Xu Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Metal (jīn) Character: Nòu Kangxi stroke count: 18 Page 1316, Entry 23 According to the Five Sounds Collected Rhymes (Wuyin Jiyun), pronounced nòu. Identical to nòu. In the Book of Odes (Shijing), Zhou Eulogies (Zhousong), commentary on the phrase regarding hoes and mattocks, it states that the mattock is the nòu. The sub-commentary states that nòu is sometimes written as nòu. The Word Commentary (Zigu) states: the head is six inches long and the handle is one foot long. Nòu is an ancient form; it is now written as nòu. Furthermore, according to the Jade Chapters (Yupian), pronounced hāo. Meaning to weed. In the Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguoce), it mentions holding the sickle and the nòu, residing in the fields among the farmers. The commentary states that nòu is pronounced hāo. In the Masters of Huainan (Huainanzi), Shuoshan Chapter, it states that those who govern a state are like those who weed the fields, removing the harmful sprouts. Textual research: In the Book of Odes, Zhou Eulogies, commentary on the phrase regarding hoes and mattocks, the character for the word denoting the holding of tools has been corrected from the original text.