Zi Collection, Page Position: Lower Radical: Legs (ér) Kangxi Dictionary Strokes: 8 Page 123, Entry 01 Pronounced rǎn (falling tone), same pronunciation as rén (level tone) — Jiyun (Jiyun), Yunhui (Yunhui) Explained as "person" — Shuowen Jiezi (Shuowen Jiezi) Explained as "a virtuous person" — Yupian (Yupian) Confucius said: Because the person is below, the character's shape is bent — Dai Tong, Liushu Gu (Liushu Gu) Considers "rén" and "ér" not to be two separate characters, but rather forms that change based on their position in a combination. When on the left, as in "bó" (伯) or "zhòng" (仲); when below, as in "ér" (兒) or "jiàn" (見) — Dai Tong, Liushu Gu (Liushu Gu) States that "rén" resembles a standing person, while "ér" resembles a walking person — Zheng Qiao, Liushue Lue (Liushue Lue) Also, pronounced jī (level tone), same pronunciation as jiè (falling tone), meaning a virtuous person — Jiyun (Jiyun) The ancient script for "ér" (兒) is pronounced rǔ (rising tone) — Tangyun (Tangyun) Pronounced rú (rising tone), same pronunciation as ěr (level tone) — Jiyun (Jiyun), Yunhui (Yunhui), Zhengyun (Zhengyun) Explained as "young child" — Shuowen Jiezi (Shuowen Jiezi) Pictographic character resembling a child with the fontanelle not yet closed — Shuowen Jiezi (Shuowen Jiezi) Boys are called "ér" (兒), and girls are called "yīng" (嬰) — Yunhui (Yunhui) Also explained as "ní" (倪), referring to the beginning of a person's life, like the initial sprouts of a tree — Yunhui (Yunhui) Also stated to be "rú" (嬬), meaning the softness of an infant — Cangshang Pian (Cangshang Pian) Also a surname; there was a person named Er Kuan (兒寬) during the Han Dynasty — Yunhui (Yunhui) Also pronounced wǔ (falling tone), same pronunciation as ní (rising tone) — Tangyun (Tangyun), Jiyun (Jiyun), Yunhui (Yunhui) Also a surname — Jiyun (Jiyun), Yunhui (Yunhui) Records an article titled "Er Liang" (兒良) — Qian Han, Yiwen Zhi (Qian Han, Yiwen Zhi) Note: Shigu said Er Liang (兒良) was a person from the Warring States period — Shigu Er Kuan (兒寬) was from Qiancheng (千乘) — Er Kuan Zhuan (Er Kuan Zhuan) Also explained as "weak and small," a phonetic loan for "ní" (倪) — Yunhui (Yunhui) There is "fǎn qí máo ní" (反其旄倪) in Mencius — Mencius (Mengzi) Verification: "Child" changed to "young child" — Shuowen Jiezi (Shuowen Jiezi) "Fontanelle" changed to "top of the head, fontanelle" — Shuowen Jiezi (Shuowen Jiezi) "Mao ni" changed to "mao ni" — Mencius (Mengzi)