Mao Collection, Upper Volume
Radical: Heart (xīn)
Kangxi stroke count: 11
Page 388, Entry 16
Ancient form. Wide Rhymes (Guangyun), Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), Rhyme Compilation (Yunhui), and Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun) state the pronunciation is huan (falling tone).
Shuowen Jiezi states it means anxiety. Jade Chapters (Yupian) states it means disaster or illness. Wide Rhymes (Guangyun) states it means evil or suffering. It is also a surname.
It also rhymes with huan (falling tone). Xie Huilian in the poem Autumn Thoughts (Qiuhuai shi) writes: In my life I have had no great ambition, since youth I have been burdened by anxiety and suffering. How can one bear such suffering, especially when encountering the late autumn.
Rhyme Supplement (Yunbu) notes it rhymes with yuan (falling tone). Su Shi in the essay Thanking the Deity of Mount Wu (Xie Wushan shen wen) writes: The West Lake was silted up, an affliction accumulating over years. I prayed to the deity, and secretly borrowed his convenience.
It also rhymes with huan (level tone). Jia Yi in the Fu on Owning the Owl (Fu niao fu) writes: Suddenly becoming a human, how is it worth clutching or grasping. Transforming into a different creature, what is there to be anxious about. Zhang Hua in the Fu on the Wren (Jiaoliao fu) writes: Moving its wings and escaping, placing its feet and resting in peace. Entrusting fate to the natural order, one has no anxiety regarding worldly things. Note: The characters tuan and an belong to the han rhyme group, and huan belongs to the shan rhyme group; in ancient times, these were interchangeable.
It also rhymes with xuan (level tone). Jin Dynasty Music Bureau compositions in the Mingjun Chapter write: Although one wishes to express total loyalty, one ties one's tongue and cannot speak. If one ties the tongue, what is there to fear, expressing total loyalty becomes a personal affliction. Note: The character yan belongs to the yuan rhyme group, and xuan belongs to the xian rhyme group; in ancient times, these were interchangeable.
Essential Essence (Jingyun) states: One inside is loyalty, two inside is anxiety.