一切經音義 35.166

35.166

Snake bite (虵齧) (the first character is *du-zhe* fan; a vulgar form; the correct standard takes 它 to write 蛇, or is written simply as 它; character dictionaries say: "A poisonous creeping creature"; the Mao Odes says: "Only vipers, only snakes"; Shuowen jiezi says: "In high antiquity, people dwelt in the grass and feared snakes, so they greeted each other asking, 'Is there no snake (它)?'"; Cang Jie pian says: "Snakes are not of one kind; they are extremely manifold and hard to detail"; 它 is pronounced *ta*; the second character is *yan-jie* fan; the Book of Rites says: "Do not gnaw on bones"; Shuowen jiezi says: "To chew and bite"; it takes the tooth radical and the *qie* (㓞) sound, being an ideogram).