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week 1 (5 Feb) • Intro / Speaking and writing in China
week 2 (12 Feb) • Language and script (1): The structure of Chinese characters
week 3 (19 Feb) • Corresponding with Heaven: The early scribes
week 4 (26 Feb) • Doing right by a script: The tools of lexicography
Hand-in assignment #1
week 5 (4 Mar) • Diamonds from Sand City: Dūnhuáng's linguistic treasures
week 6 (11 Mar) • Catching up and looking ahead: Linguistic approaches to sinographics
week 7 (18 Mar) • Language and script (2): Chinese writing and writing Chinese
Hand-in assignment #2
SPRING BREAK (28 Mar - 3 Apr)
week 8 (Thu 28 Mar) • Writing session
BLOCK 4
week 1 & 2 (1 Apr, 8 Apr) • No class
week 3 (15 Apr) •
Term-paper presentations
week 4 (22 Apr) • Brushes with power: Script and society
week 5 (29 Apr) • Language and script (3): Documenting Chinese
week 6 (6 May) • Skills session
Tue 7 May Hand-in assignment #3
week 7 (13 May) • Excursion to Leiden University's Special Collections and Asian Library
e-Prospectus catalog number: 5174KCH45 & 5474ISCW7
For details see
the Leiden e-Prospectus and
the Course Fact Sheet
Time: Second semester, Mondays 3:15 - 5:00pm
Venue: Matthias de Vrieshof 4, room 0.12 / from 22 April: Reuvensplaats 4, room 227
Writing is – in most definitions – connected with language. But if language travels through sound waves and writing is a visual medium, then how do these two domains interact?
Writing systems displays intricate and diverse ways of mapping the sounds and meanings of language to a visual format.
Once written down, some elements from speech are preserved and some are lost. And vice versa: the visual signal may transmit components from the spoken original, but also features which are absent in spoken form.
In this first session, we will explore how language comes to us through the Chinese script – and how fast such modes can change.
...and contact me for any questions
趙元任 Yuen Ren Chao, 序 "Xù" [Preface]
In: 趙元任 Yuen Ren Chao, 中國話的文法 Zhōngguóhuà de wénfǎ [A grammar of spoken Chinese].
香港 Hong Kong: 中文大學出版社 Chinese University Press, 1980, frontispiece.
Translation of Yuen Ren Chao, A grammar of spoken Chinese.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. Translated by 丁邦新 Pang-Hsin Ting.
Chao's 序 will be handed out and introduced in class. For this text, no preparation is needed.
"The Chinese script"
In: Jerry Norman, Chinese.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, Chapter 3 = pp. 58-82.
Availability at Leiden:
- from the Asian Library, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
- as an e-book, through the University Library catalogue
Highly recommended intro to sinolinguistics – get your own copy, and read it!
Please make sure you prepare your answers to all questions & assignments in writing.
1. Read the assigned chapter from Jerry Norman's Chinese.
In preparing this text, please check that you are familiar with
Note down any difficulties you may have in reading the text, and bring your notes to class.
technical terms in English and in Mandarin (including the corresponding Chinese characters);
names and dates for dynasties, historical periods and historical figures;
geographical designations.
2. On p. 58, the origins of Chinese characters are outlined.
a. In English, do you know a term for the study of writing systems? And in Mandarin?
b. Can you name (at least) three families of scripts, i.e. writing systems of the world which (as far as we know) developed independently?
c. Is the oracle bone script the undisputed precursor of the modern Chinese character script?
d. Can you name (at least) seven different Sinitic languages?
Please give the English and in Mandarin names for each of these, as well as the Chinese characters (简体 & 繁體) for each name.
e. What is the oldest Sinitic phase which has been reconstructed in phonological detail? Please give (approximate) dates.
f. Is the language encoded by the oracle bone script the undisputed precursor of the modern Sinitic languages?
3. The ideographic notion, i.e. the notion "that Chinese characters in some platonic fashion directly represent ideas rather than specific Chinese words" may be "patently absurd" (pp. 60-61), but it is immensely popular nonetheless.
Find a reference (in print or online) which clearly demonstrates, or is clearly based on, the ideographic notion.
a. From this source, note down one specific statement or claim demonstrating this notion.
b. Formulate a counter-argument against this specific statement or claim, basing yourself (at least in part) on the information in section 3.1.
4. Pages 67-69 introduce the 說文解字.
In one or two sentences, summarize the significance of this work
for the study of the Chinese script; and
for Chinese lexicography.
5. On p. 76, please study Table 3.6 carefully, including the notes on p. 77.
a. Can you read all characters listed in the Table?
For your reference: see e.g.
- 國際電腦漢字及異體字知識庫 / International Encoded Han Character and Variants Database.
- 汉字全息资源应用系统
- Chinese Etymology / 字源
- 小學堂文字學資料庫
- 康熙字典網上版
- ...or: find your own, and bring your suggestions to class!
b. Can you give more recent examples of individual characters created in order to "adapt[...] the traditional script to the modern language" (p. 75)?
6. In note 8 of p. 81, please define the term homophonous in your own words.
7. In note 10 of p. 82, it is noted that "the alternation of words beginning with sh and r in a single phonetic series is unusual".
The note discusses the simplified character 让, but the remark on "phonetic series" is strongly rooted in tradition – in other words, in the traditional script.
a. In your own terms, what is a "phonetic series"?
b. Can you find an instance of alternation between Mandarin sh- and r- within the traditional character script?
8. In the same note 10, consider the example of ràng 'to allow' again.
Note that "ràng" is italicized, but " 'to allow' " is placed within single quotation marks.
a. In your own words, formulate the difference between these typographical conventions.
Which linguistic units do they represent?
b. Can you list other typographical conventions, representing other linguistic units?
For each unit, give English and Mandarin names, as well as the Chinese characters (简体 & 繁體).
c. Is there also a typographical convention which represents items as orthographic units, i.e. as the written forms of a script?
The Chinese script has been studied for millennia, both in and outside China, giving rise to a bewildering set of principles, approaches and perspectives.
This week, we are covering some groundwork in terms of data, units of analysis, methods and terminology.
"Introduction" = Volume 1, pp. v-xxxi.
In: Ching-yi Dougherty, Sydney M. Lamb & Samuel Martin, Chinese character indexes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963
"The Chinese script"
see Session 1
Jeroen Wiedenhof, "An introduction to linguistic transcription"
LIAS/LUCL, Universiteit Leiden, 2018
A friendly reminder: make sure to prepare all your answers in writing, in English!
We did not have time to cover the rationale for this requirement last week; it will be addressed in today's session.
By way of a heads-up: next week (in session 3), we will be reading a text in Chinese.
