You Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Cowrie (bèi) Zi Kangxi strokes: 12 Page 1206, Entry 13 Guangyun dictionary, Jiyun dictionary, and Yunhui dictionary state: Pronounced zi. Same pronunciation as the character for whiskers (zi). Shuowen Jiezi dictionary explains: A fine paid in money to redeem a minor offense. Han dynasty law stipulated that commoners who did not perform corvee labor were required to pay a fine of twenty-two coins. Xu states: This is equivalent to modern costs for hiring a substitute to perform labor. Yupian dictionary explains: Wealth, goods. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Biography of the Disciples of Confucius: Zigong was skilled in trade, buying and selling goods according to the season to make a profit. Also used interchangeably with the character zi. Book of Han (Hanshu), Annals of Emperor Jing: At that time, one had to possess property reaching a certain amount to hold office. Note: Shigu states: Zi is pronounced the same as zi. Liushu Gu: The character zi (resources) is sometimes also written in a variant form as zi.