Computer Description of Old Chinese Phonological System Based on Graph Theory

Abstract

This paper, based on the theories and fruits of Old Chinese Phonology, uses the graph model in mathematics as the method to describe the initial-rhyme relationships of Old Chinese, and the Euclidean distance on 2-dimensional plane to represent the distance between sounds in the phonological harmony. Although the model is still in its infancy and there is still a lot of room for refinement and development by experts on Old Chinese phonology, it provides a more intuitive method of quantitative analysis for the long established qualitative study of Old Chinese phonology which would have some very practical uses in this field, such as the research of Xiesheng system of Chinese characters, or the the research of Chinese Etymology.