed forms based on the rhyme dictionary and subsequent scholarly analyses. The level tone (píngshēng) is exemplified by the word 平 "flat" or "even," reconstructed as *phjeŋ, where the tone is realized as a relatively even pitch without a marked contour. Similarly, the rising tone (shǎngshēng) appears in 解 "untie," reconstructed as *kjeX, featuring an initial low pitch that rises toward the end of the . The departing tone (qùshēng) is demonstrated by 去 "depart," reconstructed as *kʰjoH, with a falling or lengthening contour that departs from the main pitch. Finally, the entering tone (rùshēng) occurs in 葉 "," reconstructed as *ʔip, characterized by a short, checked ending in a stop , often with a mid or high pitch. These examples highlight the yin-yang distinctions within the tones, where "yin" categories (open syllables with clear initials) contrast with "yang" (obstructed by cloudy initials or other features). A comparative table of selected characters across tones, using Baxter's notation for , underscores these contrasts:
CharacterMeaningReconstructionTone CategoryYin/Yang Distinction
平flatphjeŋLevel (píng)Yin (open, clear initial)
解untiekjeXRising (shǎng)Yin (rising contour, open)
去departkʰjoHDeparting (qù)Yin (long vowel, falling)
葉leafʔipEntering (rù)Yang (checked with )
知knowtrjeLevel (píng)Yang (voiced initial)
出exittsyhwitEntering (rù)Yang (checked, stop coda)
In the , pronunciations are spelled out using , a method combining the from one character and the rime (vowel and tone) from another to approximate the target word's sound, with entries grouped by rime and tone categories. For instance, the entry for 東 "east" (level tone) is given as 德紅反, where 德 provides the *t-, and 紅 supplies the rime *-uŋ with level tone, yielding *tuŋ. Another example from the rising tone rime is entries under appropriate shǎngshēng groupings, such as for 洞 "cave" with like 徒中反 reconstructing *tuŋX, illustrating the rising contour within the same rime family. Departing tone illustrations appear in qùshēng sections, such as for 痛 "pain" as 吐用反 (*tʰuŋH), combining from 吐 and rime from 用 to show the lengthening fall. Entering tone entries, like 葉 under rùshēng, use such as 以洽切 (*ʔjep), grouping short, stop-final syllables separately from open tones. These groupings in the 's 193 rhymes (divided across tones) reveal how tones interact with rime classes to form phonological contrasts. For visual representation, pitch contour diagrams can aid understanding, though textual descriptions suffice here. The level tone is depicted as a flat line at mid-pitch (≈33), the rising as a low-to-high sweep (≈35), the departing as a high-to-low fall (≈51), and the entering as a mid-pitch with abrupt stop (≈33 + -p/-t/-k). Such diagrams, often schematic in phonological studies, emphasize the categorical rather than gradient nature of these tones in .

Legacy in Modern Languages

In Sinitic Varieties

In modern Mandarin, the four Middle Chinese tones have undergone significant mergers and splits, resulting in a simplified system of four tones. The level (píng) tone splits into high level (yīnpíng) and rising (yǎngpíng), while the rising (shǎng) tone becomes the low dipping (shǎngshēng); the departing (qù) tone evolves into a falling (qùshēng) contour. The entering (rù) tone, characterized by short syllables ending in stops, disperses across all four modern tones based on the initial consonant's voicing and the syllable's register, with no distinct preservation of its checked quality. Cantonese, a Yue variety, largely preserves the tonal distinctions through a system of six to nine tones, depending on the analysis of checked syllables. It maintains the entering tone as three short, high-register tones ending in glottal stops or unreleased stops (-p, -t, -k), distinct from the open syllables of the other tones; the level tone splits into high and mid levels, the rising into mid rising, and the departing into low falling and low rising. Recent studies on document ongoing mergers, particularly between the mid-level and low falling tones (tones 3 and 6), driven by generational shifts and urban influences, with perceptual and production data showing incomplete merger in younger speakers as of 2021. Min dialects, such as and Teochew, exhibit up to seven or eight tones, reflecting splits from the categories while often retaining the entering tone as distinct short tones with stops. In , for instance, the departing and rising tones show mergers in some registers, but the overall system preserves more of the original four-tone contrasts through additional splits conditioned by initial consonants and vowel quality. Wu dialects, including , also feature seven to eight tones, with the entering tone preserved as checked syllables; a notable pattern is the merger of the rising (shǎng) and departing (qù) tones in the lower register, realized as rising contours, while upper-register distinctions remain clearer. Across Sinitic varieties, general patterns include , where adjacent tones alter for prosodic harmony—such as right-dominant changes in Wu and Min that neutralize contours but preserve register distinctions—and the maintenance of yin-yang registers from , which condition high versus low pitch realizations even amid mergers.

