Wu Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Jade (yù) Ji Kangxi stroke count: 17 Page 742, Entry 17 Pronounced ji Pronounced ji Pronounced ji, meaning the same as the character for machine. Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Simple and Analyzing Compound Characters): Refers to a pearl that is not perfectly round. Book of Documents (Shujing), section Tribute of Yu (Yugong): Records the phrase, "Their baskets contained dark red silk and pearls." Commentary: Explains that ji belongs to the category of pearls and is produced in water. Explication of Text (Shiwen): States that ji is simply a pearl that is not perfectly round. Dictionaries state it is a small pearl. Book of Han (Hanshu), Biography of the Thirteen Kings of Jing: Records, "Sent Jian, Quan, Ge, pearls, and ji." Annotation: Shigu says that ji is an uneven pearl. Also refers to a type of mirror. Xu's Annotation on Shuowen: According to the Chart of Auspicious Omens (Furuitu), there is a ji mirror. Annotation: It is a large pearl with decorative edges and a luster, which can be used as a mirror. Also refers to an instrument. Book of Documents (Shujing), Canon of Shun (Shundian): Records, "Examined the xuanji and the jade heng, to regulate the seven regulators." Annotation: "Examined" means to observe. Ji is an instrument for calibrating astronomical phenomena; the ji is responsible for rotation, and the heng is a horizontal tube through which one observes the movement of the ji. The ji is eight feet in diameter, with a circumference of slightly over two feet and five inches. The heng is eight feet long with an aperture of one inch, used for observing the stars from the lower end to divine the omens of good and bad fortune. The seven regulators refer to the sun, the moon, and the five planets (Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn). Their movements affect government affairs, hence they are called regulators. Also refers to the name of a star. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Treatise on the Celestial Offices, Annotation on the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper: The Spring and Autumn Compilation of the Pole (Chunqiu Yundouji) states that the third star of the Northern Dipper is called ji. Pronounced qi Pronounced ji Pronounced ji Pronounced zhi; meanings are the same.