Chou Collection, Middle Volume
Radical: Earth (tǔ)
Entry: Die
Kangxi strokes: 9
Page 228, Entry 22
According to the Extensive Dictionary of Sounds and Meanings (Guangyun) and the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is pronounced die. It refers to a mound of earth or a small hill. The Mencius (Mengzi) contains the phrase: "As Mount Tai is to a small hill."
Also, according to the Extensive Dictionary of Sounds and Meanings (Guangyun) and the Collection of Rhymes (Yunhui), it is pronounced zhi. It refers to a small mound of earth beside an ant colony, known as an anthill. The Book of Odes (Shijing), in the section Odes of Bin (Binfeng), writes: "The stork chirps upon the anthill, and the woman sighs within her house."
According to Lu Dian, an ant's den is called a di, and also called a die. The character is formed with the radical for arrive, because although ants are minute, they are capable of building mounds through their unremitting labor.