In Sino-Xenic Pronunciations

The Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, comprising a significant portion of modern Vietnamese lexicon borrowed during the Middle Chinese period, conservatively preserves the four tones through a system of six tones that directly reflect the original tonal categories and registers. The level tone (pingshēng) corresponds to ngang (high level) for yin register and huyền (low falling) for yang register, while the rising tone (shǎngshēng) maps to sắc (high rising). The departing tone (qùshēng) aligns with hỏi (low dipping) or ngã (high broken rising), and the entering tone (rùshēng), characterized by short syllables ending in stops, is reflected in nặng (low falling checked) or sắc for yin-yang distinctions, respectively. This mirroring is evident in early Sino-Vietnamese loans, where tone categories predate Vietnamese's own tonogenesis, allowing reconstruction of Middle Chinese phonology; for instance, the word for "book" sách (sắc tone) derives from Middle Chinese *tsʰɛk (entering tone). Vietnamese diacritics for these tones were historically derived from Middle Chinese tonal notation, underscoring the direct transmission. In Sino-Korean pronunciations, the full tonal system of was not retained as lexical tones in modern Korean, which lacks tones, but elements are preserved in the pitch accent systems of certain dialects, particularly through distinctions derived from the yin-yang registers of the original tones. level tones generally corresponded to low pitch in , while rising and departing tones mapped to rising or high pitch, and entering tones consistently to high pitch, influencing the high-low contrasts in disyllabic Sino-Korean morphemes. For example, in South Kyengsang dialect, 99% of Sino-Korean words from entering tones exhibit high pitch patterns (e.g., HH accent), preserving the short, abrupt quality of the original category via register differences rather than full tonal contours. This partial conservation aids etymological analysis, as pitch accent in dialects like Kyengsang and Yanbian indirectly traces back to yin (high) and yang (low) tonal divisions. Sino-Japanese on'yomi readings similarly lost distinct lexical tones upon borrowing into Japanese, which employs a pitch accent system rather than tones, but historical adaptations indirectly reflect Middle Chinese rising and departing tones through prosodic patterns in compounds. Words from level tones often exhibit heiban (flat, low-high pitch across the word), while those from rising or departing tones tend toward atamadaka (head-high, initial high pitch dropping) or odaka (tail-high) patterns, as documented in medieval Japanese analyses of Chinese tones via Buddhist chanting traditions. This reflection stems from 9th-century efforts to notate Middle Chinese tones using Japanese syllables, where idealized pitch contours for departing and rising categories influenced on'yomi accentuation, though not as a direct one-to-one mapping. Such patterns provide clues for reconstructing Middle Chinese etymologies in Japanese lexicography. These Sino-Xenic reflexes serve as valuable tools in comparative etymological studies, enabling linguists to cross-verify reconstructions across languages; for instance, the Vietnamese sách (from Middle Chinese *tsʰɛk, entering tone) contrasts with Korean chaek (high pitch accent) and Japanese satsu (atamadaka pattern), highlighting how entering tone's brevity is conserved differently—via in Vietnamese, high pitch in Korean, and accent shift in Japanese—while underscoring the conservative role of loanwords in preserving pre-modern tonal distinctions beyond Sinitic varieties.

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  38. https://brill.com/view/journals/bcl/11/1-2/article-p3_3.xml
  39. https://users.umiacs.umd.edu/~nhf/papers/Korean.pdf
  40. https://www.academia.edu/9658921/The_Middle_Chinese_tones_through_Japanese_eyes
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