Hai Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Bird (niǎo) Character: Bao Kangxi stroke count: 15 Page 1484, Entry 05 Pronounced bao (rising tone) Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of Simple and Compound Characters): This is a type of bird. Guo Pu says: The bao resembles a wild goose but lacks a hind toe, and its feathers feature spots like those of a leopard. Another name for it is the solitary leopard. Book of Odes (Shijing), Odes of Tang: Swiftly flap the wings of the bao. Mao Commentary: The habit of the bao is that it does not roost in trees. The Correct Meaning says: The toes of the bao are joined; if it were to roost in a tree, it would be in great distress. Therefore, it is used as a metaphor for the gentleman performing military service, which is dangerous and arduous. Piya (Essential Explanations of Characters): The habit of the bao is to live in groups like the wild goose, naturally forming lines and formations. Thus, the character is derived from the element indicating orderly arrangement. Zhengzitong (Comprehensive Dictionary of Characters): Lu Dian says it is also called the hong-leopard. Yilin (Forest of Changes) says: Patterned mountain hong-leopard. Furthermore, Duan Chengshi says: When the bao encounters a fierce bird, it can eject excrement to attack it; if the excrement touches the feathers of the opponent, they will all fall out. Guangyun (Broad Rhymes) notes it is also written in a variant form. It is also the name of a type of horse. It is the same as the character for a piebald horse, referring to a black-maned horse. Book of Odes (Shijing), Odes of Zheng: Uncle went to the fields, riding a team of black-spotted horses. Commentary: A black horse with mixed-colored hair is called a bao. In ancient times, the characters were interchangeable.