Zi Collection, Page Position: Lower. Radical: Knife (dāo). Character: Pan. Kangxi Stroke Count: 7. Page 138, Position 11. Tang Rhymes (Tangyun), Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), Rhyme Assembly (Yunhui), and Correct Rhymes (Zhengyun) give the pronunciation as the initial of pǔ and the final of bàn, sounding the same as pàn. Explaining the Character (Shuowen Jiezi) defines it as: To divide; the character form uses Knife (dāo) as the radical and bàn as the phonetic component. Jade Chapters (Yupian) defines it as: To disperse. Also, Additional Rhymes (Zengyun) defines it as: One half. Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Offices of the Earth (Diguan), Matchmaker (Meishi) records: In charge of the matters regarding the joining of halves (pànhé) of the common people. The commentary states: Pàn means one half; the matching of male and female is called joining (hé), and the matchmaker primarily facilitates the union of two halves. Also, Rites of Zhou, Offices of Autumn (Qiuguan), Court Officials (Chaoshi) records: In all cases of debt disputes, those who hold a divided document (pànshū) to bring a lawsuit shall have it accepted. The commentary states: Pàn refers to dividing a document into two halves which can be verified when joined together; for this reason, in ancient books, pàn was also written as biàn. Also, Book of Han (Hanshu), Biography of Zhai Fangjin (Zhai Fangjin Zhuan) records: Heaven and earth joined as halves. The commentary by Yan Shigu states: The meaning of pàn is a piece or half (piàn). Also defined as: To decide or judge. Book of Tang (Tangshu), Treatise on Elections (Xuanju Zhi) records: Evaluating candidates on the four criteria of stature, speech, calligraphy, and judgment (pàn). Also, Rhyme Assembly records: When a Grand Councilor serves as a local provincial official, it is called pàn. Also used interchangeably with a variant form pronounced pàn. Forest of Characters (Zilin) explains: This variant form means taking each half to join together in order to form a union as husband and wife. Rites and Ceremonies (Yili), Rites of Mourning (Sangfu Li) records: The joining of husband and wife. Also used interchangeably with another variant form pronounced pàn. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Biography of Lu Jia (Lu Jia Zhuan) records: Since the time heaven and earth were first split and divided.
