Mao Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Tapping (pū) Defeat; Kangxi stroke count: 11 Page 471, Entry 15 Ancient form: Bei (bèi), Bei (bèi) Broad Rhymes (Guangyun), Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), Rhyme Meetings (Yunhui), Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun): Pronounced mai (falling tone). Explanation of Characters (Shuowen): Destroy or ruin. Approaching Elegance (Erya): To topple or overturn. Explanation of Names (Shiming): To collapse or disperse. Also, to damage. Jade Chapters (Yupian): To shatter or break. Expanded Rhymes (Zengyun): To injure or damage. Also, to decay or decline. Book of Changes (Yijing): Be respectful and cautious so as not to be defeated. Book of Documents (Shangshu): To violate moral principles and damage virtue. Zuo Tradition (Zuozhuan): In the state of Chu, the official title Si was referred to as Sibai. Analects (Lunyu): When the Sibai asked if Duke Zhao understood the rituals. Approaching Elegance (Erya): Meat is described as bai. Commentary: Rotting or rancid. Analects (Lunyu): Fish is rotten and meat is spoiled. Broad Rhymes (Guangyun): Pronounced bai (falling tone); Collected Rhymes (Jiyun): Pronounced bai (falling tone); Rhyme Meetings (Yunhui), Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun): Pronounced bai (falling tone). To defeat another is called bai. Expanded Rhymes (Zengyun): Whenever an object is not self-destructing but is destroyed by an outside force, it is pronounced bai (falling tone). If an object destroys itself, it is pronounced mai (falling tone). Book of Odes (Shijing): Do not cut and do not ruin. Sound and Meaning (Yinyi): Pronounced mai (falling tone). Zuo Tradition (Zuozhuan): Whenever an army engages an enemy and the outcome is undecided, it is called bai. A total collapse is called baiji. Yanshi Jiaxun: Scholars in the Jiangnan region reading the Zuo Tradition have passed down oral traditions, creating their own rules. They claim that when one's own army is defeated it is called bai, and when one defeats another's army it is called bai (falling tone), but these pronunciations are not found in various records or biographies. Xu Xianmin read the Zuo Tradition, and only one instance suggests this pronunciation. Furthermore, failing to distinguish between being defeated and defeating others is a forced interpretation. Rhyme Supplement (Yunbu): Rhymes with mei (falling tone). Xunzi: Achievement is established but one is dismissed, the enterprise succeeds but the family declines. Abandon the old and shelter their descendants.