For now, if you cannot read modern written Chinese — or if you expect you might benefit from a native command of Mandarin:
- Prepare to buddy up!
- Make sure to contact classmates now, and to set a date & time to prepare next week's text together.
- As agreed within this group, I have shared a list of email addresses.
Image source:
Cliparts PUBNienke: I guess the same applies for assignment 18 below.
As discussed, this buddy-up request is more general. In preparing future sessions, please try to share and join forces in the spirit of this multidisciplinary seminar.
On Chao (1968):
10. Bibliography
On the basis of the University Library catalogues, inventorize all English-language editions of Y.R. Chao's Grammar of spoken Chinese. For each title,
(a) Note place & year of publication, name of the publisher and other relevant details;
(b) Check which transcription for Mandarin has been used;
(c) Check if the work is available on the Asian Library's open shelves;
(d) If (c) = yes,
- find one example of an empty square 囗 representing a spoken expression without a character
- note down the page number
- photograph the page and bring it to class
- and if you wish: share it with your classmates beforehand
On Norman (1988) & Wiedenhof (2018):
of last week's assignment #8
- Read the Introduction to linguistic transcription
- Note down any questions or remarks on the assignment, or the Introduction (or both ;-)
We will review 8(a) through 8(c) in class.
On Dougherty e.a. (1963):
- n/L = left column on page n
- n/R = right column on page n
12. Read the text, note down any difficulties you may have in reading the text, and bring your notes to class.
As explained last week, we will be start with your individual questions and comments, going through the assigned text page by page.
13. In the Preface, check which personal names ring familiar.
14. On p. ix/L,
a. What is meant by "the standard pronunciation(s)"?
b. What is the difference between transcription, "transliterations systems" and "romanization"?
15. On p. x/R, in Figure 2, check and see if you are missing any details.
16. On p. xi/L, character #5536
is shown twice in Figure 3.
Now compare character #1788.1 复 in Figure 2.
What is the reason that this character is not shown twice?
17. Make sure you are familiar with the calligraphic terminology on pp. xi/R-xii/L.
In one sentence, describe the relevance of these terms are in this context; also compare assigment #19 below.
18. Check the Rules on pp. xix-xxi and the Concordance on pp. xxii-xxix. And/or look up any online resource on the Gwoyeu Romatzyh transcription.
On the basis of this information, see if you can read (i.e. pronounce & translate) the Chinese book titles listed on p. xxx.
Be prepared to cite these titles by reading them out aloud in class.
19. On the basis of your reading of this Introduction, can you formulate a technical definition for the term Chinese character as implied here?
Mechanization & Chinese script
A Chinese telegram (detail)
– Click for full image
Source: Sohu / 搜狐
–
電報 ~ 电报 diànbào 'telegram'
– 電傳 ~ 电传 diànchuán 'telex'
– 中文電報碼 ~ 中文电报码 Zhōngwén diànbàomǎ 'Chinese telegraph code'
– Mechanization of Chinese characters, backgrounds & overview:
Thomas S. Mullaney, The Chinese typewriter: A history, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2017 (available at Leiden University Library)
Digitization & Chinese script
–
Binary counter (百聞不如一見)
– the Baudot-Murray code
– the ASCII code
– the 国标 Guóbiāo code
–
Five-hole paper tape: writing and reading digital data
– Digitization of Chinese characters, backgrounds & overview:
Jeroen Wiedenhof, "The digital revolution" = § 12.5.2 of A grammar of Mandarin (online at Leiden University Library)
In the news: The Vesuvius challenge
Image source:
Campfire scroll
Next week, we will turn our attention to the earliest known ancestor of the Chinese script.
Note the careful wording here: "earliest known" implies that we may yet discover evidence of even earlier forms. And yes: we will be discussing the likelihood of such discoveries for the Chinese case.
Speaking of discoveries, one exciting instance of written materials recovered from a distant past was publicized just this week:
Margherita Bassi: "Three students just deciphered the first passages of a 2,000-year-old scroll burned in Vesuvius' eruption". Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb 24.
The project's webpage is here: Vesuvius Challenge.
At the dawn of history, humans were fully modern in the anatomical and in the neurological sense. Their brains, and their languages, were as complex and as diverse as they are today. There were just fewer speakers.
Even at this early stage, the world must have been teeming with linguists. We know nothing about their theories, but their legacy remains with us today, for they created the first writing systems.
The art of writing was invented more than once, and the puzzle how to represent sound and meaning in graphs has been solved in very different ways. The Chinese case offers us a rare insight in the tenacity of some cultural artefacts.
This week, we will:
study the material culture which produced a script whose characteristics have survived into the digital age;
consider the challenges of interdisciplinary studies; and
learn how to introduce a text dating back more than three millennia to a modern audience.
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Oracle Bone CUL.52
Interactive scans by Sketchfab, 2015
"Preamble"
In: David N. Keightley, Sources of Shang history: The oracle-bone inscriptions of bronze age China.
First edition 1978; paperback edition, with corrections, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985, pp. 1-2 (Preamble)
Leiden Asian Library: S-UB DS744.K44 1985.
"月㞢食"
In: 李圃 Lí Pǔ, selection and commentary, 甲骨文選注 Jiágǔwén xuǎn zhù [Oracle bone writing: An annotated anthology].
上海 Shanghai: 古籍出版社 Gǔjí Chūbǎnshè, 1989, section 1, pp. 1-8.
NASA (2011)
"Lunar eclipse essentials"
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Uploaded to Youtube on 8 June 2011.
Djamouri (1992)
Redouane Djamouri, "Un emploi particulier de you (有) en chinois archaïque"
Cahiers de Linguistique Asie Orientale, January 1992, Volume 21(2), pp. 231-289.
A PDF of this article is also available online at Persée.
Keightley (1985)
Chapter 1, "Shang divination procedures"
Chapter 2, "The divination inscriptions"
David N. Keightley, Sources of Shang history: The oracle-bone inscriptions of bronze age China.
First edition 1978; paperback edition, with corrections, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985, pp. 3-27 (Chapter 1), 28-56 (Chapter 2).
Available in the Leiden Asian Library: S-UB DS744.K44 1985.
Takashima (2019)
Ken-ichi Takashima, A little primer of Chinese oracle-bone inscriptions: With some exercises.
Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, second revised edition, 2019. First published 2015.
Thurston (1994)
Hugh Thurston, "The Chinese"
In: Hugh Thurston, Early astronomy. New York: Springer, 1994, pp. 84-109.
Leiden University Library code: GORLAE ASTRON QB016 203.
20. In case you need help with the Wade-Giles spelling:
– For systematic guidelines & conversion, see Appendix D in A grammar of Mandarin (online at Leiden University Library); or
– For ad-hoc conversion, see e.g. the Chinese Text Project's transcription-conversion tool.
