Formalities

• Please check your syllabus for this course

  ...and contact me for any questions

• Teaching philosophy 

  • A seminar course: set-up & purpose

  • Cooperation; and a rationale for preparation in writing

  • Rhythm & timing; assignments & assessments during term

References

• Handbooks

• Toolboxes

   

Texts

• Chao (1980)

  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.
  

• Norman (1988)

  "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!
  

  
  

Assignments

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

• technical terms in English and in Mandarin (including the corresponding Chinese characters);

• names and dates for dynasties, historical periods and historical figures;

• geographical designations.

Note down any difficulties you may have in reading the text, and bring your notes to class.

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?

...and an encore

In the news: Throwing pens

Image source:   
Justin Sullivan / AFP   

As we saw in today's session (e.g. assignments 2c & 2f), the earliest known ancestor of Chinese character writing is the oracle bone script.

One curious fact (or non-fact?) about this script is that while it has escaped oblivion, no oracle-bone writing stylus has survived — or at least: none has been identified as such.

Fast forward to 2025, when a newly elected president turned the signing of executive orders into a public show.

9.  Now, keeping the thematic context of this course in mind, please list some similarities between the new president at the signing ceremony and an oracle bone scribe carving his text.

Texts

• IPA Charts

  from the International Phonetic Association:

• All official charts are on the IPA website

• Pat Keating has an IPA Chart with sound & video

   

• "An introduction to linguistic transcription"

• Wiedenhof (2015)

"§ 2.8  Phonology"

In: Jeroen Wiedenhof, A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015.

§ 2.8, pp. 53-55: see this week's Brightspace announcement

Assignments

Individual items:

10.  For Anna, Adrianna, Dorien, Kristina and Zhuolin:

• Please contact your classmates, ask them to share their class notes with you, and check these carefully
• Check the format requirements below
• Send me your answers to assignments 1 through 8 as a PDF file, attached to an email to
• Please use the following filename: <sgfx-week01-Surname.pdf>
• Deadline: Friday 7 February, 1:00pm

Format requirements

For all hand-ins:

• use double line spacing throughout
• identify your work (e.g. date, name, student number)
• PDF format only

During term, do feel free to come and discuss your work at all times

The assignments for this week's session are below.

A friendly reminder: make sure to prepare all your answers in writing, in English!

Last week's round-up:

11.  At the start of this this session, we will check two items left over from last week:

• Assignments 7a & 7b: check your answers again, and join in the discussion!

• The Encore (still relevant this week ;-)

Phonetics 101:

12.  A short overview will be presented in class.

Please prepare yourself by consulting some relevant materials:

• the IPA chart, especially the three sections labelled
  • "Consonants (pulmonic)",
  • "Vowels", and
  • "Tones and word accents"
• (if time permits: formants)

In all cases, please try to figure out the general structure and design of the IPA system.

Make sure to note down any problems you encounter, and bring these to class.

 

Linguistic transcription:

13.  Read Sections 1-3 of the "Introduction to linguistic transcription"

a.  Note down any questions or difficulties in this text.

b.  Test yourself by writing out the ten sentences under Section 5, "More exercises". We will check these in class.

14.  Read the three pages from Wiedenhof (2015).

Note down any questions or difficulties you run into, and bring your notes to class.

We will discuss your questions and remarks on a page-by-page basis.

15.  Now formulate in your own words what constitutes the division of labor between phonetics and phonology.

Two or three sentences will suffice, but you need to use at least two original examples in a language (or languages) of your choice.

Please pay special attention to the way your transcribe these examples.

...and an encore

In the news: Bu

Jeroen Wollaars, 5 Feb 25

Image & video source:
NOS Nieuwsuur

In our first session, we saw that our first task is to distinguish language and script.

This is not an easy task, so here is an extra opportunity to train this.

16.  Check out the 19-second clip being played here (or in the original newscast at the NOS site, listen to the short section from 1:02 to 1:21).

In this clip, the news anchor first greets his viewers with Goedenavond 'Good evening', then reads out a list of translations of Dutch nee in several languages.

a.  In how many languages, and can you name these languages?

b.  Identify the Sinitic sample in the clip, and tell us which language it represents.

c.  Does the clip also contain samples from scripts? How many scripts, and can you name these scripts?

d.  Now, for the language identified in b, see if you can note down in two or three sentences how a script influences the way in which a language is approached.

e.  Can the Sinitic syllable heard in this clip be written in Pinyin? If so: how? And if not: why not?

FYI — Lecture on ink rubbings

"Surface knowledge:

The roles and purposes of ink rubbings in- and outside China"

• Speaker: Oliver Moore, University of Groningen
• Date & time: Wed, 12 Feb 25, from 3:15 to 5:00pm
• Venue: Lipsius, room 0.30

Image source:
"A 16^th century ink rubbing"
Christies, 1 June 2015 

Organiser: China Seminar

Admission free

Texts

• Wiedenhof (2015)

Jeroen Wiedenhof, "The transcription of Mandarin"

In: A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015, pp. 414-428.

