Editing Classical Chinese (section)

== Phonology ==
{{Further|Old Chinese phonology|Middle Chinese}}
[[Chinese characters]] are not [[phonetic]] and rarely reflect later [[sound changes]] in words. Efforts to reconstruct Old Chinese pronunciation began relatively recently. Literary Chinese is not read with a reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciation; instead, it is read with the pronunciations as categorized and listed in a [[rime dictionary]] originally based upon the Middle Chinese pronunciation in [[Luoyang]] between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Over time, each dynasty updated and modified the official rime dictionary: by the time of the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] and [[Ming dynasty|Ming dynasties]], its phonology reflected that of early Mandarin. As the [[imperial examination]] system required the candidate to compose poetry in the ''[[Shi (poetry)|shi]]'' genre, pronunciation in non-Mandarin speaking parts of China such as [[Zhejiang]], [[Guangdong]] and [[Fujian]] is either based on everyday speech, such as in [[Standard Cantonese]], or is based on a special set of pronunciations borrowed from Classical Chinese, such as in [[Southern Min]]. In practice, all varieties of Chinese combine the two extremes of pronunciation: that according to a prescribed system, versus that based on everyday speech. Mandarin and Cantonese, for example, also have words that are pronounced one way in colloquial usage and another way when used in Literary Chinese or in specialized terms coming from Literary Chinese, though the system is not as extensive as that of [[Min Chinese|Min]] or [[Wu Chinese|Wu]].

Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese readers of Literary Chinese each use distinct systems of pronunciation specific to their own languages. Japanese speakers have readings of Chinese origin called {{tlit|ja|on'yomi}} for many words, such as for "ginko" ({{lang|ja|銀行}}) or "Tokyo" ({{lang|ja|東京}}), but use {{tlit|ja|kun'yomi}} when the kanji represents a native word such as the reading of {{lang|ja|行}} in {{lang|ja|行く}} ({{tlit|ja|iku}}) or the reading of both characters in "[[Osaka]]" ({{lang|ja|大阪}}), as well as a system that aids Japanese speakers with a Classical word order.

As pronunciation in modern varieties is different from Old Chinese as well as other historical forms such as [[Middle Chinese]], characters that once rhymed may not any longer, or vice versa. Poetry and other rhyme-based writing thus becomes less coherent than the original reading must have been. However, some modern Chinese varieties have certain phonological characteristics that are closer to the older pronunciations than others, as shown by the preservation of certain rhyme structures.

Another particular characteristic of Literary Chinese is its present [[homophone|homophony]]. Reading Classical texts with character pronunciations from modern languages results in many homophonous characters that originally had distinct Old Chinese pronunciations, but have since merged to varying degrees. This phenomenon is far more common in Chinese languages than in English: for example, each of the following words had a distinct Old Chinese pronunciation, but are now perfectly homophones with a pronunciation of {{tlit|zh|yì}} {{IPAc-cmn|AUD|Zh-yì.ogg|yi|4}} in Standard Chinese:{{sfn|Creel|Chang|Rudolph|1948|p=4}}

{| display=presentation
|{{tlit|och|*ŋjajs}} || {{zhi|c=議|l=discuss}} || {{tlit|och|*ŋjət}} || {{zhi|c=仡|l=powerful}}
|-
|{{tlit|och|*ʔjup}} || {{zhi|c=邑|l=city}} || {{tlit|och|*ʔjək}} || {{zhi|c=億|l=100 million}}
|-
|{{tlit|och|*ʔjəks}} || {{zhi|c=意|l=thought}} || {{tlit|och|*ʔjek}} || {{zhi|c=益|l=increase}}
|-
|{{tlit|och|*ʔjik}} || {{zhi|c=抑|l=press down}} || {{tlit|och|*jak}} || {{zhi|c=弈|l=[[Go (game)|Go]]}}
|-
|{{tlit|och|*ljit}} || {{zhi|c=逸|l=flee}} || {{tlit|och|*ljək}} || {{zhi|c=翼|l=wing}}
|-
|{{tlit|och|*ljek}} || {{zhi|c=易|l=change}} || {{tlit|och|*ljeks}} || {{zhi|c=易|l=easy}}
|-
|{{tlit|och|*slek}} || {{zhi|c=蜴|l=lizard}}.{{sfn|Baxter|1992|pp=802–803}}
|}

The poem ''[[Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den]]'' was composed during the 1930s by the linguist [[Yuen Ren Chao]] to demonstrate this: it contains only words pronounced {{tlit|zh|shi}} {{IPAc-cmn|shi}} with various tones in modern Standard Chinese. The poem underlines how language had become impractical for modern speakers: when spoken aloud, Literary Chinese is largely incomprehensible. However, the poem is perfectly comprehensible when read, and also uses homophones that were present even in Old Chinese.

Romanizations have been devised to provide distinct spellings for Literary Chinese words, together with pronunciation rules for various modern varieties. The earliest was the ''{{lang|fr|Romanisation Interdialectique}}'' by French missionaries {{ill|Henri Lamasse|fr}} of the [[Paris Foreign Missions Society]] and Ernest Jasmin, based on Middle Chinese, followed by linguist [[Wang Li (linguist)|Wang Li]]'s {{zhi|p=Wényán luómǎzì}} based on Old Chinese in 1940, and then by Chao's [[General Chinese]] romanization in 1975. However, none of these systems have seen extensive use.{{sfn|Branner|2006|pp=209–232}}{{sfn|Chen|1999|pp=173–174}}