Chen Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Death (dǎi) Kangxi stroke count: 11 Page 580, Entry 34 Pronounced biao (third tone). To die of hunger is called piao. Also written as the variant form (piao) or the variant form (piao). From the Praise to the Treatise on Food and Money in the History of the Former Han (Hanshu): There are those dying of hunger on the roads. It is the same as piao. It is also interchangeably written as fù. From the Mencius: There are those dying of hunger in the wilds. Also pronounced fu (first tone). The meaning is the same. From the poem Sitting in the Corner by Bai Juyi: All transformed into those dying of hunger. Here, the character fu is used to rhyme with the character fu, which is correct. The Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) notes a variant form with the ear radical. Also pronounced pi (third tone). The meaning is the same. Another source states it refers to the withering and falling of vegetation. It is also written as the variant form (pi). The Rhyme Collection (Yunhui) notes that according to the Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen), it is pronounced piao, meaning the falling of things. All characters containing this component should be written accordingly. It is composed of the claw radical and the right-hand radical; in later times it changed into the character fu, which is a scribal error. It is not the character fu (meaning trust/sincerity), but since the classics and historical records have maintained this error, it is difficult to change it suddenly; therefore, the rhyme books preserve both versions.