Availability:

• in the Asian Library at Leiden University, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
• as an e-book, through the University Library catalogue
• for Dutch readers: pp. 372-386 of Grammatica van het Mandarijn (PDF)

• 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.

Assignments

Group efforts:

17.  By way of an early warning: in session 4, we will be reading a Chinese text.

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 Session 4 together.
• As agreed within this group, I have shared a list of email addresses.

Image source:
Cliparts PUB

As discussed, this buddy-up request is more general. Please try to share and join forces in the spirit of this multidisciplinary seminar.

Individual items:

18.  For Adrianna, Emma, Rebecca, Shawn and Wieke:

• Please contact your classmates, ask them to share their class notes with you, and check these carefully
• Check the format requirements above
• Send me your answers to assignments 11 through 14 as a PDF file, attached to an email to
• Please use the following filename: <sgfx-week02-Surname.pdf>
• Deadline: Friday 14 February, 1:00pm

The assignments for this week's session are below.

A friendly reminder: make sure to prepare all your answers in writing, in English!

Last week's round-up:

19.  We start where we left off last week:

a.  Assignments 14 & 15: double-check your answers, and bring your contributions to class.

b.  Also check the Encore again, as an extra item 16(e) has been added.

c.  To round off Session 2, have an educated guess about the source of the pink illustration shown in the header of that session. (Hint: what elements can you identify?)

"The transcription of Mandarin":

20.  Read the text and bring your notes.

We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

21.  In your own words, describe the difference between Character Pinyin and Linguistic Pinyin.

22.  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.

"Purpose and effect":

23.  Read the text and bring your notes.

We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

24.  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.

...and the encore

25.  Check out this poster.

a.  How many syllables can we distinguish in the two lines of (bilingual) text shown here, i.e.

"大鹏一日因风起，Responsibility"?

b.  The poster includes an incomplete, "subtitle-style" transcription for the first line, i.e. the line quoted under (a).

Provide your full Pinyin transcription of that line as it would sound in Beijing Mandarin.

Texts & materials

• Cambridge University Library (2015)

Oracle Bone CUL.52

Interactive scans by Sketchfab, 2015

High resolution / Low resolution

 

• Keightley (1985)

"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.

• Lǐ (1989)

"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.

Background

• 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.

   

Reading notes

26.  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.

27.  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.

28.  "Wu Ting's reign" (Keightley 1985: 1):

Wikipedia has a list of Shang Kings.

Assignments

On Keightley's (1985) "Preamble":

29.  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.

30.  In the interactive scan above, please identify the "series of hollows" (Keightley 1985: 18) and "the characteristic pu 卜-shaped crack" (ibid.).

31.  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)

32.  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":

33.  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.

34.  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.

For more background, you may consult Djamouri (1992).

Texts

• Wiedenhof (2018)

"Writing on language"

Leiden: LIAS/LUCL, 2018

 

• Wiedenhof (2022)

"Observation: An historical example"

Leiden: LUCL, 2022

 

Assignments

Text reading

35.  Read this introduction: Writing on language.

  Note down any questions about or comments on the text.

  We will discuss your notes in class.

36.  Read this text: Observation: An historical example.

  Note down any questions about or comments on the text.

  We will discuss your notes in class.

Collecting and documenting your own observations

37.  Over the past few weeks, we checked a number of examples which might be of sinographic interest.

Some of these examples are repeated below, together with a couple of new items.

  a.  Now, for each of the six items below, write down at least one observation.

Small is beautiful: use one sentence per observation.

  b.  Find your own picture:

Bring your own illustration of sinographic interest to class – together with your observation.

Some food for (sinographic) thought

–Thanks to Marc Gilbert and Henning Klöter for materials and suggestions

 

 

...and an encore

On memorization: tips and tricks

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 15^th 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

38.   Reality check 😎

Can you memorize the ten Heavenly Branches?

Texts

• Whitfield (2009)

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.

• 

  Stein (1921)

• 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 (in Dutch: Bijzondere Collecties) 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 front desk of the Special Collections rooms 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.

   

Reading notes

Whitfield (2009):

39.  The map shown on p. 225 is available online as a scalable color map from the British Library.

Links to be updated

Here is a mirror for this resource.

Background

• 

  Whitfield (2004)

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 ALCRS00237, for this course.

• IDP (2009)

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

 

• Kornicki (2008)

Peter Kornicki, "Bluffing your way in Chinese".

Sandars Lectures in Bibliography,

Cambridge University Library, 11 March 2008.

Assignments

Dūnhuáng's linguistic treasures

40.  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?

41.  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.

42.  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.

43.  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.

44.  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

(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.

Texts

• Galambos (2006)

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.


 

• "Shuowen Jiezi"

From Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia

Image source: Archive.org

• 許 Xǔ (100)

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 Reserve Shelf for this course.

