Chen Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Tree (mù) Entry: Xuan Kangxi Stroke Count: 13 Page 540, Entry 17 Pronounced xuan (falling tone). Commonly written in a variant form (xuan). Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Simple and Compounding Characters) defines it as a model for a shoe. Xu Xuan states: It is a mold used inside while weaving shoes, therefore it is called a standard. Chaoye Qianzai (Records of the Court and the Provinces) records that Yang Jiong of the Tang Dynasty often referred to court officials as qilin-xuan. This means: nowadays, those who dress up a fake qilin must decorate its exterior and cover it over the back of a donkey; once the outer skin is removed, what remains inside is still a donkey. Also, in Leipian (Classified Chapters), it is pronounced yuan (falling tone). It is the name of a type of tree. Erya (Approaching Elegance) notes: Xuan is the same as the guiliu tree. Also, in Jiyun (Collected Rhymes), it is pronounced yuan (level tone). The meaning is the same. Also, in Zhengyun (Correct Rhymes), it is pronounced yuan (rising tone). It refers to the tool used for reeling silk, known as a huo. The character for huo was originally written with the structure of the character ying and the character zhi, not with the character jue.