Kung,
shan,
chiao,
chin,
yü are used in three ways: (1) as musical terms, (2) as expressions of the
gogyô (five natural elements), and (3) as terms used in phonology. Although they were originally used as musical terms, they came to be employed in the latter two senses.
1. As musical terms they describe the way the five sounds
kung,
shang,
chiao,
chin,
yü are obtained. The sounds are obtained in two ways (1) the
sanbukyoistu or -
sonitsu method first divides the
Ritsukan (pitch pipe) into three equal lengths and then shortens it one third the length, (2)
Sanbu-ekiitsu method, on the other hand, makes the pitch pipe one third the length longer. By repeating this procedure of adding and subtracting one-third lengths of the pitch pipe, the above five sounds are produced. There is, however, a one and a half tone difference between
chiao and
chin, and between
yü and high
kung. In addition to these five sounds, as music theory progressed,
pien-chin and
pien-kung were made. And these are equal to “c, d, e, f
#, g, a, b”.
Pien represents a half tone lower (flat).
2. These five characters also came to be used as terms representing the five natural elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). Since these characters first represented different levels of pitch or sound they later came to associated with such rankings as
kun (lord),
shin (retainer),
min (commoners),
ji (works),
butsu (things), or again with such listings as the
gohô (five directions), the
gozô (five internal organs), the
gomi (five tastes), and the
gotei (five kings). In later ages, it influenced the thought of
Shinsen (divine ascetics) and Taoism.
3. From the original sense of “sound” or “pitch”, these characters were used to refer to the
shisei (four tones in Chinese speech). Moreover, they were used to represent the places of articulation (e. g., palatals). Outstanding examples of this way of representing places of articulation are found in phonology texts of the Sung Dynasty.
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