一切經音義 87.6

87.6

Dark and deep (窅冥; the first character is pronounced with the fanqie 𦝫晈. The Shuowen says: "窅 means deep-set eyes; it takes the radical 穴 with 目 inside." Contemporary literati always use this character in their writings, taking only the meaning of depth, totally unaware that it is deeply contrary to proper principles and goes far astray. Sometimes it is written with 幼 as 窈; the commentary to the Mao Classic of Poetry says: "Quiet and secluded." The Shuowen says: "Deep and far-reaching." Regarding the meaning, this is still not quite correct. It properly should take [自/七] as [穴/自/匕]; this is the correct character for deep [in deep and dark]. People nowadays seldom use it, probably because they have never seen the original character. The Shuowen says: "[穴/自/匕] means dark and obscure; it takes 穴 with [自/匕] as phonetic"; [自/匕] has the same sound as above. It is also written as 杳).