Tones
See also: Four tonesThe Qieyun classified characters in four parts according to their tone: even tone (píngshēng 平聲), rising tone (shǎngshēng 上聲), departing tone (qùshēng 去聲), and entering tone (rùshēng 入聲). The "entering tone", also known as a "checked tone", actually refers to syllables characterized by a final stop consonant (/p/, /t/, or /k/) rather than a distinct pitch.
It is difficult to determine the exact contours of the other tones. Karlgren interpreted the names literally as level, rising and falling pitches, respectively. In 《元和韻譜》 is written 「平聲哀而安，上聲厲而舉，去聲清而遠，入聲直而促」, which approximately translates (somewhat cryptically) as "Level tone, sad but safe; rising tone, vigorous and high; departing tone, clear and far; entering tone, straight and short."
Read more about this topic: Middle Chinese, Phonology
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