Hai Collection, Middle Volume. Radical: Bird (niǎo). Character: Yǐ. Kangxi stroke count: 12. Page 1481, Entry 01. Pronounced yǐ. In the Extensive Rhymes (Guangyun), it refers to a swallow. In the Literary Expositor (Erya), in the section Explaining Birds, it states that the swallow is known as the swallow-yǐ. Zheng Qiao comments that there are two types of swallows; having previously mentioned the white-throated swallow, this refers to the purple swallow. It is also known as the yí-ér, or the swimming wave. In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), in the Basic Annals of Qin, the commentary by Suoyin notes that Nüxiu, a descendant of Zhuanxu, swallowed the egg of a bird and gave birth to Daye. Also pronounced yá. The meaning is the same. According to the Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen), the original character was written as yǐ. The swallow is a bird. In the states of Qi and Lu, it is called yǐ, deriving its name from the sound of its own cry. It is a pictograph, and this is a variant form of the character. See also the entry for the character yǐ. Swallow.