Yin Collection, Middle Volume
Radical: Mountain (shān)
Entry: Qian
Kangxi stroke count: 12
Page 316, Entry 17
Pronounced xian. Pronounced xian. Pronounced qian, with a sound similar to kan.
Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of Simple and Compound Characters) defines it as the appearance of deep and profound mountain terrain. Yupian (Jade Chapter) defines it as a hole beside a cavern. Jiyun (Collected Rhymes) defines it as a deep and profound rocky valley. It also refers to mountain terrain that is vast and imposing.
In Yang Xiong, Ganquan Fu (Rhapsody on the Sweet Springs), it is written: Standing deep and imposing like dragon scales. The commentary defines this as vast and imposing.
Pronounced zan. Pronounced zan, with a sound similar to qian. The meaning is the same.
Pronounced kan, with a sound similar to kan. It refers to a riverbank that is high, sheer, and precipitous. Zihui (Collection of Characters) defines it as sinking into something.
Jiyun (Collected Rhymes) notes that it is sometimes written in a variant form (qian). It is also written in variant forms (qin) or (xin).