Chou Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Earth (tǔ) 堊; Kangxi Strokes: 11; Page 232, Entry 08 Pronounced e. Refers to colored earth. Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing): South of the Great Secondary Mountain (Daci zhi shan), there is much chalky earth. Also: On the Green Dragon Mountain (Conglong zhi shan), there is a great valley which produces white chalky earth, as well as black, green, and yellow chalky earth. Rhapsody on the Master of Void (Zixu fu) by Sima Xiangru: The earth there produces cinnabar, azurite, red ochre, and chalky earth. Also: Erya, Explaining Palaces (Shigong): A wall is referred to as e. Explaining Names (Shiming): E means sub- or secondary in rank. First apply mud, then decorate with lime. Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Office of Spring (Chunguan): If the official in charge of the ancestral shrine is about to conduct a sacrifice, he must have the shrine under his protection whitewashed and blackened. Commentary: Using black and white paint to decorate the ancestral shrine is to make it look brand new and clean. Additionally, a wall left without plaster or decoration is also called e. Book of Rites (Liji), Miscellaneous Records (Zaji): During the three-year mourning period, one resides in a thatched hut or a chalked room (eshi). Commentary: A chalked room is built from mud bricks and is not plastered. Also, the mud used for plastering is called e. Zhuangzi, Xu Wugui: There was a man in the capital of Ying who had a speck of white mud splashed on the tip of his nose, as thin as a fly's wing. He asked Master Shi the Carpenter to shave it off. Master Shi swung his axe with a whistling sound, and the white mud was completely removed without harming his nose. Also, pronounced wu. The meaning is the same. Rectifying Errors (Zhenge): The shape of this character resembles a mason applying plaster horizontally and vertically. Anything that is plastered and decorated can be called e.