Some problems involving Proto-Mǐn onsets and new Old Chinese

Abstract The Mǐn languages are crucial for the study of early Chinese, and Baxter and Sagart’s (2014) new Old Chinese system aims to prioritize Jerry Norman’s Proto-Mǐn of the 1970s. This report describes three key problems relating to the reconstruction of Proto-Mǐn syllable onsets, observing that, in relation to each problem, Baxter and Sagart’s new Old Chinese system is affected by serious errors with respect to data and methodology.