Mao Collection, Middle Volume. Radical: Hand (shǒu). Kangxi strokes: 10. Page 429, Entry 22. Pronounced qie (falling tone). According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen), it means to hold something suspended. According to the Broad Rhymes (Guangyun), it means to lift or carry. Book of Rites (Liji), Royal Regulations (Wangzhi): Those with graying hair do not carry heavy objects. Rites of Zhou (Zhouli), Summer Offices (Xiaguan): The Office of the Water-Clock Keeper (Qiehu Shi). Commentary: Generations who held the duty of carrying water vessels to manage the water-clock for timekeeping. History of the Former Han (Qianhan), Biography of Zhang Er and Chen Yu: Using two virtuous kings to lift and support from the left and right. Commentary: Meaning mutual support. Also means to organize or put in order. Xunzi, Non-Rigidness Chapter (Bugou): The noble man organizes his speech, and those with similar aspirations will agree. Commentary: Refers to not being disorganized. Also pronounced qie (falling tone). Means to lack or be deficient, and also to sever or cut off. Sima Xiangru, Treatise on the Feng and Shan Sacrifices (Fengshan Shu): Severing the joy of the three deities. Also refers to writing on wooden tablets. History of the Former Han (Qianhan), Biography of Zhang Tang: What the Emperor affirms is accepted and written into judicial statutes; the Commandant of Justice writes the laws on wooden tablets. Commentary: Written on wooden boards and hung up. To extract the essential points of a lawsuit. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji): Written as jie. Also interchangeable with qie. History of the Former Han (Qianhan), Treatise on Rivers and Canals (Gouxu Zhi): The rice paddy tax contracts in the capital region were harsh; it was suggested they be reduced. Commentary: Tax contract, a legal agreement for collecting land rent. Ban Gu, Rhapsody on Dark Communication (Youtong Fu): In the morning, use a qie-turtle to divine and calculate the sacrifices. Commentary: Qie is the tool used to ignite and scorch the turtle shell. Book of Odes (Shijing), Greater Odes (Daya): Thereupon I engraved my turtle shell. Explanation of Texts (Shiwen): Also written as qie. Also pronounced jie. It also means to hold suspended. Commonly written as jie. Also pronounced ga. The Expanded Definitions (Boya): Means alone or solitary. Also pronounced jie. Identical to qie. Ba-qie is the name of a plant. Book of Rites (Liji), Monthly Ordinances (Yueling): The snake gourd grows. Commentary: This is the bi-qie. That is, the ba-qie. The character bi originally was written with the grass radical and the character qie. Textual Research: In the citation from the Book of Rites (Liji), Royal Regulations (Wangzhi), regarding those with graying hair not carrying objects, the text has been corrected to include the descriptive suffix for the gray-haired individuals.