Mao Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Hand (shǒu) Entry: Chen Kangxi stroke count: 8 Page 421, Entry 02 According to Tang Rhymes (Tangyun), pronounced zhen (rising tone). According to Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), pronounced zhen (rising tone); the pronunciation is similar to the rising tone of zhen. According to Explanation of Script and Elucidation of Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it is defined as striking with force and depth. The character is formed from the Hand radical, with yin acting as the phonetic component. Another interpretation suggests that in the dialect of the Chu region, striking or grappling is called chen. According to Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is also pronounced ren (rising tone), similar to shen. According to Exemplar of Expressions (Fangyan), it is defined as to push. The Book of Liezi (Liezi), Huangdi Chapter, records the phrase dang-ai-chen (pushing, jostling, and striking), meaning to do everything possible. Additionally, according to Tang Rhymes (Tangyun), it is pronounced yu (rising tone). According to Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is pronounced yu (rising tone), similar to yu. It carries the meaning of to pierce. According to Tang Rhymes (Tangyun) and Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is pronounced dan (rising tone), similar to dan. It carries the same meaning. Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) records that this character may be written in variant forms. Note: In Explanation of Script and Elucidation of Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), this character is written with the Hand radical and the component rong, resulting in the character chou, rather than chen. Various phonetic and semantic commentaries have erroneously treated chou as chen, which does not accord with the original explanations in Explanation of Script and Elucidation of Characters (Shuowen Jiezi). These have now been verified and corrected. For detailed content, refer to the subsequent entry for the character chou.