Hai Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Bird (niǎo) Kangxi Strokes: 14 Page 1482, Entry 03 Broad Rimes (Guangyun) states the pronunciation is gan. Collected Rimes (Jiyun) states the pronunciation is gan. Broad Rimes (Guangyun) records: The gan-que is a type of bird. It is said to be capable of predicting the future. Sometimes also written in a variant form (zhuàn) as gan-hu. Elegant Rimes (Guangya) records: The gan-hu is the magpie. The character gan is sometimes also written as qian. Lu Jia said: When the qian-que cries, the traveler arrives. Jade Chapters (Yupian) records: Sometimes also written in a variant form (zhuàn) as zhǔn. Also, Collected Rimes (Jiyun) states the pronunciation is yàn. Discourses on Salt and Iron (Yantie Lun) quotes a line from the Book of Odes (Shijing): The crying of the yan. Note: Modern transmitted versions of the Book of Odes (Shijing) write this as yan. Also, Scripture of Birds (Qin Jing) records: From the perspective of water, it is called gan, referring to its flight from north to south. From the perspective of mountains, it is called gan, referring to its flight from south to north. Zhang Hua comments: Pronounced yàn. The gan is a migratory bird that follows the sun. It flies south in winter to dwell by the riverbanks, hence the character is composed with the element for dry. In mid-spring, when the cold air is nearly exhausted, the wild goose begins to fly north; at that time, regions like Yan and Dai are still cold, so they dwell in the mountains, lands, and mountain valleys of the shores, hence the character is also composed with the element for bank. The Five Classics Characters of the Kaiyuan Era (Kaiyuan Wujing Wenzi) records: The character for wild goose is also pronounced àn. Thus, the character gan is undoubtedly the character for wild goose. Also, Collected Rimes (Jiyun) states the pronunciation is àn. The meaning is the same. Also, the pronunciation is hàn. Refers to the gan-dàn. Masters of Huainan (Huainanzi): In the middle of winter, the gan-dàn does not cry. Gao You comments: The gan-dàn is a bird that cries at night and waits for the dawn. Book of Rites (Liji), citing a lost poem, says: Look at the gan-dàn bird; even the ruler worries for it. In the Monthly Ordinances (Yueling), it is written as hé-dàn. Elegant Rimes (Guangya) records: The hé-dàn is equivalent to dawn. Also known as the ke-dàn. Correct Meaning Guide (Zhengzitong) records: The character is sometimes simplified as gan. The character gan also has the pronunciation ke.