– And while you are at it, check out the same tool for the Gwoyeu Romatzyh spelling (cf. assignment #18 above)
21. Sexagesimal means 'based on 60' just as decimal means 'based on ten'. The sexagesimal system is the basis of (not just) the Chinese calendar.
Graphs representing this cycle are well-known from even the oldest specimens of oracle bones.
In case you need help with the sexagesimal cycle:
- A short explanation of the system is given in Tables 9.3 & 9.4 in A grammar of Mandarin;
- For ad-hoc conversion, see e.g. Wikipedia's Stem, Branch and Stem-Branch tables.
22. "Wu Ting's reign" (Keightley 1985: 1):
Wikipedia has a list of Shang Kings.
On Keightley's (1985) "Preamble":
23. With the help of the Reading notes, read the "Preamble" to David Keightley's Sources.
In preparing this text, please check that you are familiar with
- the TIME: names and dates for dynasties, historical periods and historical figures
– e.g. "Wu Ting";
- the PLACE: please check all geographical designations
– e.g. "the powerful Ho".
- technical terms in English and in Mandarin, including the corresponding Chinese characters,
– e.g. "hsin-wei, eighth day";Note down any difficulties you may have in reading the text, and bring your notes to class.
24. In the interactive scan above, please identify the "series of hollows" (Keightley 1985: 18) and "the characteristic pu 卜-shaped crack" (ibid.).
25. Consider the character卜:
a. Which pronunciation(s) and which meaning(s) can you find for modern Chinese languages?
b. Can you find a phonological reconstruction for the pronunciation of this character? (the earlier, the better)
26. On p. 50, it is explained that "[a]s a rule, the inscriptions appear to have been carved above, or to the side of, the pu cracks and on the side of the crack which lacked the transverse branch".
Can you confirm this general rule for our "月㞢食" text?
On Lǐ's (1989) "月㞢食":
27. On the basis of 李圃 Lí Pǔ's helpful notes, read and prepare an English translation of the original oracle-bone text.
In other words: please translate the short (nineteen-character) text shown on p. 1.
In preparing this translation, please take notes about any difficulties encountered in reading Lǐ's commentary.
We will discuss Lǐ's text in class, page by page if necessary.
28. Oracular text, line 4, character 2:
In your own words, define the relationship between the character 㞢 and the character 有.
You should minimally formulate what you know on the basis of Pǔ's comments, combined with your own experience.
In this connection, also compare the comments on character adaptations from our first session.
For more background, you may consult Djamouri (1992).
29. Do you know if there are any oracle bones to be seen at Leiden? (or if not: in Leiden? ;-)
Image source: 每日頭條 / KKNews
In Session 3, we saw how the invention of writing was embedded in technological and economic change.
Today, we will explore early advances in Chinese lexicography against the backdrop of philosophical and political developments In Qín 秦 and Hàn 漢 times.
This session will consist of two parts:
- This weeks' centerpiece:
An unconventional look at the establishment of writing conventions
- Looking ahead:
Exploring possibilities for your term paper
Chapter Two, "The Qin and Han creation of the standard"
In: Imre Galambos, Orthography of early Chinese writing: Evidence from newly excavated manuscripts, pp. 31-63.
Budapest: Eötvös Loránd University, Department of East Asian Studies, 2006.
A PDF of this book is available online.
From Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia
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Image source: Archive.org |
許慎 Xǔ Shèn, 說文解字 Shuō wén jiě zì
说文解字: 附检字 Shuō wén jiě zì: Fù jiǎn zì [Discussion of simple characters and analysis of complex characters: With a character index], 北京 Peking: 中華書局 Zhōnghuá Shūjú, 1963. East Asian Library number: SINOL. 5093
- Online edition: 《說文解字》 at the website of 北京师范大学 / Beijing Normal University
- Paper edition: East Asian Library number: SINOL. 5093. Available in the Leiden Asian Library: see the dedicated Course Shelf for this course.
Imagine that:
the five fragments pieced together to form last week's oracle bone were shown in a museum exhibition, and
you were asked to write the accompanying object label, intended for an English-speaking museum audience.
On the basis of your work for last week's assignments, prepare a text which could serve as that object label. This text should minimally include:
- information about the age and the provenance of the object;
- short remarks about the type of text, and the language of the inscription;
- a full translation of the "月㞢食" text.
Hand in your work in PDF format as an attachment of an email message to
.
- Small is beautiful: maximally one page (A4).
- For your text, please consult the format requirements.
- For the attachment, please use the following PDF file-name: <sgfx-handin#1-Surname.pdf>
Deadline: Monday, 26 February 2024 at 9:00am
Please review assignment 29:
we will start from this item today.
30. Read the first two texts:
- Galambos' Chapter Two, "The Qin and Han creation of the standard" and
- the Wikipedia article "Shuowen Jiezi".
Note down any difficulties you may encounter in these two texts, and bring your notes to class.
We will discuss your questions and remarks on a page-by-page basis.
31. The third title is a modern reprint of the 說文解字 Shuō wén jiě zì.
(a) Have a good look at this book, either online or on the course reserve shelves in the Leiden Asian Library.
(b) Check that you understand how the work is organised.
(c) Find the characters
,
,
and
in this dictionary.
If you use the online resource for this assignment: please
make sure to view the scanned pages by hitting thebutton.
For each of these four characters, write down
- the page number for the entry in this modern edition
- the Shuō wén jiě zì radical
- the dictionary's definition of the characters, and
- your own English translation of this definition
32. Prepare your notes and ideas for a term paper.
Write down your own sinographic observations
and, for each observation, one or more research questions.
Please bring your notes to class for discussion.
You can read more on the relevance (and art) of observation here.
"By far the largest corpus of early Chinese manuscripts available to us today is the huge cache found by Sir Aurel Stein and others at Dunhuang in far western China in the early years of the twentieth century." Peter Kornicki, "Bluffing your way in Chinese" (2008: 2) |
Since times immemorial, the desert trails connecting India with China were busily travelled by merchants and monks, artists and adventurers.
This week, we zoom in on the oasis town of Dūnhuáng 敦煌, a.k.a. 沙州 Shāzhōu 'Sand City', whose Mògāo 莫高 caves have been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1987.
One of the first scholars who realized that this site harbored a priceless linguistic time capsule was the Hungarian-born Briton Stein Márk Aurél, later Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943).
Initially attracted to Dūnhuáng by its Buddhist art, Stein chanced upon a cave full of manuscripts and prints in 1907. Today, the study of Dūnhuáng documents remains a fascinating multi-disciplinary field.
Image source: IDP / IOL Tib J 1364
Susan Whitfield, "Stein's Silk Road legacy revisited".
