On The Evolution Of Chinese M-ending From The Perspective Of Historical Development

Based on the previous research, this paper aims at expounding the historical development of Chinese m-ending with inductive method. The author divides the development of Chinese m-ending into four stages, i.e, evolution, stability, instability and transformation, and combines the distribution and development of the middle ancient Chinese m-ending in modern Putonghua and dialects to expound the evolution of Chinese m-ending in history. In the aspect of Tongyu, Xian Qing Liang Han is the development period of Chinese m-ending. Qin Tan Er Bu drawn from Shi Jin times is the earliest Chinese m-ending in Tongyu. In Chu Chi times Dongbu separated from Qinbu and showed the change of m-ending. Until Han times m-ending rhyme basically finalized. In the aspect of dialects, the mixture of nasal final rhymes is a common phenomenon in Xi Shu dialect of Qing and Han times. In Qi Di dialect a few characters such as "Feng Feng" of Qinbu already changed into ng-ending. Between Wei Jin and Shui Tang, those m-ending rhyme characters transformed into ng-ending only in dialects were transformed into ng-ending in Tongyu. After that m-ending rhyme in Tongyu remained stable. In spite of the confusion of-m, -n, -ng, it only affects the oral pronunciation in Tongyu common standard pronunciation. In Song and Yan times, the literal pronunciation in Tongyu common standard pronunciation still kept m-ending rhyme. Only a few labial m-ending characters were merged into n-ending, read as n-ending. But in real oral Chinese the phenomenon of the mixture of m-ending and n-ending appears in most of Zhong Yuan area and the south. In everyday Chinese the tendency of dialect-affected phonetic merger begins to influence the literal pronunciation of scholars. The power of oral pronunciation in Tongyu standard pronunciation gradually grows and influences the literal pronunciation and makes m-ending rhyme in an unstable stage. During Ming and Qing dynasties, the m-ending rhyme in Tongyu was completely transformed into n-ending, laying the phonetic foundation of Yang-sheng Yun without m-ending in modern Chinese. In modern Chinese Putonghua, Xianshe m-ending rhyme characters are all in syllables -an,-ian and Shengshe m-ending rhyme characters in syllables -en, -in of Beijing dialect. From the overall situation of modern dialects, only Cantonese, Min dialect and Hakka dialect still keep m-ending while other dialects transforming into n-ending or ng-ending. Some m-endings are dropped and read as nasal rhymes; some m-endings are completely dropped and read as Yin-sheng Yun. Even in the same dialect, the speed and direction of the development of different m-ending rhymes is unbalanced, in general Xianshe m-ending changing more quickly than Shengshe m-ending.