Chou Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Earth (tǔ) Character: dian Kangxi Stroke Count: 14 Page 237, Entry 06 Pronounced dian. According to the Shuo Wen Jie Zi (Explanations of Graphs and Analysis of Characters), it means to descend or to be submerged. As stated in the Book of Documents (Shujing), section Yiji: The lower people are confused and submerged. It is sometimes also written in a variant form (nian). Also pronounced die. The name of a river. According to the History of the Northern Dynasties (Beishi), account of the Waixi, the Tuyuhun chieftain Achai ascended a mountain on the western border of his country to observe the source of the Dian River. He asked his assembled officials about it, and the Chief Clerk Zeng He replied: The water passes through Chouchi, flows past Jinshou, and emerges at Dangqu, where it first receives the name Dian River. It is also the name of a county, belonging to Zhong Prefecture, Chongqing Prefecture, Sichuan. According to the Supplement to the History of the Southern Dynasties (Nanshi bu), the Dian River of the Han Dynasty is the present-day He Prefecture. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty renamed He Prefecture as Fuling and transferred the name Dian River to Zhong Prefecture. Also pronounced zhe. It refers to low-lying ground.