Yin Collection, Middle Volume Radical: River (chuān) Kangxi stroke count: 3 Page 323, Entry 18 Pronounced chuan. The original form of the character for river. Shuowen Jiezi states: The character depicts river water flowing through and circulating. The Book of Yu (Yushu) says: Dredge the ditches and canals so they flow into the great rivers. This means that deeply dug channels collect water, which then gathers into a great river. Note: In current versions of the Book of Documents (Shangshu), specifically the Canon of Shun (Shundian), the character for trench is written as quan-kuai, and the character for river is written as chuan. Although the characters differ, the meanings are the same. Also, per the Dictionary Supplement (Zihuibu), it is an ancient form of the character for hair falling out (shun). Detailed notes are available under the Hair (biāo) radical, nine strokes.