Middle Chinese
Tiongkor Harnguo (中古漢語 Middle Chinese)
- Literary layer of Hokkien can be related to Middle Chinese
- Literary form of Hokkien, used at one time for formal writing, now largely extinct
- Literary readings are more similar to Middle Chinese than their colloquial equivalents
- The bulk of literary readings of Harnji are based on Tang dynasty pronunciations, mainly used in formal phrases and written language
- Most scholars now believe MC represents the Southern and Northern Dynasties