Dunhuang Words Rhyme Study

The materials of this thesis are mainly collected from the Dunhuang literature,altogether 917 Dunhuang Quzici敦煌曲子词(usually entitled Quzici).some characteristics of the Northwestern dialects in Tang and Five Dynasties can be revealed.The conclusions read as follows:1.Quzici rhymed freely,it was out of the restrictions of official examinations' rules,embodying the features of the Northwestern dialects as well as the characteristics of the evolvement of the standard language in the North.2.Quzici could be divided into 20 rime categories:7 YinSheng Rimes阴声韵,7 YangSheng Rimes阳声韵,6 entering Rimes入声韵.The phonology of Quzici had already been different from that of Qieyun切韵and that the rime categories had reduced greatly.The familiarly sounded rimes had been converged gradually.The labial of You Hou Rime尤侯were classified into Yu Mo Rime鱼模;Yuan Rime元into Han Xian Rime寒先;Jiang Rime江into Yang Tang Rime阳唐.3.The rising and departing tones took a large proportion in the rhyming,and the voiced rising tones had changed into the departing tones in the standard language in North China.A familiar feature of the even and departing tone in Northwestern dialects was regularly reflected by a large number of rhyming between the two tones.And that the entering rimes had been frequently rhymed with the other three tones showed that the ends of them had been vanished.4.some phonological features of Northwestern dialects were shown in Tang and Five Dynasties. Some Yin Sheng Rimes were sounded familiarly reflected by Zhi Wei Rime支微mingled with Yu Mo Rime鱼模and Ge Ge Rime歌戈mingled with Xiao Hao Rime萧豪.And -m,-n,-(?)three nasal ends had been on the progress from combination to weakening by some Yang Sheng Rimes ending -n and -(?)been rhymed such as Zhen Wen Rime真文and Han Xian Rime寒先with Dong Zhong Rime东钟and Geng Zheng Rime庚蒸,and by some Yin Sheng Rimes been rhymed with Yang Sheng Rimes such as Geng Rime庚and Wen Rime文into Wei Rime微,Qing Rime青into Qi Rime齐,and Yang Rime阳into Ge Rime歌.That the three plosive endings -p,-t,-k of entering Rimes could be freely rhymed mutually indicated the vanish of them.5.That the voiced initials had been voiceless,and the voiced rising tones had changed into departing tones were confirmedly reflected by the misused characters and variant writings of some manuscripts.6.The phonological systems of Ci词in Song宋and Jill金and Yuan元Dynasties had been inherited and developed that of Quzici in Tang and Five Dynasties successively,and some phonological changes had been completed among the defferent eras.