Chen Collection, Middle Volume. Radical: Tree (mù). Kangxi stroke count: 7. Page 511, Entry 11. Ancient variant form: zi. According to the Tang Dynasty Rhyme Dictionary (Tangyun) and Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun), pronounced li (rising tone). According to the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), pronounced li (rising tone). According to the Rhyme Compendium (Yunhui), pronounced li (falling tone). Definition from the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen): The name of a fruit. According to the Simple Questions (Suwen): It is the wood of the east. According to the Wing of the Erya (Eryayi): The plum (li) is a tree that produces many fruits. According to the Amplified Notes (Piya): The nature of the plum is to be long-lived. Even when the branches wither, the fruit is not small, and its quality is superior to that of the peach. In the Book of Odes (Shijing), Small Odes (Xiaoya): Throw a peach to me, and I will repay you with a plum. According to the Rhyme Compendium (Yunhui): The world refers to recommended scholars as peaches and plums. In Liu Xiang’s Garden of Stories (Shuoyuan): Those who plant peaches and plums enjoy shade in summer and harvest fruit in autumn. Those who plant brambles enjoy no shade in summer and suffer from their thorns in autumn. The world says that Di Renjie had peaches and plums—meaning his recommended scholars—all under his patronage, which is a reference to this story. According to the Broad Etymological Dictionary (Boya): Xingli refers to officials stationed at border posts. It is also interchangeable with the word for manage (li). In the Zuo Tradition (Zuozhuan), 13th Year of Duke Xi: The coming and going of officials. In the Discourses of the States (Zhouyu): Use officials to welcome them with proper ritual. According to the Bozhai Bian: The concepts of plum (li) and manage (li) share the same meaning; when a person is about to travel, they must first manage their affairs, similar to what Mencius said about managing provisions. Managing (li) also means to regulate. Also the name of a star. In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Book of Celestial Officials: Mars is associated with the plum (li). According to Xu Guang’s annotation: Internally it manages the military, and externally it manages the government. Also the Sili, which is an official title, also called Sili. In the History of the Former Han (Qianhan), Biography of Hu Jian: The law of the Yellow Emperor regarding the plum (li). In the Guanzi, Chapter on Legal Methods: Gao Yao served as the officer of justice (li). Also Zhui Li, a territory of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. Also a surname. According to the Comprehensive Account of Customs (Fengsutong): Descendants of Boyang. Textual Research: In the History of the Former Han (Qianhan), Biography of Hu Jian, it originally read as the rule of the Yellow Emperor regarding the plum (li). According to the original text, it has been corrected to the law of the Yellow Emperor regarding the plum (li).