Tang Rhymes (Tangyun) indicates the pronunciation as jin (level tone). Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) indicates the pronunciation as jin (level tone). The pronunciation is the same as the word for qin (zither). Explaining Characters and Analyzing Words (Shuowen Jiezi) defines it as stony soil. Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) notes that it is sometimes written in a variant form (hóng). Additionally, Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) provides a pronunciation as yan (level tone), with a sound identical to qian (pincer). The meaning is the same. There is also a pronunciation as jin (falling tone), though the phonetic value is missing. The meaning is the same.