Hai Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Bird (niǎo) Character: Yan Kangxi strokes: 21 Page 1497, Entry 09 Pronounced yan (falling tone). Same as the quail (yan) or the Japanese quail (ru). Also called an (quail), and also called ning. It is a small bird. According to the Classic of Birds (Qin Jing), the pheasant has a zhang, and the yan has a chi. Because the pheasant can fly a distance of a zhang, it is measured in zhang. Because the yan can fly a distance of a chi, it is measured in chi. The character chi is interchangeable with chi (red). It is also written as chi (斥), which is the chi-yan mentioned in the Zhuangzi. Li Shizhen says: The yan does not perch in trees; it can be called peaceful and self-possessed. It is what the Zhuangzi refers to when speaking of that which leaps no more than a few fathoms and flies low among the mugwort and wild grasses. It is also said: The yan is a bird. It often sings at dawn like a chicken, urging the people to harvest the wheat, which travelers take as a signal. In the Book of Rites (Liji), Inner Chapters (Neize), it is mentioned alongside the pheasant, hare, and quail. Also pronounced yan (falling tone). A type of quail.