Chou Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Woman (nǚ) Ban Kangxi Stroke Count: 8 Page 258, Entry 07 Guangyun (Comprehensive Rhymes) and Jiyun (Combined Rhymes) both provide the phonetic reading. Pronounced ban. Shuowen (Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters) states: it refers to the physiological discharge of women. According to the Han Statutes (Han lü): A woman undergoing this cycle may not attend sacrificial rites. In ancient times, when wives were scheduled to wait upon their husbands, those experiencing their monthly cycles would mark their faces with cinnabar. Some say it refers to a pregnancy injury, but that is incorrect.