Zi Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Person (rén) 佴 Kangxi strokes: 8 Page 100, Entry 21 Pronounced èr. According to the Tang Rhyme (Tangyun) and the Jiyun, it is pronounced similarly to the character meaning two. The Erya, Explanation of Words (Erya Shiyan) defines the term as meaning a deputy or a secondary assistant. Note: The phrase erci means to serve as a deputy or to be secondary in rank. In the Letter to Ren An (Bao Ren An Shu) by Sima Qian, it is written: Li Ling is already alive having surrendered, ruining his family reputation, and I, in turn, have been imprisoned in the silkworm chamber to suffer castration, becoming an object of ridicule for all under heaven. It is also a place name. The Records of Jinling (Jinling Zhi) mentions Ershu Village. There is also Ergelong, which is a place name in Yunnan. Also, according to the Guangyun and the Jiyun, it is pronounced nài. It is a surname. During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, there was a metropolitan graduate (jinshi) named Er Qi.