Wei Collection, Lower Volume
Radical: Net (wǎng)
Stroke count: 15
Page 948, Entry 33
Pronounced fa.
Shuowen Jiezi (Shuowen): A minor offense. Composed of knife and scold. If one has not yet harmed someone with a knife, but holds a knife while scolding, one should be penalized.
Spring and Autumn Annals: Origin of Destiny (Chunqiu Yuanmingbao): To use nets of words is to scold; to use a knife while scolding is to penalize. The word penalty implies the prevention of falling into harm.
Book of Changes (Yijing), Yu Hexagram: Then penalties are clear and the people are submissive.
Book of Documents (Shangshu), Counsels of Lu: The five non-offenses are corrected by the five penalties. Commentary: Payments of metal are used to redeem crimes.
Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Earth Officer, Minister of Correction: For all commoners who have deviant or evil behavior, there shall be three reprimands followed by a penalty. Commentary: Penalty refers to whipping or beating.
Rhyme Supplement (Yunbu): Rhyming with fei. Jiang Yan, Eulogy for Emperor Gao of Qi: Stitching machines to cut away the thieves, lightly revising and removing penalties. Cherishing broad compassion, joining the humble and practicing universal love. The character ai is pronounced qi.
Note: In the Shuowen Jiezi, this character is placed in the Knife radical; it has now been merged here.
Textual Research: In the Rites of Zhou, Earth Officer, Minister of Instruction, it states, for all commoners who have deviant or evil behavior, there shall be three reprimands followed by a penalty. We have corrected Minister of Instruction to Minister of Correction according to the original text. We have removed the character zhi after the phrase three reprimands followed by a penalty.