尺蠖

尺蠖

Chinese

FWOTD – 8 August 2014

		a Chinese foot (M); one-third of a meter; a ruler a Chinese foot (M); one-third of a meter; a ruler; a note musical note on traditional Chinese scale	looper caterpillar
simp. and trad. (尺蠖)		尺	蠖
variant forms		蚇蠖

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chǐhuò

  (Zhuyin): ㄔˇ ㄏㄨㄛˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cek³ wok⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: chǐhuò
    • Zhuyin: ㄔˇ ㄏㄨㄛˋ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chyyhuoh
    • IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ xu̯ɔ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: cek³ wok⁶
    • Yale: chek wohk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsek⁸ wok⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: cég³ wog⁶
    • IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɛːk̚³ wɔːk̚²/

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• Middle Chinese: /t͡ɕʰiᴇk̚  ʔwɑk̚/▼

Rime
Character	尺	蠖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	昌 (24)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	昔 (123)	鐸 (104)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	昌石切	烏郭切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ɕʰiᴇk̚/	/ʔwɑk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡ɕʰiɛk̚/	/ʔʷɑk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ɕʰiæk̚/	/ʔuɑk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/cʰiajk̚/	/ʔwak̚/
Li Rong	/t͡ɕʰiɛk̚/	/ʔuɑk̚/
Wang Li	/t͡ɕʰĭɛk̚/	/uɑk̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛk̚/	/ʔwɑk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chi	wo

• Old Chinese▼

  (Zhengzhang): /*tʰjaɡ  qʷaːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	尺
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	chǐ
Middle Chinese	‹ tsyhek ›
Old Chinese	/*tʰAk/
English	foot (measure)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	尺	蠖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	1461	5592
Phonetic component	尺	蒦
Rime group	鐸	鐸
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	尺	雘
Old Chinese	/*tʰjaɡ/	/*qʷaːɡ/

Noun

尺蠖

1. (zoology) looper; inchworm; measuring worm

   • 尺蠖之屈，以求信也。龍蛇之蟄，以存身也。精義入神，以致用也。利用安身，以崇德也。過此以往，未之或知也。窮神知化，德之盛也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     尺蠖之屈，以求信也。龙蛇之蛰，以存身也。精义入神，以致用也。利用安身，以崇德也。过此以往，未之或知也。穷神知化，德之盛也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: I Ching, 3^rd – 2^nd millennia BCE

     Chǐhuò zhī qū, yǐ qiú xìn yě. Lóngshé zhī zhé, yǐ cún shēn yě. Jīng yì rù shén, yǐ zhì yòng yě. Lì yòng ān shēn, yǐ chóng dé yě. Guò cǐ yǐwǎng, wèi zhī huò zhī yě. Qióngshén zhīhuà, dé zhī shèng yě. [Pinyin]

     When the looper coils itself up, it thereby straightens itself again; when worms and snakes go into the state of hybernation, they thereby keep themselves alive. (So), when we minutely investigate the nature and reasons (of things), till we have entered into the inscrutable and spirit-like in them, we attain to the largest practical application of them; when that application becomes the quickest and readiest, and all personal restfulness is secured, our virtue is thereby exalted. Going on beyond this, we reach a point which it is hardly possible to know. We have thoroughly comprehended the inscrutable and spirit-like, and know the processes of transformation; - this is the fulness of virtue.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (尺蠖):

• → Japanese: 尺蠖 (しゃっかく) (shakkaku); 尺蠖 (せっかく) (sekkaku)
• → Korean: 척확 (尺蠖, cheokhwak)
• → Vietnamese: xích oách (尺蠖), xích hoạch (尺蠖)