In: Asian affairs, volume 40, no. 2, 2009, pp. 224-242.
Available as an e-publication from
Leiden University Libraries.
Volume II, Texts and
Volume IV, Plates
In: Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E., Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China
Oxford: Clarendon, 1921.
Availability at Leiden University Library's Special Collections
Due to their age, these two volumes are not accessible as "Course Reserve" items.
You need to visit the Special Collections Reading Room to consult these works. This reading room is on the same floor as the Asian Library, but two corridors across.
Special Collections are making these volumes available for students of this Sinographics course.
Reserved volumes are arranged by library user names. To save time (for library staff, and for yourself), please state clearly at the Special Collections desk that both volumes are reserved under my name.
The Special Collections desk has a list of students in the Sinographics course. Your library card will be saved during your visit.
Please do check the opening hours!
Unlike the ground-floor reading rooms where your Course Reserves reside, our Special Collections department is closed during the weekend.
Like wise on weekdays, Special Collections hours are more limited than those of the main library.
"Writing on language"
Leiden: LIAS/LUCL, 2018
Whitfield (2009):
37. The map shown on p. 225 is available online as a scalable color map from the British Library.
Update, 28 Feb 24: The British Library is experiencing a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack.
Here is amirror for this resource.
Susan Whitfield, Aurel Stein on the Silk Road
London: British Museum Press, 2004.
Published at the occasion of the British Library exhibition "The silk road: Trade, travel, war and faith".
Includes a glossary.
Available in the Leiden Asian Library: see the dedicated Course Shelf, number ALCRS00222, for this course.
International Dunhuang Project, "Conserving the Diamond Sutra".
Uploaded on Youtube on 27 May 2009.
Fascinating footage on the multi-disciplinary challenges of preserving the world's oldest dated printed text.
More video's from the IDP are available at their Youtube channel
Peter Kornicki, "Bluffing your way in Chinese".
Sandars Lectures in Bibliography,
Cambridge University Library, 11 March 2008.
Image source: Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0
Alpha Stock Images
33. Read this introduction: Writing on language.
a. Please note down any questions about or comments on the text.
b. Document two or three individual observations that may serve as the basis of your term paper.
On the relevance of original observations in the advancement of science, compare assignment 32.
You may try to formulate one or two research questions on the basis of the obesrvation, but this is optional.
In other words: when in doubt, for now, please focus on the observation part of this task.
34. Contextual items
(a) Stein's Volume II: Text notices that the sutra scroll was "in excellent preservation and complete".
Elaborate conservation was undertaken in the years 2003-2010, as shown in a British Library video on the Conservation of the Diamond Sutra.
Now, compare Stein's original picture with the photo taken at the British Museum in the mid-1970s.
Can you point out what type(s) of restoration or conservation work had been performed by that time?
(b) Aurel Stein was not only a trained philologist, but also a skilled archeologist, "recognizing the importance of careful excavation, of stratigraphy and of recording each find's location" (Whitfield 2004: 18).
In two or three sentences, describe the technique of stratigraphy. When did this technique originate?
(c) There is a short Chinese text preceding the translation of the Diamond Sutra itself.
What does the first line say?
(d) Among the Dunhuang manuscripts, there are detailed drawings of hands held in many different positions.
(a) Find one of these drawings in Stein's Volume IV: Plates.
(b) Do they depict hand positions or hand gestures? What was the purpose of such drawings?
(e) What is the Chinese term for 'archeology'? And what does it literally mean – morpheme by morpheme?
35. Read Whitfield (2009) [not to be confused with Whitfield (2004) above] and bring your reading notes to class.
We will discuss your questions and remarks on a page-by-page basis.
36. Make a list of all language names mentioned in this text, restricting yourself to languages spoken natively in the areas explored by Stein.
For each of these languages, look up their genetic affiliation (language family, subgroup, branch etc).
For some assistance, try the Linguistic Toolbox at the bottom of this page.
37. First, have a good look at Volumes II and IV of Aurel Stein's original work of 1921.
In Volume IV: Plates, check that you understand the page numbering system.
On page C of Volume IV: Plates, find the photo of the "printed roll" at the lower half of the page;
on the same page, find Stein's inventory number for this item;
and in Volume II: Text, under the same inventory number, find Stein's detailed description of the item.
Now, establish whether Stein himself realized the historical significance of this particular scroll.
38. The International Dunhuang Project (IDP) has uploaded a high-resolution image of the same scroll, which contains the full Chinese text of the Diamond Sutra.
This webpage includes a digital facsimile edition of the scroll, along with a full English translation of the sutra.
- Sanskrit title: वज्रच्छेदिकाप्रज्ञापारमितासूत्र Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra
- Chinese title: 金剛般若波羅蜜多經 Jīngāng Bōrěbōluómìduō Jīng (note the Mandarin readings for 般 and 若), abbreviated to 金剛經 Jīngāng Jīng
- English title: Diamond-Cutter-of-Perfect-Wisdom Sutra, abbreviated to Diamond Sutra
On the IDP page, if you click on "NEXT IMAGE" once, you will have reached the last line of the printed text, indicating its date of publication. (to see more details, click "LARGE IMAGE") This line of text is lacking in the IDP translation, but you will find an English translation in the short but useful introduction to the Diamond Sutra by the Silkroad Foundation. |
(a) Correct the Silkroad Foundation's English translation of the Chinese date.
(b) Find the name of the emperor ruling at the Táng 唐 court at the time of publication of this scroll.
(c) Use the Chinese-Western calendar converter provided by the Academia Sinica, Taiwan, to check if the Julian date give by the Silkroad Foundation is correct.
(d) Check if you can tell on what day of the Julian week this Chinese edition of the Diamond Sutra was published.
Did I mention this before? 😎 Memorize your calendar symbols
From prehistoric times, cultural transmission has depended on memory skills. Perhaps ironically, subsequent revolutions in recording techniques have severely jeopardized the survival of basic mnemonic skills.
Since this seminar focusses on writing, let us remind ourselves that the art of writing itself was a case in point:
"For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory."
– in Socrates' words, as recorded in writing, ironically... Plato, Phaedrus 275a
In the 15th century, mechanized printing heralded an age where "memory became less critical to knowledge". And in our own times, the extensive use of smartphones is taking its unparalleled toll in the form of digital amnesia.
For some orientation on the art of memory, consider the trailer of this revealing documentary by Janet Tobias and Claus Wehlisch
Memory games (2018)
Starring memory athletes Nelson Dellis, Yanjaa Wintersoul, Johannes Mallow and Simon Reinhard
By Chloe Harcombe, BBC West, 2 Mar 22
This article mentions (in the final paragraphs) an ancient unit of time:
"The proposed calendar works in a very straightforward way. Each of the 30 stones in the sarsen circle represents a day within a month, itself divided into three weeks each of 10 days."
