Wei Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Meat (ròu) Kangxi stroke count: 17 Page 993, Entry 11 Pronounced lou. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it refers to a custom in the Chu region of offering sacrifices to the god of food and drink in the second lunar month. According to the Extensive Rhymes (Guangyun), it refers to food and drink sacrifices; in the Jizhou region, this occurred in the eighth month, while the Chu custom practiced it in the second month. According to the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), it is a type of winter sacrifice. Some write it using the Spirit radical. According to the Rhyme Treasury (Yunhui), the Discourses on Salt and Iron (Yantie Lun) states that without sacrifices such as the lou or the winter sacrifice, there would be no wine or meat. The lou sacrifice takes place on the first day of the eighth month. Nowadays, the custom in the Hedong region treats this as an important festival to sacrifice to ancestors. The Book of Han (Qianhan), Annals of Emperor Wu, records the phrase lou for five days. The commentary by Ru Chun states: Pronounced lou. The Han Ceremonial Regulations (Han Yizhu) records: At the beginning of autumn, the chu-lou sacrifice is held. Fu Qian states: It means to kill. Su Lin states: It is the name of a sacrifice. The chu is a type of tiger, often sacrificed to the beast deity on the day of the beginning of autumn. Emperors also began their winter sacrifices on this day, returning to sacrifice at the ancestral temples, hence the name chu-lou. Additionally, according to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), another interpretation is that praying for a bountiful grain harvest and tasting the new grain is called li-lou. Also pronounced lou. The meaning is the same. Also, according to the Classified Chapters (Leipian), pronounced liu. It is the same as the character for liu. The commentary by Yan Shigu on the Book of Han (Qianhan), Annals of Emperor Wu, regarding the phrase lou for five days, states: In the Continued Book of Later Han (Xu Hanshu), chu-lou is written as chu-liu. The characters lou and liu are interchangeable in meaning.