Zi Collection, Page Position: Lower. Radical: Ladle (bi). bi. Kangxi Dictionary Stroke Count: 2. Page Number: 152, Column: 18. In the Tang Rimes (Tangyun), the pronunciation is given as the sounds lu and qie. In the Collected Rimes (Jiyun) and the Collected Rhymes (Yunhui), it is given as the sounds bu and lu. In the Correct Rimes (Zhengyun), it is given as the sounds bu and wei. It is pronounced similarly to the sound bi. The Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi) explains that bi represents things arranged in comparison with each other. It also refers to a tool used for serving rice, also known as a si. The Jade Chapters (Yupian) defines it as a spoon. In the Book of Changes (Yijing), under the Zhen Hexagram, it is recorded that one does not lose the ladle and the sacrificial ale. The Minor Odes section of the Book of Odes (Shijing) mentions curved ladles made of jujube wood. The commentary explains these are ladles made from jujube wood used to take meat out of a tripod cauldron and place it on a sacrificial stand. The Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) in the Biography of the Former Lord Liu records that while Liu Bei was eating, he was so startled that he dropped his spoon and chopsticks. The term also refers to a bishou, or dagger. The Popular Words (Tongsuwen) records that this belongs to the category of swords; the head is shaped like a ladle and it is short and easy to use, thus it is called a bishou. The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) in the Hereditary House of Wu records that Zhuan Zhu hid a dagger inside a roasted fish to assassinate King Liao of Wu. In the Biographies of Assassins, it is recorded that Jing Ke went to the State of Qin to present the map of the Dukang region of Yan; when the map was unrolled to the very end, the dagger was revealed. The commentary states that Jing Ke plotted for years but failed because a dagger of one foot and eight inches was not enough to rely on. The Garden of Stories (Shuoyuan) by Liu Xiang records that it is a short sword of one foot and eight inches with a head shaped like a ladle.