Si Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Water (shuǐ) Kangxi Strokes: 11 Page 626, Entry 03 Pronounced nie. Name of a river. According to the Commentary on the Classic of Water (Shuijing Zhu), the Nie River flows eastward through Nie Prefecture. Also the name of a prefecture. According to the Commentary on the Classic of Water (Shuijing Zhu), the Nie River originates at Qiji Mountain, northwest of Nieyang County. Also the name of a river. Ma Rong, in the Rhapsody on Guangcheng (Guangcheng Song), mentions the Dan River and the Nie Pool. The commentary notes that the Dan River and the Nie River are located in present-day Deng Prefecture. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it refers to black soil in water. Huainanzi, in the Instruction on True Origin (Chuzhen Xun), states that using nie to dye cloth black results in a color deeper than the nie itself. According to Yangzi’s Regional Dialects (Fangyan), nie means to change. In the regions of the Yan State, Joseon, and the Lie River, it is called nie or sometimes hua; when a chicken is incubating eggs but has not yet hatched the chicks, the initial moment of change is called nie. Also nie stone, name of a medicine. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing) states that below Mount Mengmen, there is much yellow chalk and nie stone. According to the Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun), it is also pronounced jian. Guiguzi mentions hidden drilling and darkening (nié). This is the reading provided by Liu Changzong.