Chou Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Mouth (kǒu) 呆 Kangxi strokes: 7 Page 181, Entry 11 According to the Sea of Characters (Pianhai), it is pronounced dao. It is identical to the character for protect (bao). For a detailed explanation, please refer to the entry for the character for protect (bao) under the Radical: Person (rén). It is also pronounced mu. It is the ancient form of the character for a certain person or thing (mou). Modern usage in common language as the character for foolish (dai) is incorrect. The Categorized Dictionary of Characters (Leipian) records this character as an abbreviated form of the character for plum blossoms (mei). It may also be written as a certain person or thing (mou), and can be used as a loan character for plum (mei). The Materia Medica (Bencao) mentions that plums belong to the apricot family, and that reversing the character for apricot (xing) results in this character. Modern usage in common language as the character for foolish (dai) is incorrect. The Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi) points out that this character is composed of not (bu) and mouth (kou). The character with a line inside the mouth is its original form.