Baihua: Zum Problem der Verschriftung gesprochener Sprache im Chinesischen, dargestelit anhand morphologischer Merkmale in den bianwen aus Dunhuang.

• Author: MAIR, VICTOR H.
• Position: Review

Baihua: Zum Problem der Verschriftung gesprochener Sprache im Chinesischen, dargestelit anhand morphologischer Merkmale in den bianwen aus Dunhuang. By THOMAS ZIMMER. Monumenta Serica Monograph Series, vol. 40. Nettetal: STEYLER VERLAG, 1999. Pp. xiv + 287. DM 70 (paper).

The first word of the title, which is also the very first word in the book, presents scholars with formidable problems. Citing Zhang Zhongxing (Wenyan he baihua, p. 1), Thomas Zimmer claims that the meaning of baihua may be literally translated as "spoken language" (gesprochene Sprache). This definition, however, is questionable in at least six respects: lexically, historically, etymologically, morphologically, functionally, and logically. Since this is intended to be a short, laudatory review, I shall try to be as succinct as possible in explaining why the definition of baihua as "spoken language" is debatable in each of these six respects.

As a matter of fact, there is no unanimity of opinion among Chinese lexicographers concerning the precise signification of baihua. Perhaps because it is such a nettlesome term, Zhongwen da cidian declines to define it at all! The Far East Chinese-English Dictionary (1992 ed.)--usually a reliable and reputable resource--defines baihua as "spoken Chinese; vernacular Chinese," but the problematic nature of the first definition is evident from the oxymoronic illustrative sentence provided by the compilers themselves: zhe gushi yi baihua xiecheng ("this story is written in spoken Chinese"), the English translation of which doesn't really make sense when you think about it (the Mandarin original is acceptable--we will discover why momentarily). It is natural and fair enough that the best Chinese-English dictionaries (e.g., Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage [1972]; the Han-Ying cidian, published by Waiyu jiaoxue yu yanjiu chubanshe [1995]) all define baihua as "vernacular," but--as we shall se e below--a lot depends upon exactly what one means by this English word.

When we examine more specialized linguistics dictionaries, a clearer sense of what baihua is begins to emerge. The Yuyanxue baike cidian [Encyclopedic Dictionary of Linguistics] (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 1993), explicitly says that baihua is "A type of written Sinitic (Hanyu); opposite of Literary Sinitic (wenyan). It began to develop during the Tang and Song periods; based largely on northern speech (beifanghua), it is relatively close to spoken language (kouyu)" (p. 124a). This reserved, nuanced definition of baihua is shared by Zhongguo yuyanxue da cidian (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Chinese Linguistics) (Nanchang: Jiangxi jiaoyu chubanshe, 1991): "Also called baihuawen. Opposite of Literary Sinitic (wenyan). Basically formed around the end of the Tang and especially the Song and Yuan periods on the basis of northern spoken language" (p. 635b). Hanyu da cidian, currently considered to be the most authoritative dictionary of Sinitic, states flatly (vol. 8, p. 203b) that baihua is "A type of writt en Sinitic." And so it is.

Historically, baihua as "a type of written Sinitic" is a relatively late usage. Already in the Ming period, this disyllabic word conveyed the meaning of "baseless talk" (the superb ABC Chinese-English Dictionary gives this as its second definition) and by the Qing period it was frequently used in the sense of "chat (idly/leisurely)."...