Mao Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Hand (shou) Kangxi strokes: 13 Page 443, Entry 04 Pronounced ya. According to the Explanation of Scripts (Shuowen), it means to pull up. According to the Regional Dialects (Fangyan) by Yang Xiong, in the area between the eastern Qi region and the sea and mountains, it is called ya. In the Mencius (Mengzi), there is a story of a man from Song who was distressed that his sprouts were not growing and pulled them up. Also, according to the Expanded Rhymes (Guangyun), it means to pull out the heart of a plant. According to the Lesser Literary Expositor (Xiao Erya), pulling out the heart is called ya. Sometimes written in a simplified variant form (zha).