Wu Collection, Lower Volume Radical: Grain (hé) Character: xì Kangxi stroke count: 14 Page 855, Entry 38 According to the Extensive Rhymes (Guangyun) and Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), the pronunciation is xi (falling-rising tone). In the Wu region, people call rice xì. Also, according to the Collected Rhymes (Jiyun), the pronunciation is qiè. It refers to a grain stalk. It is also used as a loan character for the word xì (purification ceremony). As seen in the Orchid Pavilion Preface (Lanting Tie) by Wang Xizhi: to perform the purification ceremony.