Old Chinese etymologies

Purpose

This is an experiment in putting etymological information on Chinese words into HTML format so that others can easily access it, regardless of computer format, and so that I can regularly update it in a single place.

The primary technical problems to be solved, and my preliminary solutions, are as follows:

Chinese characters

For now, I use in-line graphic images (GIFs) whenever Chinese characters are needed, since not everyone has Chinese characters in their computer system, and not all systems are the same.

phonetic symbols

All forms and reconstructions are represented in ASCII symbols. For now, I will use the IPA-ASCII symbols (with some adaptations), enclosed in square brackets.

pinyin

Modern Mandarin forms are cited in pinyin romanization, with 1, 2, 3, 4 at the end of the syllable instead of tone marks. For the umlaut-u "ü", I use the regular HTML character entity "ü", which should be correctly interpreted by any HTML browser.

For now, one page will have a brief entry for each character, including modern Mandarin, Middle Chinese (in the system of my Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology, 1992), Old Chinese (in two forms: first, in square brackets, the system of my forthcoming "Old Chinese Version 1.1" then, in parentheses, the system described in my Handbook), and then a brief definition. Clicking on the character will link to a separate page on that word, with more detailed explanations, possible cognates in other languages, etc.

Links to items