Si Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Water (shuǐ) Yin; Kangxi strokes: 12; Page 631, Entry 09 Ancient form. Pronounced yin. Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Single-component Characters and Analyzing Compound Characters): To soak or immerse, following the natural grain or principle. Xu Kai says: To soak and permeate according to the veins or structure of an object. Book of Rites (Zhouli), Winter Officers, Record of Trades: Those who are good at building dikes use water to soak them. Commentary: This refers to using silt-laden liquid to soak the dikes, making them thicker. Also: To release or be unrestrained. Book of Rites (Liji), Questions of Duke Ai: Unrestrained in virtue and never weary. Also: To be greedy or gluttonous. Book of Rites (Liji), Record of Music: When music is excessive and reaches the Shang note. Also: To overflow or exceed limits. Book of Documents (Shangshu), Counsels of the Great Yu: Do not be excessive in musical enjoyment. Also: Extreme or severe. Liezi, Yellow Emperor Chapter: The Yellow Emperor said: My errors have been extreme. Also: Great. Book of Odes (Shijing), Odes of Zhou: Already possessing great majesty. Also: To usurp or overstep. Discourses of the States (Guoyu), Narratives of Wu: Seizing the eastern seas of the King, and gaining a reputation for usurpation before the Son of Heaven. Also: To be long-lasting or protracted. Discourses of the States (Guoyu), Narratives of Jin: The foundations are obstructed and the stagnation is long-lasting. Commentary: Stagnation is a state of abandonment and long-standing delay. Also: Wicked or depraved. Book of Rites (Liji), Royal Regulations: With intentions that are wicked and preferences that are perverse. Also: Book of Rites (Liji), Qu Li: Do not look with an unfocused or wandering gaze. Sub-commentary: This refers to eyes that drift or wander. Also: Xiao Erya: When men and women interact without observing the proper rituals, this is called lewdness or illicit relations. Also: When the planet Jupiter loses its expected position, this is also called yin. Zuo Tradition (Zuozhuan), 28th Year of Duke Xiang: The year was in the Xingji constellation, and it moved into the Yuanxiao constellation. Also: Yin-yin, the appearance of going far away. Yang Xiong, Rhapsody on Feather Hunting: Moving far off and leisurely. Commentary: The appearance of coming and going. Also: Name of a water source. Huainanzi, Surveying the Obscure: Nuwa gathered reed ashes to stem the overflowing waters. Commentary: Water emerging on flat ground is called yin. Also: Name of a spring. Wang Zinian, Records of Occurrences (Shiyiji): South of Rinan, there is the bay of the Yin Spring. Also: Name of a tree. Cailan Zazhi: The country of Xundun has the Yin tree. Also: Name of a fish. Huainanzi, Explaining Mountains: When Hubu played the zither, the Yin fish emerged to listen. Also: Pronounced yan. In Badong, there is the Yanyu Mound. Ancient Song: The Yanyu is as large as a horse. Nowadays written as Yanyu. Also: Pronounced nie. Book of Rites (Zhouli), Winter Officers, Record of Trades: The dyer treats the silk, soaking it with clam ash. Commentary: Yin should be read as nie. Also: Pronounced yao. Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing): There is the Yin River, its waters clear and flowing. Commentary: Yin is pronounced yao, the same as yao (jade-like).