Hai Collection, Middle Volume. Radical: Bird (niǎo). 21 Kangxi strokes. Page 1498, Entry 07. Pronounced kou. According to the Dialect (Fangyan), the fledglings of sparrows and small chicks are all called kou. In the Er Ya: Explication of Birds (Erya), a fledgling that requires its mother to feed it is called kou, while a fledgling that can peck for food itself is called chu. The commentary states: A fledgling that requires its mother to feed it after birth is named kou; this refers to birds such as swallows and sparrows. A fledgling that can peck for food by itself after birth is named chu; this refers to birds such as chickens and pheasants. In the Discourses of Lu (Luyu), Li Ge says: Allow young beasts to grow and protect fledglings and eggs in bird nests. The commentary by Wei Zhao states: A fledgling that requires feeding is called kou, while one that has not yet hatched is called luan. In the Zhuangzi: Discourse on Making All Things Equal (Qi wulun), is it considered different from the chirping of a fledgling? In Yang Xiong’s Rhapsody on the Capital of Shu (Shudu fu), conceived in the wind and hatched in the rain. In the History of the Later Han: Biography of Wang Fu (Hou Hanshu), the world is no longer in the time of the ancient Xu and Ting clans, and people have turned away from the natural and simple state like that of a fledgling drinking water. The commentary notes: A fledgling drinks water without external assistance, which serves as a metaphor for a simple and pure era. Also pronounced gou. Also pronounced gou. Also pronounced gu. The meaning is the same. Also pronounced ke. Refers to a fledgling about to break out of its shell. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen), the character is composed of the radical for bird inside the component for kou, representing a compound ideograph.