Chou Collection, Middle Volume. Radical: Earth (tǔ). Kangxi strokes: 7. Page 225, Entry 07. Pronounced fang. The name for a residential neighborhood or village. According to the Yanyi, a fang is a square or limit, referring to the neighborhood where people reside. The Han dynasty palace contained the Nine Sons Neighborhood. Also, according to the Essentials for Bureaucrats (Guanliao Beiyao), the palace of the Crown Prince is called the Spring Neighborhood. According to the Old Book of Tang (Tangshu), the Secretariat Neighborhood was renamed the Left Spring Neighborhood, and the Office of Books was renamed the Right Spring Neighborhood. Also, Buddhist temples are called treasure neighborhoods. As in the poem by Song Zhiwen on ascending the pavilion of Yanzhuang Temple: In the intercalary month, the double yang festival occurs again; the imperial carriage visits the treasure neighborhood. Also a place name. A location in Fengyi during the Han dynasty; Fang Prefecture was established during the Tang dynasty. Also a surname. See the Comprehensive Genealogy (Tongpu). Pronounced fang. A barrier or a dike. According to the Book of Rites (Liji), the sacrifice to the dike and the water channels are related matters. Note: The dike sacrifice is one of the Eight Wax sacrifices. The Classic of Rites (Jingjie) states: If one considers old dikes to be useless and destroys them, water damage will surely follow. The Record of Dikes (Fangji) states: The way of the gentleman is like a dike; it prevents the people from falling into deficiency. The gentleman uses ritual to dike virtue and dike excess, and uses governance to dike desires. Pronounced fang. A dike. Also pronounced fang (falling tone). The preface to the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu) states: The sages encompass the dikes of the entire body. Sometimes written as a variant form (fang). Note: Although the meanings of the characters fang (neighborhood) and fang (dike) are the same, their pronunciations should be distinguished. The Correct Guide to Characters (Zhengzitong) combines the two pronunciations of fang and fang into one, and incorrectly omits the falling tone.