Wei Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Rice (mǐ) Entry: niè Kangxi Stroke Count: 23 Page 914, Entry 07 According to Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun) and Orthography of Rhymes (Zhengyun), pronounced niè. According to Jade Chapter (Yupian), it means leaven. Book of Documents (Shangshu), Sayings of Yue: You are the leaven for the mold. Book of Rites (Liji), Evolution of Rites (Liyun): Ritual for humanity is like leaven for wine. It is also written as a variant form (niè). Sima Qian, Letter in Reply to Ren An: Following along to fabricate and magnify their shortcomings. Shigu commentary: The word niè is the same as the niè in leaven.