Wei Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Silk (mì) Page 918, Entry 10 Pronounced ji (falling tone). In the Shuo Wen (Shuo Wen Jie Zi), the sequence of silk threads. Also, in the Yu Pian, the levels of a stone staircase. In the Guang Yun, a rank or grade. The common variant is written as jian. In the Book of Rites (Liji), specifically the Qu Li section, when ascending stairs, one should pause at each level. The commentary states that the term indicates a rank or order. In the Monthly Ordinances (Yue Ling), the distinctions in rank between the noble and the base. In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Biography of Qin Shi Huang, the granting of one rank of nobility. In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Biography of Fan Kuai, to behead fifteen enemy heads.