續一切經音義 2.85

2.85

Mandarin ducks (鴛鴦: the first character has the fanqie 於 + 袁; the second has the fanqie 於 + 薑. The Book of Odes says, “The mandarin ducks fly in pairs.” The commentary says, “Mandarin ducks are paired birds, meaning they rest in pairs and fly in tandem.” Shuowen states that they take 夗 and 央 respectively; both are phono-semantic characters).