A Study Of The Rhymes In Yuan-Dynasty Zaju

The literature, in different dynasty, has its different style andcharacteristic. There is no doubt that in Yuan Dynasty, the mostoutstanding achievement should belong to Yuan dynasty drama, which includes Zaju and Sanqu, especially is Zaju good at its unique system and Performing function, which make it could among other plays in Yuan Dynasty. As a kind of popular literature, Yuan Dynasty Zaju reflects and records the actual speech of Yuan Dynasty, about thirteenth and fourteenth century. According to the research, there are about hundreds of kinds in Yuan Dynasty Zaju, but only156Yuan Dynasty Zaju up to now. And after several times’copy, it is hard to avoid some mistakes, caused by the words with the similar pronunciations and forms. Besides, sometimes, theworks also could lose their true features because of copyists’ subjectivity. Subject investigated of the thesis is all the existing melody of156Yuan Dynasty Zaju, and explaining and illustrating their rhyme. Their rhyme or not is explained by use of the contrast o f the same melody in same tune and with the help of all kinds ofmusic scores, then summarized and generalized. Besides, the entering tone is discussed specifically. In order to embody the change in speech sounds clearly, this thesis choose to compare with the rhyme of the Zhugongdiao and Yuan dynasty Sanqu. And via theinvestigation, we can know the physical truth of the modern Chinese speech and the regulations with the Central Plains Phonology, and then find the change regulation from medieval speech to current Beijing dialect. I hope it can offer the foundation and evidence for others to check the phonology of Yuan Dynasty Zaju, andhelp subsequent scholars to learn it expediently.Yuan dynasty Zaju totally has6850melodies, including157wedges,6693dramas.Xianlv, Zhenggong, Zhonglv, Nanlv, Shuangdiao,Yuediao, Shangdiao, Dashidiao and Huangzhong, totally nine modesare used independently. Besides, there are somemelodies inBanshediao, such as Shaobian, Qiangtouhua, Shuahair, and somemelodies in Nanqu, suchas, Liuyaojin, Qingger, Suonanzhi and so on.According to their relations and19rhymes in Central Plains Phonology,the rhyme words of the6850melodies in Yuan Dynasty Zaju can bereduced to18kinds, including Dongzhong, Jiangyang, Zhisi, Qiwei,Yumo, Jielai, Zhenwen, Hanshan, Xiantian, Xiaohao, Gege, Jiama,Chezhe, Gengqing, Youhou, Qinxun, Jianxian, Lianqian. Compared with The Central Plains Phonology, it lacks of Huanhuan. Their usesare not completely similarwith Kuanyun, Zhongyun,Zhaiyun,Xianyunby Wang Li. For example, the using times of Yumo and Xiaohaoyun inKuanyun are less than Jiangyang and Zhenwenyun in Zhongyun, Gege,Chezheyun in Zhongyun are less than Zhisi and Hanshanyun inZhaiyun, and Jianxianyun in Zhaiyun is less than Qinxun andLianqianyun in Xianyun.The rhyme of the Yuan Dynasty Zaju isn’t following the rhythmregulation as strictly as people’s thinking, as simple as music scorereducing to rhyme, and as limitative as the rhyme of the poetry. Therhyme of the Yuan Dynasty Zaju has many kinds of circumstances. Forexample, rhyme among the similar rhyme, such as, rhyming betweenthe Hanshan, Huanhuan, Jianxian, Lianqian, and rhyming between theDongzhong, Gengqing; And rhyme among the different and unrelatedrhyme, such as, Zhenwen and Yumo, Qiwei and Jianlai. All above arevery common and popular; presenting a complex rhyming system.There are different reasons for it, maybe the transitivity of thedeveloping in speech sounds, maybe the rhyme and the speechsounds so similar that be confounded.The rhyme in the Yuan Dynasty Zaju has complex relations withthe Central Plains Phonology. In terms of the rhyme words in the YuanDynasty Zaju, because Yuan Dynasty