Page:Elementary Chinese - San Tzu Ching (1900).djvu/55

Rh (see ) strengthening at six to reach their climacteric at eight, and is now classed under radical 一 i one.

Ku is composed of 禾 ho grain as radical, and a phonetic. It stands for cereals in general, and comes to have such meanings as alive, happy, which are apparently based upon the possession of grain.

Jen see.

So see.

Shih, the composition of which is disputed, seems to have originally meant a grain of rice. It is now a radical, and read it means food. [The commentary points out that the six grains mentioned must be held to include all the varieties which fall under each head.]

Ma is one of the stock pictures in the Chinese written language. The four dots, elsewhere used for 火 huo fire, are of course the legs. They also do duty for the legs and wings of 鳥 niao a bird, and for the fins of 魚 yü a fish. It is now a radical.

Niu was also a picture character under its old form, which may be produced by removing the dash at the left-hand top corner and turning up the ends of the upper horizontal so as to resemble horns. See.

Yang stands in the north for sheep; in the south it is more widely applied to the goat, also known as 山羊 shan yang mountain sheep. Confucius declared that niu and yang were both words formed after the likeness of the object intended. See.