Proper noun
Middle Chinese
Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties (6th century - 10th century)
Synonym: (obsolete) Ancient Chinese
Coordinate terms: Old Chinese, Middle Chinese
Specifically, words that had the Middle Chinese ping (level) tone are now distributed over tones 1 and 2 in Mandarin Chinese, while the Middle Chinese shang (rising) and qu (exiting) tones have become Mandarin Chinese tones 3 and 4, respectively. Source: Internet
The Middle Chinese final stops have undergone a variety of developments in different Mandarin dialects (see Tones below). Source: Internet
Southern Chinese varieties like Cantonese and Hakka preserved more of the rimes of Middle Chinese and also have more tones. Source: Internet