Kanbun-Kundoku is a Japanese reading system of interpreting classical Chinese text. By adding additional syntax to the original text, we can indicate how it should be read in Japanese.
Here is a simple sample text in Classical Chinese (Kanbun):
世有伯樂、然後有千里馬。
There are two main components of Kanbun-Kundoku. The first is Okurigana (送り仮名), which indicates the Japanese reading of the Chinese word, and the second is Kaeriten (返り点), which indicates the sequence of the text. Take a note, we should not rearrange the Chinese text sequence, the sequence is indicated by Kaeriten.
For Okurigana, it is the add-on words to the original text indicating the Japanese reading of the word. In this example, since we are using horizontal writing (Yokogaki, 横書き), the okurigana should be at the bottom right after the text, and should be written in Katakana (カタカナ).
世 有 伯樂 、 然 後 有 千里 馬 。
ニ リ 、 ル ニ リ ノ 。
By adding the Okurigana, we can now see how the text should be read in Japanese. However, we still need to rearrange the text to make it into proper Japanese.
Then is the Kaeriten (返り点), the sequence indicator to make the text readable in Japanese. There are several types of Kaeriten, including RE ten (レ点), 123 ten (一二三点), etc. In this example, we use 123 ten to indicate the sequence of the text where the number indicates the order of the word to be read.
二 一 二 一
世 有 伯樂 、 然 後 有 千里 馬 。
ニ リ 、 ル ニ リ ノ 。
Lastly, optionally, we can add furigana (振り仮名) to the text to indicate the reading of the word. It should be at the top of the text.
よ あ はくらく しか のち あ せんり うま。
二 一 二 一
世 有 伯樂 、 然 後 有 千里 馬 。
ニ リ 、 ル ニ リ ノ 。
Here is the final result of the translated Kanbun and its original text:
世有伯樂、然後有千里馬。
世に伯樂有り、然る後に千里の馬有り。
