Shen Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Grass (cǎo) Ji; Kangxi stroke count: 19 Page 1060, Entry 24 Pronounced ji (falling tone). According to the Explaining and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it is a type of thistle. According to the Approaching Elegance (Erya), in the section on plants, it states that the ao plant is the thistle. The commentary notes that thistle growing in the mountains is called zhu, while the variety that grows on level ground and is larger and fatter than the common type is called yangfu thistle, known today as horse thistle. It is also a place name. The Book of Rites (Liji), in the Record of Music (Yueji), mentions the enfeoffment of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor at Ji. The commentary notes this corresponds to modern Ji County in Zhuo Commandery. It is also a surname. The Biographies of Immortals (Shenxian Zhuan) mentions Ji Zixun, a person from Qi. The Five Classics Script (Wujing Wenzi) notes that the form written with the horn radical is erroneous. It is also written in a variant form (ji).