277. | 彼 | 無 | 書 | These men had no books, | |
Pi3 | wu2 | shu1 | |||
They | not | book |
Pi see line 273.
Wu was originally composed of 亡 wang to perish as radical, with 橆 wu abundant (now a synonym of 無) as phonetic. It is the negation of 有 yu (line 14), and is classed under radical 火 huo fire, as seen in combination at the bottom of a character.
Shu see line 114.
278. | 且 | 知 | 勉 | they knew how to make an effort. | |
Ch'ieh3 | chih1 | mien3 | |||
Yet | know | effort |
Ch'ieh see line 274.
Chih see line 28.
Mien is composed of 力 li strength as radical, and 免 mien to avoid as phonetic. It originally meant strong, stiff, hard, etc.
279. | 頭 | 懸 | 梁 | One tied his head to the beam above him; | |
T'ou2 | hsüan2 | liang2 | |||
Head | hang | beam |
T'ou is composed of 頁 yeh head, leaf, as radical, and 豆 tou a sacrificial vessel, beans, as phonetic.
Hsüan is composed of 心 hsin heart as radical, and 縣 hsien, which was the original form of this character but is now reserved for the sense of magistracy, magistrate, as phonetic, the radical heart being a late addition, to prevent confusion.
Liang see line 228. [This line refers to 孫敬 Sun Ching, a scholar of the 2nd cent. A.D. He thus prevented himself from nodding over his books.]