We encountered "weeks" of ten days: yes, as in 旬 xún; and yes, as in jiá yí bǐng dīng wù jǐ gēng xīn rén guǐ.
39. Consider the title of this news item. Are there any non-solar calendars?
To answer this question, check carefully how you would define your terms for types of calendars.
Over the past few eeks, we have been tackling an abundance of subjects from many different angles.
This calls for a moment of reflection; remember that reflection is one of the most powerful instruments in the toolbox of science.
This week, therefore, we will cover any outstanding issues from the first five sessions which you may wish to raise.
We will also be look ahead to the tasks before us, first and foremost: your term papers.
Jeroen Wiedenhof, "An introduction to linguistic transcription"
Leiden: LIAS/LUCL, 2018
Jeroen Wiedenhof, "Writing on language"
Leiden: LIAS/LUCL, 2018
Annie Murphy Paul, "How to increase your powers of observation".
In: Time, 2 May 2016
40. In session 2, we read and discussed "An introduction to linguistic transcription".
Now, apply your knowledge to the ten sentences under #5 "More exercises".
Please write out your transcriptions in full. You will be asked to demonstrate these in class.
41. For session 5, we read Writing on language, but did not have time to reflect on it in class.
Please bring your reading notes to class: we will discuss your questions and remarks.
42. Read Murphy Paul (2016) and bring your reading notes to class.
We will discuss your questions and remarks. (and observations...)
43. Last week we discussed a first round of original observations in class; for details see Assignment (33)b.
All of you did a good job in Round 1; now please add one or two new observations for Round 2!
a. As discussed, one type of confusion that you may ran into was the distinction between tendencies and events.
A tendency (e.g. "I have noticed that people often... (etc.)" is a conclusion after the fact. It involves comparison and analysis, which is not our purpose here.
An event is something that actually happens at a certain time and place. This is the type of observation we are trying to document.
Thus, if you are in doubt whether your observation is valid for our purposes here, just ask yourself: did I witness this? (when? where?)
b. Another source of confusion is the distinction between observations and research questions, as we saw in our discussion last week.
Please bear this in mind when you write down your answers.
– and (no pressure ;-) if you could mail me a sneak preview of your notes, this would work even better.
44. Check your notes and ideas about your term paper, and be prepared to report on these in class.
Assignments heads-up
On Monday 18 March, an initial draft of your term paper will be expected.This draft will be assessed as Hand-in Assignment #2.
For general hints on linguistic writing, please consult Writing on language.
On Monday,
8 April15 April (Block 4,Session 1Session 2), you will be expected to deliver a (very short!) oral report on your term paper project.This report will be assessed as your Oral presentation.
As announced, in order to help you plan ahead, you can prepare draft versions of your term paper at any time:
- I will return your work with my comments
- This list of proofreaders' marks may assist you in reading my comments
- In case you wish to discuss my comments, please make an appointment
Please allow two days between handing in any draft and your appointment.
[ click to enlarge ]
Hint: think semantics
Hint: think Sinitic languages
–Thanks to Marc Gilbert for materials and suggestions
Martin Baasten, Geheugentechniek 02 (in Dutch, with English subtitles)
A class on memory techniques for students of Japanese
Leiden University, 11 April 2017
2. Foer (2011)
Joshua Foer, Moonwalking with Einstein
London: Penguin, 2011
"[Joshua Foer] explores common mnemonic tools for improving memory: the techniques of Roman rhetoricians and the tannaim ("reciters") of Judea, the Major System and the PAO System for memorizing numbers and cards, and Mind Mapping, a note-taking technique developed by Tony Buzan. These methods are all a form of the method of loci, in which data is stored in a sequence of memorable images that can be translated back into their original form. He espouses deliberate practice as the path to expertise, and declares psychological barriers as the largest obstacles to improved human performance."
3. [repeated here, this time with a working link]
Memory games (2018)
A revealing documentary by Janet Tobias and Claus Wehlisch:
See the trailer
Starring memory athletes Nelson Dellis, Yanjaa Wintersoul, Johannes Mallow and Simon Reinhard
At the end of Block 3, we resume our exploration of similarities and differences between language and script – especially as inspired by the progress made in your own coursework.
We also return to two (very) different applications of Pinyin in the transcription of Mandarin.
Wiedenhof (2015)
Jeroen Wiedenhof, "The transcription of Mandarin"
In: A grammar of Mandarin.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015, pp. 414-428.
Availability at Leiden:
- from the Asian Library, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
- as an e-book, through the University Library catalogue
Wiedenhof (2005)
Jeroen Wiedenhof, "Purpose and effect in the transcription of Mandarin"
In:. 李哲賢 / Lee Jer-shiarn (ed. in chief), 2004 漢學研究國際學術研討會文集 [Proceedings of the International Conference on Chinese Studies 2004].
斗六 / Touliu: 雲林科技大學 / National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, pp. 387-402.
Write a short first draft of your term paper and send it to my email inbox on 18 March
If you want, you may bring any last-minute questions to this Monday's class, as long as you send me your PDF that same day.
Minimum content requirements:
- State your observation of a sinographic phenomenon: concrete and specific
- Give your succinct formulation of one (or more) research questions (RQ) about this same observation
- Add any further material, preferably including some methodology (i.e. how will you tackle your RQ)
- For the third bullet, don't worry about a storyline: just give my any draft notes about any loose materials and ideas relevant to your RQ.
If you want, you can repeat the above instructions for a second and for a third observation, and include these in the same PDF. This will make it easier to explore your options during the term-paper writing process (remember the Dutch proverb: schrijven is schrappen ;-)
Please make sure to cover all bullet points for each observation. Maximum length: two pages per observation.
...and if you are still looking for inspiration: have a look at the encores first.
Please note the format requirements.
Make sure you hand in at least two more draft versions in Block 4.
The more versions you hand in, the more feedback you will get. For general hints on linguistic writing, see Writing on language.
As mentioned in class: my email inbox is available for your work (in PDF format) at any time during term.
Please feel free to discuss your plans and ideas, but do not wait until the last moment to make an appointment.
Bottom line: the preparations in Block 3 and the assignments of Block 4 are designed to turn the option of handing in your term paper by the last session in May (i.e. before the actual deadline) into a realistic possibility – hopefully freeing up time for you to devote to other pressing matters in the exam period.
47. Read the text and bring your notes.
We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.
48. In your own words, describe the difference between Character Pinyin and Linguistic Pinyin.
49. The transcription dilemma mentioned at the bottom of p. 419 is also addressed in the "Purpose and effect" text, in Section 2.2.
Please summarize this dilemma in your own words, clearly distinguishing phonetic, phonological and transcription issues.
