Hai Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Frog (mǐng) Kangxi Strokes: 25 Page 1525, Entry 07 Pronounced tuo. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it is a water creature. Lu Ji stated that the tuo resembles a lizard, measuring over ten feet in length. Its shell is like armor, and its skin is thick and tough, which can be used to cover drums. Book of Odes (Shijing), Greater Odes (Daya): The tuo-drums sound with a booming beat. Another interpretation is that the booming sound of the drum imitates the cry of the tuo. Continued Records of the Investigation of Things (Xu Bowuzhi): The tuo reaches ten feet in length, and its cry sounds like a drum. Amplified Elegantia (Piya): The cry of the tuo corresponds to the watch of the night; in the Wu and Yue regions, it is called the tuo-watch. Furthermore, the tuo cries when it is about to rain, and folk customs use it to predict rainfall. Book of Rites (Liji), Monthly Ordinances (Yueling): In the final month of summer, the Son of Heaven commands the fishing masters to capture the jiaolong and hunt the tuo, to present turtles, and to acquire large soft-shelled turtles. It is also written as shan. Annals of Master Lu (Lüshi Chunqiu): Emperor Zhuanxu commanded Shan to take the lead in performing music. Shan would float on its back and strike its own belly with its tail, producing a clear sound; this is the tuo. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Hereditary House of Jin: Shan, the son of Huan Shu of Quwo. Searching for the Obscure (Suoyin): Shan is pronounced tuo. Also pronounced tan. Also pronounced shan. The meaning is the same. Also rhyming with tian. Ma Rong, Ode to Guangcheng: With the left hand pulling the kui-dragon, and the right hand lifting the jiao-dragon and the tuo. In the spring, offer the king-tuna, and in the summer, present the large soft-shelled turtle. Textual Research: Regarding the phrase, strike its own belly with its tail, and the sound is shan. Following the original text of the Annals of Master Lu (Lüshi Chunqiu), the character shan has been corrected.