Zi Collection, Page Position: Lower. Radical: Knife (dāo). Diāo. Kangxi Dictionary Stroke Count: 2 strokes. Page 135, Column 25. In the Tang Rhymes (Tangyun), the fanqie pronunciation is dū + liáo. In the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), Rhyme Assembly (Yunhui), and Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun), the fanqie pronunciation is dīng + liáo. The pronunciation is similar to the word for marten (diāo). In ancient armies, there was a type of vessel called an army pot (diāodǒu). The History of the Former Han (Qian Hanshu) in the Biography of Li Guang records that he did not strike the army pot. The commentator Meng Kang explained: It is a vessel made of bronze with a capacity of one dou. During the day, it is used for cooking and eating; at night, it is struck for signaling during night marches. There is also the term diāodiāo, describing a slight fluttering or swaying appearance when the wind is about to subside. The Zhuangzi in the chapter Discussion on Making All Things Equal (Qiwulun) asks: Have you alone not seen the swaying and the fluttering? The commentary by Guo Xiang explains that both tiáotiáo and diāodiāo refer to a swaying motion. It is also a surname. The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) in the Biographies of Money-makers (Huozhi Zhuan) records: In the State of Qi, it was customary to look down on slaves and captives, but Diao Jian alone valued and treated them generously. The Rhyme Assembly records that the Diao surname originates from the Bohai region and are the descendants of the Qi official Shu Diao. The Rhyme Assembly mentions: In the Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), the character for knife (dāo) refers to a weapon and has the fanqie pronunciations dū + láo and dīng + liáo. Originally, it was one character with two pronunciations, and later people used the character diāo to distinguish them.