Abstract: There are eight ways of diff erent reading of tu ( 荼 ), represented by its diff erent consonants of
ding ( 定 ), shu ( 书 ), yi ( 以 ), cheng ( 澄 ), chuan ( 船 ), xie ( 邪 ), and the diff erent vowels of yu ( 鱼 ),
mu ( 模 ) and ma ( 麻 ). The distribution of middle ancient phonology with yu ( 余 ) as it’s phonotactic
symbol is consistent with the distribution of the pronunciation of tu ( 荼 ). Because the initial consonant
of yu ( 余 ) is the phonotactic symbol, it is speculated that the related diff erent reading of the word tu
( 荼 ) is related to the evolution of the initial consonant of yi ( 以 ) in ancient times, mainly manifested
as the blockage of the consonant, the alternation between the yi ( 以 ) and the xie ( 邪 ), the alternation
between the yi ( 以 )、shu ( 书 ) and the chuan ( 船 ). As for the relationships of shape, sound and
meaning between tu ( 荼 ) and cha ( 茶 ), because the ancient low vowels are not high, the second class
of Ma yun has been preserved, which is related to zhaijiaqie ( 宅加切 ) in GuangYun. From the middle
ages, tea drinking becomes more and more popular. To distinguish semantics, tu ( 荼 ) is writen as the
cha ( 茶 ) for the sake of brevity. The word retained the original hemp rhyme pronunciation, although
its pronunciation split from the original yi ( 以 ) and later ding ( 定 ) because of the emerge of tongue
sounds. Its vowel is still close to the ancient pronunciation yu ( 鱼 ). Modern Min language retains
the ancient pronunciation of the word cha ( 茶 ).Dai language, Zhuang language and part of Miao Yao
language may be remnants of ancient or middle ancient Chinese sound.
李 福 言. “荼”字异读及相关问题研究[J]. 汉字汉语研究, 2022, 19(3): 78-.
LI Fuyan. Research on Diff erent Reading of tu ( 荼 ) and its Related Problems. THE STUDY OF CHINESE CHARACTERS AND LANGUAGE, 2022, 19(3): 78-.
