Edwin G. Pulleyblank
"Shén" (in rising 2nd tone) is the Modern Standard Chinese pronunciation of "god, deity; spirit, spiritual, supernatural; awareness, consciousness etc". Reconstructions of "shén" in Middle Chinese (ca. 6th-10th centuries CE) include "dź'jěn" (Bernhard Karlgren, substituting "j" for his "yod medial"), "źiɪn" (Zhou Fagao), "ʑin" (Edwin G. Pulleyblank, "Late Middle"), and "zyin" (William H. Baxter). Reconstructions of "shén" in Old Chinese (ca. 6th-3rd centuries BCE) include *"djěn" (Karlgren), *"zdjien" (Zhou), *"djin" (Li Fanggui), *"Ljin" (Baxter), and *"m-lin" (Axel Schuessler).