Wu Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Sickness (bìng) Chen (9 strokes) Page 769, Entry 24 Pronounced zhen (rising tone). Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of Graphs and Analysis of Characters) defines this as a feverish illness. Book of Odes (Shijing): An illness like a headache. Commentary (Jian): The term means illness. Book of Rites (Liji): Serious illnesses do not arise, and there are no ominous signs. Also refers to the illness caused by a craving for delicacies. Zuo Tradition (Zuo Zhuan): Zangsun stated: A delicious but harmful illness is not as good as a bitter healing stone. The stone might yet save my life, but the deliciousness of the illness causes its poison to multiply. Pronounced chen (rising tone). Meaning is the same. Commonly written as zhen, and also written in a variant form.