Zaju is running off, it is natural that the quatity of it is less than the Central Plains Phonology.However, after investigating, we find some rhyme words appearing inthe Yuan Dynasty Zaju, but not in the Central Plains Phonology, suchas,“ying(楹)、zheng(症)、ling(另)、zheng(睁)、li(吏)、chui(搥)、chui(槌)、kui(魁)、hui(诲)、hui(恢)、zhi(职)、ji(级)、zhi(跖)、chi(吃)”and so on. Amongthem, the using frequency of the rhyme words is so high. For instance,“qiang(枪)”is used24times,“zhi(职)”is used26times, etc. Thecatagories of rhyme words in the Yuan Dynasty Zaju to a large degreeis similar with the Central Plains Phonology, including the enteringtone words, but some of them are different from the Central PlainsPhonology, which mainly embody in some words blong to two kinds,but only one kind in the Central Plains Phonology, such as,“ji(藉)、ke(刻)、she(蛇)、rou(揉)、zuo(做)、ta(他)、ma(么)、sha(煞)”and so on.In the Yuan Dynasty Zaju, The entering tones is mixed up the rhyme between the Yin rhyme and the Yang rhyme, no longer havethe circumstances of the only rhyme in the entering tones, whichexplain that in the Yuan Dynasty or in the Yuan Dynasty drama exactly, medieval entering tone is similar with the Yin rhyme,so that the entering tones in the Zhou Yuan rhyme, written by Zhou Deqingis put into the level tone, the falling-rising tone and the falling tone accordingly. But in Yuan Dynasty drama, people have different ideas to the phoneticvalue and adscription (the entering ton e be devided into three tones) of the medieval entering tone words. After studying471entering tone words, which can be ensuredvoice in Yuan Dynasty Zaju, we fnd96%of the voiced initials in the entering tone words belong to rising tone,100%of the Secondary voiced consonants in the entering tone words belong to falling tone,91%of the Non-voiced initials in the entering tone wordsbelong to falling-rising tone. Then the similar conclusion with theCentral Plains Phonology is arrived, which is the voiced initials inthe entering tone words belong to rising tone, Secondary voicedconsonants in the entering tone words belong to falling tone, andthe Non-voiced initials in the entering tone words belong to falling-rising tone. Although individual words don’t conform to this regulations, the rate is so small that not enough to waver the conclusion of the Central Plains Phonology.Although the rhyme of the Zhugongdiao according to the rhyme of poems, it has breached the meter of the poem. It is not rareto rhyme among three tones, which open the new rule of the rhyme in Yuan Dynasty Zaju. Comparing with them, we can find theentering tone of the Zhugongdiao and the Yuan Dynasty Zaju arenot rhyme indepengently, but it rhymes with the Yin rhyme; so it is assigned to Yin rhyme.Besides, the indepengence and rhymingwith others of the “Dongzhong,Jiangyang, Jielai, Yumo, Xiaohao, Gege, Jiama, Chezhe and Youhou” is coincident. However, the indepengence, rhyming with others and its source of the Zhugongdiao and Yuan Dynasty Zaju is not same absolutely. The rhyme of the Zhugongdiao assumes the transitional situation from rhyme of poem to melody.Yuan Dynasty Sanqu and Zaju is in same dynasty, both of them are reflection of the actual speech. Merely, the social positionof the Yuan Dynasty Sanqu is higer than Yuan Dynasty Zaju. Comparing to the rhyme of the Yuan Dynasty Sanquand Zaju, we canfind they are similar in many aspects, such as, assigning of the entering tone, the independence of the rhyme, the using frequencyof the rhyme andthe interlinkage of the rhyme. But the using ofthe Jiangyin in Yuan Dynasty Sanquis simpler than the Yuan Dynasty Zaju. Huanhuan in Yuan Dynasty Sanqu can be used independently, but Yuan Dynasty Zaju can be not.And the interlinkage of the rhyme in Yuan Dynasty Zaju is more complex.