Chen Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Lack (qiàn) Kangxi Strokes: 16 Page 572, Entry 13 Pronounced pen (level tone). In The Tang Rhyme (Tangyun), The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), The Rhyme Compilation (Yunhui), and The Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun), it is pronounced pen (level tone). According to Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen), it means to exhale air. In The Jade Chapters (Yupian), it means holding something in the mouth and spraying it out. From The Eastern Capital Rhapsody (Dongdu Fu) by Ban Gu: exhaling over the plains and spraying the mountains. Also, in The Broad Rhymes (Guangyun), The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), and The Classified Chapters (Leipian), it is pronounced pen (departing tone). The meaning is the same. One source states it refers to a full-bodied breath sprayed out rapidly. From the Yellow Marsh Song in The Chronicle of King Mu (Mu Tianzi Zhuan): In the marsh of Huang, the horses spray sand, the sovereign possesses majestic bearing. In the swamp of Huang, the horses spray jade, the sovereign receives blessings. The commentary notes that it means to spray.