Wei Collection, Upper Volume
Radical: Bamboo (zhú)
Tang (tán)
Kangxi stroke count: 13
Page 885, Entry 14
According to the Expanded Rhyme Dictionary (Guangyun) and the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is pronounced han. Tang refers to the center of a bamboo fruit.
In the Bamboo Treatise (Zhupu) by Dai Kaizhi, it is stated: The tang bamboo is as large as a toe, hard, thick, long, and straight. Its interior has a white membrane separating the sections, resembling a damp, moldy film. Before it becomes a full bamboo and while the bamboo shoot sheath has not yet fallen, tiny insects often gnaw at it. After the sheath falls, the places where the insects gnawed often form red patterns, resembling embroidery or paintings. It is produced in Nankang.
The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) notes it is sometimes written in a variant form (qin).