Zi Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Person (rén) Character: Piān Kangxi Stroke Count: 11 Page 110, Number 16 Tang Rhymes (Tangyun): Phonetic transcription fāng lián qiè. Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), Rhyme Compendium (Yunhui), and Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun): Phonetic transcription pī yán qiè. Pronounced as piān. The meaning is slanted or not upright. The Book of Documents (Shangshu) states: Without factionalism and without partiality, the Kingly Way is smooth and broad. It also refers to the side of a center. The Zuo Commentary (Zuozhuan) records: The Earl of Zheng sent Baili, an official of the state of Xu, to attend to Xu Shu in the remote eastern border regions of Xu. It also refers to a subordinate or auxiliary unit. The Zuo Commentary states: The superior man considers that Qi Xi was able to recommend the talented in this matter; recommending his own subordinate is not considered favoritism. Furthermore, in the Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Xia Guan commentary: A group of fifty men is called a piān. Also, according to the Methods of the Minister of War (Simafa): In chariot warfare, twenty-five chariots are called a piān. For a detailed explanation, see the previous entry for the character wǔ (five). It also refers to hemiplegia or paralysis on one side of the body. Xunzi, in the Contra Physiognomy (Feixiang) chapter, says: Yu walked with a limp, and Tang suffered from hemiplegia. Zheng's commentary states: Tang's body was withered on one side. It is also a surname. In the Han dynasty, there was a person named Pian Lü, as recorded in the Primer for Quick Learning (Jijiu Zhang) by Shi You. Additionally, the characters piān (slanted), piān (fluttering), and piān (chapter) were interchangeable in ancient times. In the Book of Changes (Yijing), Hexagram Tai: Fluttering, not wealthy because of his neighbors. Lu Deming wrote this with the character for chapter, while ancient texts used the character for slanted. Textual Research: The Rites of Zhou, Earth Official (Diguan) section, states fifty men make a piān. Note: This sentence actually belongs to the commentary of the Summer Official section, not the main text of the Earth Official section. It is hereby corrected to the Summer Official commentary. In Xunzi, Contra Physiognomy, it says Yu limped and Tang was paralyzed. Zheng's commentary says Tang was half withered. Following the original text, the word half is corrected to half of the body.