Wu Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Arrow (shì) Pronounced shen (rising tone) Kangxi stroke count: 8 Page 823, Entry 40 Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters): This is the original form of the character shen. The character is composed of the radical arrow and the sound is derived from the abbreviated sound of the character yin. The use of the arrow radical indicates that the direction of the word is as direct as an arrow. It also carries the meaning of long. Yangzi Fangyan (Regional Dialects): In the eastern region of Qi, it is called shen, while in the regions of Song and Lu, it is called lu. Yupian (Jade Chapters): Some versions are written in a variant form. Guangyun (Broad Rimes): Written as xu. Zihui Bu (Supplement to the Collection of Characters): There is another erroneous variant form, which is incorrect.