Hai Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Fish (yú) Kangxi Strokes: 27 Page 1480, Entry 22 Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun) and Orthography of the Standard (Zhengyun), both state it is pronounced e. It is the original form of the character. It is also written in a variant form. Book of Tang (Tangshu), Biography of Han Yu: When Han Yu arrived in Chaozhou, he inquired about the hardships of the common people. The people replied that there were crocodiles in the Evil Creek that had eaten nearly all their livestock, causing the people to fall into poverty. A few days later, Han Yu went to inspect the area personally and ordered his subordinate, Qin Ji, to cast a sheep and a pig into the creek as an offering. That night, a violent storm with thunder and lightning struck the creek. Several days later, the water completely dried up, and the crocodiles migrated sixty li to the west. From that time on, Chaozhou suffered no further calamities from crocodiles. Records of Leisurely Living in Xiushui (Xiushui Xianju Lu): The appearance of a crocodile has a mouth like a dragon and claws like a tiger; its eyes resemble those of a crab, its scales are like those of a tuolong (a type of alligator), and its tail is several feet long. The end of the tail is as large as a winnowing basket, and the sharp spikes on it form a hook-like shape. It is also capable of secreting a sticky substance. It often lurks by the water's edge, and when people or livestock approach, it uses its tail to strike and capture them. This is much like how an elephant uses its trunk.