You Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Cowrie (bèi) 賠 Kangxi strokes: 15 Page 1209, Entry 24 Comprehensive Collection of Characters (Zihui): This character did not exist in ancient times. The popular pronunciation is pei, used as a character for compensation or restitution. According to the commentary on the character bei in Correct Meaning Guide (Zhengzitong): pei was originally written as bei. Yang Shen states: bei is pronounced as pei, and the meaning is the same. In the past, Gao Huan enacted a law where the theft of private property required compensation at a rate of five-tenths, and theft of government property required compensation at three-tenths. The Northern Zhou dynasty issued a decree stating that even if theft of government property was granted amnesty, compensation must still be collected according to the law. Bei means to compensate. The character pei is used in popular writing.