Wu Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Grain (hé) Kangxi Strokes: 12 Page 853, Entry 10 Pronounced xi (level tone). Explanations from the Tang Rhymes (Tangyun), Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun), and Rhyme Meeting (Yunhui) all agree. Explained in Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi) as sparse or infrequent. Xu Xuan explains that it should be composed of the components for crossing and cloth. The crossing component signifies sparsity, similar in meaning to the character for bright, while the cloth component symbolizes the roots and stems of grain. As for characters such as the name of a medicinal herb or to dry in the sun, they are all derived from a simplification of this character; how is this known? Because the character for hope is absent from Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi). Also used as a surname. Appears in the Garden of Surnames (Xingyuan). In the Collection of Rhymes (Jiyun), it is used interchangeably with the character for hope.