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Middle Chinese ( ), also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties . The term "Middle Chinese", in contrast to Old Chinese and Modern Chinese, is usually used in the context of historical Chinese phonology, which seeks to reconstruct the pronunciation of Chinese used during these times.
Middle Chinese can be divided into an early period, generally called Early Middle Chinese (EMC, c. 5th � 7th century AD), and a later period, Late Middle Chinese (LMC, c. 10th � 12th century AD). EMC is usually connected with the Sui dynasty and early Tang dynasty rime dictionaries, especially the Qieyun (601 AD), while LMC is usually connected with Song dynasty rime tables, especially the Yunjing (c. 1150 AD). The transition point between EMC and LMC is often associated with the development of labiodental initials /f v mv/ from earlier bilabial initials /p pʰ b m/ in particular phonological environments (see below). Because the Chinese writing system does not reflect phonological changes, it is unclear when exactly this change happened, although labiodentals are already present in the Jiyun rime dictionary (1037 AD).
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