50. Read the text and bring your notes.
We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.
51. Section 2.1 mentions a modern (20th-century) instance of linguistic change in spoken Mandarin that is frequently overlooked.
In one or two sentences, write down how this situation came about.
52. Check out this poster.
a. How many syllables can we distinguish in the text
"大鹏一日因风起,Responsibility"?
b. The poster includes an incomplete, "subtitle-style" transcription for the first line.
Provide your full Pinyin transcription of the full text – i.e. the text quoted in (a) – as it would sound in Beijing Mandarin.
53. Check out this poster. It was photographed in Hong Kong last week.
–Thanks to Paul van Els for materials and suggestions
a. How many languages are represented here? Name each language.
b. How many scripts are represented here? Name each script.
c. The poster presents six lines of texts in the form of three pairs, printed in small, medium and large typescript.
For each pair of lines, check whether you understand their contents, and the relationship between them.
If not: consult native speakers!
d. Now formulate a short explanation of the way of languages and scripts are used in this poster.
As always:
- your intended audience consists of interested readers who may not be familiar with Chinese languages and scripts
- do make sure to apply your linguistic transcription conventions consistently
Venue (this session only): Reuvensplaats, room 227
As we have seen, using language and script to effectively describe language and script requires special skills.
This week is dedicated to hands-on practice in these skills in your own term-paper project.
Note that this session replaces the 8 Apr session. Our next session will be on Mon 15 Apr 24.
The overview of Sessions and Hand-in assignments has been updated.
Image: clarity Design, Zürich
54. Please charge your laptop and bring it to class.
55. Carefully read my comments on your second hand-in assignment #2.
Note down your questions and remarks about my comments, and bring these to our session.
56. We discussed the Introduction to linguistic transcription and "Writing on language" in earlier sessions.
Now that your actual writing has begun:
for both manuals, check which instructions and suggestions are useful for your work.
Please note down any remaining questions.
57. Keep track of your writing process, using your original observation and your research question as your guiding principles.
To plan you way ahead, chart out a rough storyline, point by point.
Bring this rough storyline to class.
On Monday 15 April, a short oral presentation will be expected of you about your term-paper project.
Requirements:
- Your presentation will be in English, and should start with a short audience-friendly intro
- You will minimally present your materials, research question(s) and methodology
- Your target audience is intelligent and interested, but not necessarily trained in linguistics or in Chinese.
- Maximum duration is ten minutes – please time yourself in preparation!
Logistics:
- Fellow students from other departments may be invited to listen in.
- A short handout for the audience will come in handy, because it will save you time writing on the blackboard: please bring six printed copies
- Powerpoints are allowed, but only after prior consulation (over email). Note that setting up your system will cut into your ten minutes!
Feedback on research questions, methodology, presentation styles and further prospects.
Please bring your updates and writing plans for the weeks ahead.
...with a bit of Dutch colonial history.
On 15 April, as announced, a short oral presentation will be expected of you about the subject of your term paper.
On Monday 15 April, a short oral presentation will be expected of you about your term-paper project.
Requirements:
- Your presentation will be in English, and should start with a short audience-friendly intro
- You will minimally present your materials, research question(s) and methodology
- Your target audience is intelligent and interested, but not necessarily trained in linguistics or in Chinese.
- Maximum duration is ten minutes – please time yourself in preparation!
Logistics:
- Fellow students from other departments may be invited to listen in.
- A short handout for the audience will come in handy, because it will save you time writing on the blackboard: please bring six printed copies
A note on handouts
The purpose of your handout is to support your oral delivery. It is not a written version of what you have to say.
In the context of this seminar, this means that illustrations (e.g. images and/or tables) will probably be more important than text.
The only text that is required is your research question, because it provides the backbone for your presentation.
As always, please include your name, the context (i.e. the name of this seminar), and the date.
Finally, remember that network printers can be inpredictable... so please try to avoid last-minute print jobs.
- Powerpoints are allowed, but only after prior consulation (over email). Note that setting up your system will cut into your ten minutes!
58. Term paper planning for Block 4:
Please bring your updates and writing plans for the weeks ahead. Minimal requirements:
- Source documentation of your observation (Iks, Wenhui, Ying-peng)
- Reformulation of you research question(s) (all)
- A story line for your paper (all)
Monumental Mandarin
[ click to enlarge ]
–Thanks to Fresco Sam-Sin and Anne Sytske Keijser for materials and suggestions
- At the top, a Chinese text on a monument erected in 2008 to commemorate the fact that the first Chinese indentured laborers arrived in Suriname 155 years earlier.
- At the bottom, the Dutch text inscribed on the same monument; its contents run more or less parallel with the Chinese text.
The monument was unveiled by President Ronald Venetiaan in a ceremony on 20 October 2008 at Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam.
59. Observe and comment: for both inscriptions, write down what strikes you
a. in terms of the language and the content of the texts?
b. and in terms of script and typography?
Your aim is to collect at least three items under (a) and three items under (b) – for each inscription.
In other words: minimally twelve items.
This week, we are finding out some facts from the fifties and sixties which helped shape the Chinese script's current destiny.
After the Second World War (1940-1945), China continued to fight its own war, leading to the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. In the first two decades of the new state, social revolution went hand-in-hand with major script reforms.
We read Handel's (2013) essay on that legendary operation, which assesses its assumptions, results and reception. In Kraus' (1991) contribution, we learn about the many dilemmas surrounding the selection of a national script.
Internationally, too, these developments soon had a lasting effect. The example shown here is from Singapore, which not only recognizes Mandarin as one of its national languages, but has also adopted the simplified character script.
Kraus (1991)
"The failed assault on Chinese characters"
In: Richard Kurt Kraus, Brushes with power.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991, pp. 75-82.
Wiedenhof (2015)
"Features of the Chinese script"
In: Jeroen Wiedenhof, A grammar of Mandarin.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015,
§ 12.3 (including § 12.3.1 through § 12.3.4), pp. 365-384.
Availability at Leiden:
- from the Asian Library, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
- as a donloadable PDF, through the University Library catalogue
60. Left over from last week: Assignment 58.
We will discuss your planning for the last few weeks of this term.
Ying-peng, in connection with your work:
I have just added a reference to the Chinese Type Archive below, under Chinese Character Reference Toolbox
–Thanks to Wesley Eikenaar for materials and suggestions
61. Read the two new texts and bring your notes.
We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.
"The failed assault on Chinese characters"
62. On p. 75 of Kraus' text, he notes the Korean use of "a more clearly phonetic" script instead of characters.
a. What is the name of this script? How and when did it come into being?
b. How "clearly phonetic" is it?
c. If the Chinese script is not "clearly phonetic", then how could it best be characterized?
d. The phonetic nature of the native Korean script have engendered some enthousiasm about its qualities among linguists and educators.*)
For an example, see "In praise of: The world's best writing system, which states:
"it turns out that different writing systems are not all equally well equipped to capture the full range of a language’s grammar".
