Zi Collection, Upper Volume, Page 731, Entry 05 The Broad Rhymes (Guangyun) states the pronunciation is qian (falling tone). The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) states the pronunciation is qian (rising tone), which is the same as the character qian. The Dialect (Fangyan) by Yang Xiong records: Hu is a term meaning joy. The commentary explains: Hu-hu, a term describing a happy appearance. In The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), this character is sometimes written in a variant form (xian). Additionally, The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) states the pronunciation is xian (rising tone). It is the same as the character xian. A detailed explanation can be found in the commentary for the character xian below.