Xu Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Tanned Leather (wéi) 韌 Kangxi Strokes: 12 Page 1393, Entry 10 Pronounced ren (falling tone) According to the Shuowen Jiezi (Dictionary of Explanations of Characters and Signs), it means soft yet sturdy. The character is formed with the Tanned Leather radical and the phonetic component ren. According to the Guangyun (Broad Rhymes), it means soft and resilient. According to the Jiyun (Collected Rhymes), the original form is written as ren. Sometimes also written in a variant form (ren).