Wei Collection, Upper Volume
Radical: Silk (mì)
Kangxi Strokes: 15
Page 932, Entry 01
Pronounced lian (falling tone). Same pronunciation as the character for refine.
Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of Simple and Compound Characters): Refers to boiling silk fabric to make it soft and white.
Yupian (Jade Chapters): Refers to boiling and soaking.
Shiming (Explanation of Names): Lian means to boil until soft; it is the process of making silk fabric soft and supple through boiling.
Jijiupian Zhu (Annotated Quick Literacy Text): Lian is the process of boiling fine silk until it is ready.
Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Offices of Heaven, Dyers: Whenever dyeing, in the spring one must bleach and boil the silk.
Commentary: Bleaching and boiling refers to boiling raw silk and exposing it to the sun. Also refers to the garments worn during the small anniversary sacrifice.
Book of Rites (Liji), Tangong: When wearing the lian garment, one sighs with emotion. There is also the lian robe, which has a yellow lining and light red trim.
Sub-commentary: During the small anniversary sacrifice, one wears the lian crown and the lian inner garment, which is why it is called lian. The lian robe is an inner garment made of boiled and processed silk.
Also refers to training.
Book of Rites (Liji), Monthly Ordinances (Yueling): The Son of Heaven then orders the generals to select soldiers, sharpen weapons, and train outstanding talent.
Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguoce): Repeated practice to deliberate and conjecture.
Also refers to selecting.
Book of Han (Hanshu), Treatise on Rites and Music: Selecting an auspicious day and time.
Also refers to experience or being well-versed.
Book of Han (Hanshu), Biography of Wei Xian: In the past there was nothing one had not experienced.
Commentary: Lian has the same meaning as experience.
Also a surname.
Guangyun (Broad Rhymes): The He Family Surname Garden says: People from the Nankang region.
Also written as a variant form (lian).
Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Winter Offices, Artificers Record: Boiling silk using lye (ash-water).
Textual Research: In the Rites of Zhou, Offices of Heaven, Dyers, the text says: Whenever dyeing, in the spring bleach and boil. According to the original text, this has been corrected to read bleach and boil.
