Bopomofo

Zhuyin fuhao, Zhuyin or Bopomofo is a system of phonetic notation for the transcription of spoken Chinese, particularly the Mandarin dialect. The first two are traditional terms, whereas Bopomofo is the colloquial term, also used by the ISO and Unicode. Consisting of 37 characters and four tone marks, it transcribes all possible sounds in Mandarin. Zhuyin was introduced in China by the Republican Government in the 1910s and used alongside the Wade-Giles system, which used a modified Latin alphabet. The Wade system was replaced by Hanyu Pinyin in 1958 by the Government of the People's Republic of China, and at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982. Although Taiwan officially abandoned Wade-Giles in 2009, Bopomofo is still the official phonetic notation system of the country and remains widely used as an educational tool and electronic input method in Taiwan.

Name

The informal name "Bopomofo" is derived from the first four syllables in the conventional ordering of available syllables in Mandarin Chinese. The four Bopomofo characters (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) that correspond to these syllables are usually placed first in a list of these characters. The same sequence is sometimes used by other speakers of Chinese to refer to other phonetic systems.

Zhulong (mythology)

Zhulong (Chinese: 燭龍; pinyin: zhúlóng; Wade–Giles: chu-lung; literally: "torch dragon") or Zhuyin (Chinese: 燭陰; pinyin: zhúyīn; Wade–Giles: chu-yin; literally: "illuminating darkness", or "Torch Shadow") was a giant red draconic solar deity in Chinese mythology. It supposedly had a human's face and snake's body, created day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and created seasonal winds by breathing.

Names

The keyword in the names Zhuyin and Zhulong is zhu 燭 (simplified 烛) "torch; candle; shine upon; illuminate; light up" (cf. zhuo 灼 "burn; illuminate; bright"). One alternate Chuci name below writes zhu with the variant Chinese character zhuo 逴 or 趠 "quarrel, squabble; distant, far".

Zhuyin uses zhu as a verb "illuminate; brighten" with yin 陰 (simplified 阴) "dark; shady; cloudy; overcast", which is the feminine principle of Yin and Yang. Yin recurs below in the term jiuyin 九陰 "ninefold darkness".

Zhulong uses zhu as a modifier "torch; candle" with long 龍 (simplified 龙) "Chinese dragon". Compare the homophone zhulong 燭籠 "lantern" with long 籠 "basket; cage; receptacle".