Assignments

This week's centerpiece:

45.  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.

In Block 3, class feedback for reading assignments turned out to be quite limited. So do check back on our Teaching philosophy  for this course!

Especially in Block 4, you can help make this course cater to your interests and needs.

As before, we will discuss your questions and remarks:

• for the Galambos chapter, on page-by-page basis
• for the Wikipedia article, on a section-by-section basis

46.  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 Shelf 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 select the 大徐本 edition!

You can view the scanned pages by hitting the 查看 button:

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

Looking ahead:

47.  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.

FYI — Manuscript Studies in Asia and Africa

Conference

Dates: 6-7 October 2025

Venue: Palazzo Corigliano, Naples

Oral presentation

On 7 April, as announced, a short oral presentation will be expected of you about the subject of your term paper.

Requirements:

• Your presentation will be in English
• 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 (fellow students from other departments may be invited to listen in)

Logistics:

• Maximum duration is four minutes – please time yourself in preparation!
• A short handout for the audience will come in handy, because it will save you time writing on the blackboard: please bring twelve printed copies
• Your handout shows only:
• your name, the date and the name of the course;
• your sinographic materials; and
• your research questions

The hand-out should not include any arguments or description, as you need to present those orally.

• Powerpoints are allowed, but only after prior consulation (over email). Note that setting up your system will cut into your four minutes!

Assignments

48.  Character writing styles:

First, check the description in Section 12.3.1 in A grammar of Mandarin (especially Figure 12.4)

Next, identify the English and Mandarin names for the script styles illustrated below.

Or, if the image does not correspond to any of the script styles mentioned there:

then please identify a Mandarin and/or English name, based on the materials covered in class.

     

1 ▼	2 ▼	3 ▼
4 ▼	5 ▼	6 ▼
7 ▼	8 ▼	9 ▼
10 ▼	11 ▼	12 ▼
13 ▼	14 ▼	15 ▼
16 ▼	17 ▼	18 ▼

 

Texts

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 downloadable PDF, through the University Library catalogue

Assignments

49.  Left over from last week: Assignment 48.

We covered the first six items last week, so we start from photo #7.

50.  Read the two new texts and bring your notes.

We will discuss your questions and remarks in class.

 

"The failed assault on Chinese characters"

51.  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.

52.  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?

53.  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)

54.  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"

55.  The first paragraph of p. 365 describes what characters "consist of".

What consequences can this phrase "consist of" have in terms of linguistic methodology?

56.  For each of the stroke-order principles in Table 12.5, try to find at least one exception.

57.  For native speakers of Mandarin:

in Table 12.10, compare these letter names with your own pronunciation, and note down any differences.

58.  In Table 12.11, can you think of punctuation marks which are missing?

59.  For "the sound /s/" at the bottom of page 371, check that you remember what the slashes transcribe.

Can you write these three examples – cent, sent and scent – using the same mode of transcription?

60.  At the bottom of p. 372, please formulate a (sinographically) critical note on the English translation "A book from the sky".

61.  The small text of p. 375, mentions a "danger of circularity".

Please formulate this danger in two or three sentences of your own.

62.  Some historical aspects of the character 年 are mentioned on p. 377.

What is the linguistic term for the relationship between 'millet', 'harvest' and 'year' discussed here?

63.  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"?

64.  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?

 

...and an encore

Characters on the menu in Hong Kong

65.  The news item carrying this photo mentions the term 非遺文化.

How would you translate this term; and/or what does it mean?

–Thanks to Yin Kwaan Mok for materials and suggestions

Text

Wiedenhof (2015)

Characters, syllables and morphemes (pp. 291-297)

In: Jeroen Wiedenhof, A grammar of Mandarin.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2015,

• § 10.1.2 "Free and bound morphemes" (pp. 291-293)
• 10.1.3 "Characters, syllables and morphemes" (pp. 293-297)

Availability at Leiden:

• from the Asian Library, on the linguistics handbooks shelves;
• as a downloadable PDF, through the University Library catalogue

Assignments

Hand-in

"Features of the Chinese script"

67.  These materials remains from our previous session:

today, we start from assignments 55 to 64.

Characters, syllables and morphemes

68.  Read the text (pp. 291-297) and bring your notes.

Please pay special attention to the examples provided here, and check if you can find comparable examples yourself.

In class, we will first discuss your questions and remarks about the text.

Assignments

69.  Please charge your laptop and bring it to class.

70.  Bring your draft version(s), my comments, your notes, and any literature to work with in class.

We will be reviewing your writing process, progress, and any problems on the way.

Today's venue is the entrance of the Leiden Wereldmuseum.

We meet at 3:00pm

After you enter the iron gates from Steenstraat, you find the museum entrance by continuing straight, along the canal at your right-hand side.

Click image for map details

Street address:

Steenstraat 1A

2312 BS Leiden

Image source:   
OpenStreetMap, 2025