Chou Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Woman (nǚ) Wa Kangxi strokes: 12 Page 267, Entry 28 Pronounced wa. According to the Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), she was an ancient sacred woman who created and fostered all things. Furthermore, it was she who first invented the sheng-huang (a reed instrument). In the Book of Rites (Liji), reference is made to the sheng-huang of Wa. In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), it is stated that Wa smelted five-colored stones to mend the heavens. There is also Mount Wa, located to the west of Zhushan County in Yunyang; it is said to be the place where she smelted stones to repair the heavens. In the poems of Wang Xiangzhi, it is said that travelers are rare beneath Mount Wa, and birds cry out deep within the misty mountain valleys. Also pronounced gua. The meaning is the same. It is also a surname. According to the Proper Character Guide (Zhengzitong), in some local dialects it is sometimes pronounced wa. Also written in a variant form (wo). The meaning is the same.