Chou Collection, Middle Volume. Radical: Earth (tǔ). Kangxi strokes: 9. Page 228, Entry 14. Ancient citations: Tang Rhymes (Tangyun) pronounces it yin (level tone); Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) pronounces it yin (level tone); Rhyme Collection (Yunhui) pronounces it yin (level tone). The pronunciation is the same as the word for silver. It refers to the boundary of the land and also refers to a riverbank. Erya (Erya): Explaining the Earth states: The boundaries of the nine heavens are called the nine yin. Chu Ci (Chu ci): Distant Journey states: Traveling far to the extreme northern boundary to reach the cold gate. Annotation explains: This refers to the gate of the North Pole. Huainanzi (Huainanzi): Treatise on Astronomy mentions: The energy has the boundaries of the Milky Way. Yang Xiong (Yang Xiong): Rhapsody on the Sweet Springs (Ganquan Fu) states: Drifting past the dragon abyss and circling the nine-fold boundaries; peering into the depths of the earth and spiraling upward. It also states: The boundaries of heaven split and the boundaries of earth open. Also, Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) pronounces it yin (level tone); Rhyme Collection (Yunhui) pronounces it yin (level tone). The meaning is the same. It is also synonymous with the character qi. See the entry for the character qi for details. Also, Collected Rhymes (Jiyun) pronounces it hen (level tone). Guangya (Guangya) defines it as a mountain cliff. It is also written as the character yi. Also pronounced gen (falling tone). It refers to the traces of mounds on the land. It is also used interchangeably with the character for silver to indicate a boundary. Also, a rhyming variation pronounced yan (level tone). Chu Ci (Chu ci): Distant Journey states: The Way can be understood in the heart but cannot be spoken in words; it is so small it has no interior, and it is so large it has no boundary. Note: The rhyming pronunciation should be read as yi, and categorized into the proper rhyme group. The word chuan is in the xian rhyme, and the word yan is in the yuan rhyme. The Dictionary of Characters (Zihui) annotates the pronunciation as yan, and the Zhengzitong (Zhengzitong) follows this annotation, which is incorrect. It is now corrected based on the Rhyme Supplement (Yunbu). The character structure consists of Earth and Gen. Gen means to stop, indicating that it stops where it is located.