一切經音義 74.159

74.159

梟其首 (pronounced with the fanqie 占堯 [xiāo]. The Shuowen jiezi says: "It means hanging a severed head upside down." That is to say, severing the head and hanging it upside down atop a pole to expose the crime. The character is also written as 梟. The Shuowen jiezi says: "An unfilial bird. On the winter solstice, they are captured, owl-like, and quartered; it is composed of 'bird' with its head atop 'wood'." Both glyph forms are used interchangeably.)