A Handbook of 'Phags-Pa Chinese

I. The 'Phags-pa Chinese Script: Its Invention, Textual Attestation, and Historical Background

I The 'Phags-pa Chinese Script Its Invention, Textual Attestation, and Historical Background 1.1 The Invention of the Script The 'Phags-pa script is named for its creator, the 'Phags-pa (lit., "excellent, glorious") Lama, a Tibetan who was active in the court of the Mongol emperor Qubilai (i.e., Kublai Khan, Yuan Shizu 7GtI:t*£!.. 1215-1294). The full name of the 'Phags-pa Lama (which epithet is actually a title rather than a name) was 'Gro-mgon 'Phags-pa Blo-gros rgyal-mtshan. There exists a surprisingly large corpus of biographical information on him in Chinese, Tibetan, and Mongolian sources. A discussion of these, with a digest of their contents and a comprehensive list of translations and related studies, is given by Nakano (1971: 24-41). For a very detailed recent study of the Tibetan bibliographical sources, see Wling QHang (2001). The lama was born in Tibet in either 1235 or 1239, a scion of the noble Sa-skya clan. As a young man he accompanied his uncle, Sa-skya paI).Qita, on a trip to Mongolia, where he remained after his uncle's death. In 1253 he was summoned by Prince Qubilai, who received him in audience and was much impressed by him.1 From that point on he became a member of Qubilai's retinue. In 1260 Qubilai ascended the throne and appointed the 'Phags-pa Lama National Preceptor (GuashI ~§lfi), charging him with the task of developing an alphabet. This alphabet was completed in 1269, whereupon it was promulgated in an imperial edict. The text of this edict is preserved in the Yu{wshl7G5t: and is reproduced by Lua and Cai (1959: 9-10) and JUnast and Yang (1987: 1). It has been translated into Western languages a number of times. An English translation that includes part of the wider Yuansh I passage in which it occurs was made by Leon Hurvitz and included in Poppe (1957: 5). Another English translation is that of Cheng (1985: 148, n. 15). Parallel passages from other sources are translated by Nakano (1971: 35-36, n. 42). A Handbook of 'Phags-pa Chinese We now reproduce part of the edict text, together with a translation adapted from those of Hurvitz and Cheng. Having discussed the general benefits of writing and the Mongols' previous lack of a practicable system, the edict continues as follows:2 ~•• '~~&~~.~,~~~*o~~ffl~R'W*.~M'~ -{~f!3UJ3t.~*ffi ' ~~Jfp~gffiJ\J~ES~U~~tI*JT* ' ~~-W~* ' M~.~.$WBo~~~ttA~••~~~'~m~tI~*,m~ .D);tt~*;UZ 0 If we examine this matter with regard to the Liao and JIn, and to the countries of remote areas, as a rule each has its own script. Nowadays civilized polity has gradually come to flourish, and yet we lack a writing system. The institutions of our dynasty are in fact not yet complete. Wherefore, we specifically command the National Preceptor, 'Phags-pa, to create a new Mongolian script, in order to transcribe all writing systems, our expectation being simply to facilitate smooth communication. From this time forward, whatever documents are issued under the Imperial Seal are to use the new Mongolian script, with the national writing of each [other] country alongside. From this passage several significant points emerge. At the outset it becomes clear that the new writing was to be first and foremost a "Mongolian script," i.e., a national writing system for Mongolian, such as the Khitans and Jurchens, also non-Sinitic peoples who had conquered China, had possessed for their own languages. It therefore seems probable that the writing of Mongolian was the first problem the 'Phags-pa Lama had to address in his orthography project. However, the new script was also to be used to "transcribe" (ylxie~~) other scripts. This did not simply mean that these materials were to be translated into 'Phags-pa Mongolian. Rather, it was specifically stipulated that the new forms should appear beside native written forms of languages other than Mongolian and should thus phonetically transcribe those languages in the new system. This might seem to imply that the script was intended to have a single, unified phonetic value, like today's International Phonetic Alphabet, so that readers of the Mongolian system could then pronounce forms written in other languages. But in actual practice this does not seem to have been the case. For we know, for instance, that Chinese 'Phags-pa had letters which Mongolian 'Phags-pa did not. And it appears, in fact, that each language had its...