You Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Bitter (xīn) Kangxi stroke count: 12 Page 1250, Entry 29 Pronounced gu. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it refers to a fault or crime. The character structure is derived from the Bitter radical, with the component meaning ancient (gu) providing the sound. The Book of Documents (Shangshu), in the Great Plan of Yu (Dayu Mo), states: It is better to violate the rules than to kill an innocent person. The Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), in the Office of Summer (Xiaguan), states: Used to rescue the innocent and punish the guilty. It also means definitely or certainly. The Book of Han (Qian Hanshu), in the Treatise on Harmonics and Calendrical Astronomy (Luli Zhi), refers to the Guxi pitch of the six pitch pipes. Xi means to cleanse. This refers to the yang energy washing over all things, definitely making them clean. The commentary states that Guxie means to definitely make clean. It also refers to dismembering a body. The Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), in the Office of Spring (Chunguan), refers to the rite of pigu used to sacrifice to the four directions and all things. The commentary states that pi means to split open the chest of a sacrificial animal. Pigu refers to splitting and dismembering a sacrificial animal for a sacrifice. It also refers to monopoly or obstruction. The Book of the Later Han (Hou Hanshu), in the Annals of Emperor Ling (Lingdi Ji), states: Powerful families monopolized the markets. The commentary states this refers to obstructing others from trading in order to exclusively capture the profits. It is also sometimes written in a variant form (gujiao), with the same meaning. The term gujiao also means approximately or generally. For details, see the annotation for the character jiao under the Carriage radical. It also refers to a name for a month. The Erya (Erya), in the Explaining Heaven (Shitian) section, states that the eleventh month is called gu. It is also a surname. Textual verification: The Erya (Erya), in the Explaining Years (Shisui) section, records the eleventh month as the gu month. Here, based on the original text, Shisui has been changed to Shitian. The character month (yue) was omitted under the character gu.