Shen Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Grass (cǎo) Lian Kangxi Stroke Count: 23 Page 1069, Entry 20 Pronounced lian. Creeping plant. Book of Odes (Shijing), Tang Feng: The kudzu grows covering the vitex, the lian vines creep over the wilderness. Commentary: The lian resembles the snake gourd (kuālóu), with lush and slender leaves. Also pronounced lian. From the Explaining and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), same as xian. Bai lian (white lian) is the name of a medicinal herb. Also known as wu lian mei. From the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao), five leaves like those of the bai lian. Also pronounced lian. Meaning is the same. Also pronounced xian. See the entry for the xian character for details. Sometimes written as lian, the character is derived from the character above.