A Brief History of the Chinese Language I

As the first volume of a multi-volume set on Chinese phonetics, this book gives a full picture of the historical development of the Chinese language and studies the phonetics of the early form of Chinese, i.e. Old Chinese.

Xi Xiang is Professor at Sichuan University (China) and a distinguished linguist. His research interests are focused on Chinese language history and Chinese linguistics. His major works include A Brief History of Chinese, the Dictionary of Poetry Classics, Commentary on the Translation of Poetry Classics, the Dictionary of Ancient Chinese Knowledge, and the Concise Ancient Chinese Dictionary, among others.

1. Research Purpose, Significance, Perspectives, and Methodology 2. Grounded Basis of Studying the History of the Chinese Language 3. The Development of the Chinese Language and the Race of the Han Society 4. The Development of Chinese Characters and the Developmental History of the Chinese Language 5. Phases and Stages of the Developmental History of the Chinese Language 6. The Initial System of Old Chinese Language 7. The Rhyme Group System (1) of the Old Chinese Language 8. The Rhyme Group System (2) of the Old Chinese Language 9. The Tone System of Old Chinese Language