Give a concrete example of one grammatical feature, in a language of your choice, plus a writing system unequipped to capture that feature.
*) Apart from Korea's script, its language has likewise received distinguished praise, albeit by non-linguists, e.g. "Korean is, as a matter of fact, a very good language" in Kim Il Sung, "Problems related to the development of the Korean language", Works, Volume 18: January - December 1964, Pyongyang, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1984, p. 17.
63. Kraus' chapter repeatedly mentions John DeFrancis' work.
a. If you are not familiar with John DeFrancis' name:
do look up some details about his life and work.
b. On p. 78, Kraus states that "DeFrancis points out that..." without quoting a source.
Can you trace this citation?
c. Kraus paraphrases DeFrancis' statement that in the 1950s, "no one in China was willing to appear to challenge Stalin on this point".
On what point, exactly?
64. P. 81 shows a woodcut from a 1958 issue of the journal 中国妇女 Zhōngguó Fùnǚ "Women of China".
a. Can you identify the characters in this illustration?
b. Can you translate them? (
A friendly reminder: prepare all your answers in writing)
65. On p. 82, Kraus mentions a childhood memory from Chinese opera singer 新凤霞 Xīn Fèngxiá (1927-1998) featuring a "discarded cap of a fountain pen".
a. When and where were fountain pens invented? What writing tool(s) where they meant to replace or supplement?
b. When were they first used in China? What writing tool(s) did they replace, or supplement?
"Features of the Chinese script"
66. The first paragraph of p. 365 describes what characters "consist of".
What consequences can this phrase "consist of" have in terms of linguistic methodology?
67. For each of the stroke-order principles in Table 12.5, try to find at least one exception.
68. For native speakers of Mandarin:
in Table 12.10, compare these letter names with your own pronunciation, and note down any differences.
69. In Table 12.11, can you think of punctuation marks which are missing?
70. At the bottom of page 371, what do the slashes transcribe in "the sound /s/"?
Can you write these three examples – cent, sent and scent – using the same transcription?
71. At the bottom of p. 372, please comment on the English translation "A book from the sky".
72. The small text of p. 375, mentions a "danger of circularity".
Please formulate this danger in two or three sentences of your own.
73. Some historical aspects of the character 年 are mentioned on p. 377.
What linguistic terminology is available to describe the relationship between 'millet', 'harvest' and 'year' discussed here?
74. Section 12.3.3 discusses the 六書 liù shū 'Six Categories of the Script'.
In his 2009 "Ludic writing" article, Wolfgang Behr proposes a highly original model for the analysis of the relationship written characters and linguistic signs.
This model, in his words (2009: 291)
"allows us to identify certain character structures beyond the coverage by the traditional “six scripts” (liùshū 六書) theory of the Hàn dynasty, [...] whose inadequacies have long been noted and discussed."
Can you give concrete examples (quoting individual characters) of such "inadequacies"?
75. Table 12.14 illustrates the large propertion of infrequent characters.
Can you identify one or more social factors which have contributed to the survival of infrequent characters?
![]() employed hit by downturn |
![]() 如何推广普通话的? |
Slogans and scripts
76. In light of today's focus on the interplay between script and society, let us check out some similarities and differences across cultures, and across time.
On the left, a UK government press briefing of two years ago, conducted by a government official who has become even more well known since.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak was announcing help for the self-employed hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in a BBC News live stream on 26 March 2020.
On the right, the official launch of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in Singapore, in 1979.
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's (李光耀 Lǐ Guāngyào) speech announcing the 讲华语运动 Jiǎng Huáyǔ Yùndòng took place on 7 September 1979, the first of many national campaigns to boost the status of Mandarin in Singapore.
Observe and comment: for both photo's, write down what strikes you
a. in terms of the content of the written messages surrounding the speaker?
b. and in terms of script and typography?
In week 4, we looked at 20th-century reforms and standardization, both in the spoken and in the written domain.
Throughout history, these two domains, language and script, have often been treated as indistinguishable: not just in the public eye, but also in learned treatments and official policies. Even today, a principled distinction between these two domains often remains the prerogative of linguistics.
This week provides some background to the interplay between present-day issues of script and language in China, with roots and causes dating back to late imperial times.
Coblin (2000)
W. South Coblin, "A brief history of Mandarin"
In: Journal of the American Oriental Society
Volume 120, no. 4, 2000, pp. 537-552.
Available online through the Leiden University Library catalogue.
Pulleyblank (1984)
"The history of 'standard Chinese' "
"The phonology of Pekingese"
In: Edwin Pulleyblank, Middle Chinese
Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1984.
- "The history of 'standard Chinese'" = pp. 1-4
- "The evidence for Old Chinese" = Chapter 2, pp. 41-59
Available from the Asian Library, on the Course Reserve Shelf for this course.
Leftover from last week
77. We will first look at last week's Encore assignment.
Planning ahead
78. As agreed in class last Monday, your last hand-in assignment wil be postponed by a day, and will consist of a pre-final version of your term paper.
These details have been adjusted accordingly in our Sessions overview.
"A brief history of Mandarin"
Page numbers followed by a slash and the letter L or R (e.g. "p. 537/L") indicate the left or right column on the page.
79. Read the text and bring your notes.
In class, we will first discuss your own questions and remarks about the text.
80. Be sure to identify and look up linguistic terms as well as historical names & events you are unfamiliar with
– and/or to brush up your knowledge on these items.
81. Provide your own English translations for each of the book titles mentioned on p. 537/R.
In the remainder of the article, keep checking that you understand the titles of all works discussed.
82. As mentioned in Four tones (Middle Chinese), the 入 rù tone (p. 538/L) is labeled as "entering or checked" in English.
We discussed this in an earlier session; so please review:
a. Check the etymology of the Chinese term.
b. How dis the English labels originate?
83. Please summarize the conclusion at the bottom of p. 538/R in your own words.
84. On p. 540/L, the Arte de la lengua mandarina and Vocabulario de la lengua mandarina by Francisco Varo are mentioned.
Check if modern editions of both these works are available – and if so, who are the editor(s).
85. On p. 542/R, it is explained that "the zhèngyīn system of ca. 1450 was based not on the pronunciation of a single dialect or area but was instead a composite entity".
a. What could be the reason that a purported linguistic standard is in fact composite in nature?
b. Cite both advantages and drawbacks of a standard of this nature for its speakers;
and for linguists of later generations.
c. Can you cite other (historical and/or modern) examples of composite linguistic standards in China?
