Wei Collection, Lower Volume
Radical: Boat (zhōu)
Yi
Kangxi strokes: 16
Page 1012, Entry 09
Guangyun: Pronounced yi. Jiyun, Yunhui: Pronounced yi.
Guangyun: Yi boat refers to a boat with a prow shaped like an yi bird.
Yangzi: Regional Dialects (Fangyan): The prow of a boat is called a ge-lu, or sometimes an yi-shou.
Annotation: The yi is a type of bird. Today, the boats of nobles in the Jiangdong region are decorated with images of green sparrows, which are representations of this. The yi is pronounced yi.
Sima Xiangru: Zixu Rhapsody (Zixu fu): Floating on patterned yi boats, waving banners and oars.
Zhengzitong: During the Jin Dynasty, Wang Jun built large ships and painted yi birds and strange beasts on the prows to frighten the river spirits. The original character was yi; later people named the boat yi because of this.
Also Jiyun: Pronounced ni. The meaning is the same.