Wu Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Spirit (shì) Pronounced lei (falling tone) Page 847, Entry 34 Tang Rhymes (Tangyun), Collection of Rhymes (Yunhui), Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun): Pronounced lei (falling tone). Shuowen (Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters): To offer sacrifice to celestial deities according to their nature. Erya (Approaching Elegance): Written as this character; in classics and commentaries, it is often written as the character for kind (lei). Book of Documents (Shujing), Canon of Shun: Then perform the lei sacrifice to the Supreme Deity. Also, a sacrificial ritual for an army. Book of Rites (Liji), Royal Regulations: When the Son of Heaven is about to lead an expedition, he performs the lei sacrifice to the Supreme Deity. Book of Odes (Shijing), Greater Odes: This is the lei sacrifice, this is the ma sacrifice. Commentary: A sacrifice performed inside the capital is called lei; a sacrifice performed in the field is called ma. According to the Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Minor Treasurer: For all great disasters involving heaven, earth, the altars of soil and grain, or the ancestral temples, perform the lei sacrifice and establish positions. Zheng’s commentary notes: Prayer rituals are light; the lei sacrifice is performed by adhering to the established formal rites. Therefore, it is understood that whenever the term lei is used, it refers to acting according to the nature of the matter. For example, the suburban sacrifice is the regular ritual for heaven; if it is not a regular sacrifice but is modeled after the suburban sacrifice, it is called lei. It does not have a specialized name of its own, which is why Xu Shen explains it as sacrificing to celestial deities according to their nature. The original form of this character is the character for spirit (shi) combined with the character for kind (lei).