86. As noted on p. 543/L, Jiǎng Shàoyú 蔣紹愚 has pointed out that for historical stages of Chinese, "spoken material has [...] been accessible only indirectly through the medium of the literary sources".
a. Please paraphrase this statement in your own words, and/or give an example.
b. Compare this state of affairs with the status of spoken materials in the description of the modern standard language as it arose in the twentieth century.
What sources for spoken Mandarin were linguists using in, say, the 1950s?
87. In the short abstract of this article (p. 537), it is explained that the text exposes a "flawed" view about the provenance of standard Mandarin.
a. Is there a difference in meaning between the terms
standard Mandarin as used here ("in its oldest sense", p. 537/L);
standard Chinese as used by Pulleyblank (1984: 1); and
Modern Chinese?
If so: please indicate the difference(s).
And if not: check if these terms differ in other way (e.g. style, user base, varieties of English)?
In linguistics as in any other branch of scientific research, flawed views are problematic only inasfar they cannot be falsified; otherwise, their very falsification helps science progress.
b. Give examples of flawed views in the field of language reconstruction (not necessarily Chinese) which have since been falsified.
c. Give examples of views in linguistics which cannot be falsified.
...and the encores
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Postcard displayed at Francobolli Café, Leiden
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88. Last week, we saw examples of Xú Bīng's work. Here you see another instance, in a genre which may be called crossover script.
Another example of crossover script art appears on this greeting card (click to enlarge).
Now – given that <alles goed?> is used to write Dutch Alles goed?, meaning 'Everything okay?' –
please describe, in one sentence, what both artists are doing here.
In other words: your description aims to cover both Xú Bīng's "Square Word Calligraphy" and the graphical puzzle displayed on the postcard.
–Many thanks to Ans de Rooij for materials & suggestions
B. Formula One
You may have seen in the news, that the Formula 1 Grand Prix races are currently being held in Shanghai, China.
The Shanghai International Circuit (which has various Chinese names, e.g. 上海国际赛车场 Shànghǎi Guójì Sàichēchǎng) was purpose-built for Formula One racing events.
This race circuit's tracks were designed to produce a bird's-eye view of a gigantic character 上 shàng 'up' (as in 上海 Shànghǎi).
89. Can you think of other examples (in China or elsewhere) of architectural or artificial-landscape outlines which are borrowed from or inspired by script forms?
As demonstrated in the past few weeks, we are developing special skills to use language and script to describe language and script.
This week offers more hands-on practice in these skills, with special emphasis on your own term-paper project.
Image source: clarity Design, Zürich
90. Please charge your laptop and bring it to class.
91. Bring your draft versions(s), my comments, your notes, and any literature to work with in class.
We will be reviewing your writing progress and check on any problems you encounter.
Do keep checking your storyline!
Today's presentation features rare manuscripts and printed originals in the area of Chinese scripts and languages.
We will be guests at Leiden's Asian Library at the invitation of Librarian and Curator Marc Gilbert.
Please note that today's class will be held at the University Library.
Please bring your LU card!
Let us meet ten minutes early, at 3:05pm, at the main entrance desk of the University Library.
From there, we will walk to today's venue together.
The Leiden Asian Library has a dedicated Course Reserve Shelf
providing books and journal issues selected for our course
This Course Reserve Shelf (in Dutch: Collegeplank) has number ALCRS00222.
Linguistics in general
- Crystal, David, The Cambridge encyclopedia of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987, third edition 2010.
- Matthews, P.H., Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998 and later editions.
- SIL Glossary of linguistic terms
Chinese linguistics
- Dong, Hongyuan, A history of the Chinese language. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014, second edition 2021.
- Norman, Jerry, Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
- Wiedenhof, Jeroen, A grammar of Mandarin. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015.
Writing & scripts in general
- Daniels, Peter T., and William Bright, The world’s writing systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
- Omniglot / Alphabets & writing systems. Omniglot, the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, 2022.
Chinese writing & writing Chinese
- Behr, Wolfgang, “In the interstices of representation: Ludic writing and the locus of polysemy in the Chinese sign”, in: The idea of writing: Play and complexity. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2010, pp. 281-314.
- Boltz, William G., The origin and early development of the Chinese writing system. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1994.
- Erbaugh, Mary S., Difficult characters: Interdisciplinary studies of Chinese and Japanese writing. Pathways to Advanced Skills Series, Volume VI. Columbus: National East Asian Language Resource Center, Ohio State University, 2002.
- Galambos, Imre, Orthography of early Chinese writing: Evidence from newly excavated manuscripts. Budapest, Department Of East Asian Studies, Eötvös Loránd University, 2006.
- Handel, Zev, “Can a logographic script be simplified? Lessons from the 20th century Chinese writing reform informed by recent psycholinguistic research”. Scripta, Volume 5, 2013, pp. 21-66.
- Handel, Zev, Sinography: The borrowing and adaptation of the Chinese script. Leiden: Brill, 2019.
- Kraus, Richard Kurt, Brushes with power. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
- Lunde, Ken, CJKV information processing. Sebastopol: O’Reilly, 1999.
- McCawley, James D., The eater’s guide to Chinese characters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
- Qiu, Xigui / 裘锡圭 [Qiú Xīguī], Chinese writing / 文字學概要, translated by Gilbert L. Mattos en Jerry Norman on the basis of two Chinese text editions: 北京 Peking: 商务印书馆 Shāngwù Yìnshūguǎn 1988 and 台北 Taipei: 萬卷樓 Wànjuànlóu 1994. Berkeley: The Society for Study of Ancient China and The Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2000.
- Unger, J. Marshall, Chinese characters and the myth of disembodied meaning. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004.
- Zhou, Youguang / 周有光 [Zhōu Yǒuguāng], The historical evolution of Chinese languages and scripts / 中国语文的时代演进, bilingual edition, English translation by Zhang Liqing / 张立青 [Zhāng Lìqīng]. Ohio State University: National East Asian Languages Resource Center, 2003.
Databases
- Chinese Type Archive / 字體資料庫
- 汉典
- 國際電腦漢字及異體字知識庫 / International Encoded Han Character and Variants Database.
- 汉字全息资源应用系统
Chinese Etymology / 字源
- 小學堂文字學資料庫
- 宋代墓志铭数据库 / China Stone Inscription Database – login @Leiden University Libraries
- zi.tools / 字統网
Journals
Journal of Chinese Writing Systems – login @Leiden University Libraries
- SCRIPTA: An International Journal of Codicology and Palaeography
Traditional texts online
- Scripta Sinica / 漢籍全文資料庫 – login @Leiden University Libraries
- 《說文解字》 @ Chinese Text Project (a.k.a. ctext.org)
- 《康熙字典》 網上版