214. | 楚 | 漢 | 爭 | upon which followed the struggle between the Ch'u and the Han States. | |
Ch'u3 | han4 | chêng1 | |||
Ch'u | han | contend |
Ch'u is composed of 林 lin a forest (line 66), one half of which is the radical under which it is now classed, and 疋 (now p'i3 a piece or bale) an old form of 足 tsu foot, as phonetic. Its chief meanings are to punish, clear, perspicuous; but it is here only the name of a State (line 210).
Han is composed of 水 shui water as radical, and a contraction of 難 nan difficult as phonetic. It originally meant waves, and is the name of a famous river. It has also been applied to the Milky Way, and is here the name of a State.
Chêng is composed of 爪, chao claws, its modern radical, which is the picture of a hand with the back uppermost, 又 yu a hand (line 18), and an obsolete character meaning to drag, i.e. two hands tugging.
215. | 高 | 祖 | 興 | Then Kao Tsu arose, | |
Kao1 | tsu3 | hsing1 | |||
Kao | tsu | rise |
Kao see line 89.
Tsu see line 89. [Kao tsu is a "temple name," often bestowed after death upon the first Emperor of a dynasty (line 239). The Emperor here in question was 劉邦 Liu Pang, a quondam beadle, who in B.C. 202, after a successful revolution, mounted the throne as first Emperor of the Han dynasty.]
Hsing is composed of 臼 chiu a mortar with 同 t'ung (line 106) inserted, the lower portion being originally a pair of hands holding up the mortar (cf. line 87). It means by extension to prosper. [Eitel wrongly translates "Kao Tsu, being victorious."]