Wu Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Jade (yù) Cong Kangxi strokes: 13 Page 735, Entry 04 Pronounced cong. As defined in the Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen): A ritual jade eight inches in size, resembling a carriage hub. Xu says: This refers to its shape, which is octagonal on the outside and circular on the inside. As defined in the Jade Chapters (Yupian): The cong jade is octagonal, symbolizing the earth. Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Spring Offices: Used to worship the earth with a yellow cong. Commentary: The word cong implies ancestral or to be honored; it is that which the eight directions honor, hence its octagonal exterior represents the form of the earth. The interior is hollow and round to correspond to the infinite, representing the virtue of the earth, which is why it is used for earth sacrifices. Winter Offices, Records of Trades (Kaogongji): A jade disc and a cong of nine inches are used by feudal lords to present offerings to the Son of Heaven. Also: A jade disc and a cong of eight inches are used for formal diplomatic visits. A zang-cong of five inches is used by the empress as a weight. A large cong of twelve inches, with four-inch projections and one-inch thickness, is called a neizhen, which the empress guards. A zang-cong of seven inches, with a projection of one and a half inches, is used by the Son of Heaven as a weight. A carved zhuan-cong of eight inches is used by feudal lords to present offerings to the spouse of the sovereign. Commentary: A circular form is called a jade disc, while a square form is called a cong. In diplomatic rituals, one offers a jade disc to a lord and a cong to his spouse. Visits by a group are called fu, and individual visits are called pin. Zang is read as zu, referring to using a cord to tie the cong to act as a scale weight. Large cong are like the king's ritual tablet, and projections refer to the tooth-like protrusions on the exterior. Fu is pronounced tiao. Projections (she) is pronounced shi. Zhuan is pronounced zhuan. Also a surname. Genealogy of Surnames (Xingpu): Song dynasty scholar Cong Shigu, a man from Kaifeng. Also a personal name. From the poem Ping Nan Jing Qu by Miao Xi: Liu Cong held Xiangyang, while Liu Bei was stationed at Fancheng. Also, from the Five Sounds Collection of Rhymes (Wuyin Jiyun): Tax paid by the Rong tribes. Also, from the Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun): Pronounced zong (falling tone). It is a half-jade disc. Textual research: In Rites of Zhou, Spring Offices, the phrase regarding yellow cong for earth worship has been updated to include the character for use in accordance with the original text.