續一切經音義 4.19

4.19

Silkworm cocoon (蠶繭: for the upper, zá + hán [cán]; the Shuowen says, "To spin silk; derived from 䖵 with 朁 as phonetic." The sūtra text writes it as 蝅 or 蠶, which is incorrect; or writes it as 蚕, pronounced tiān + xiǎn [tiǎn], a kind of earthworm, which departs greatly from the character's meaning. For the lower, gǔ + diǎn [jiǎn]; the Shuowen derives it from 虫, 糸, and 𡵄, picturing the shape of a cocoon moth. The Sanqi jing says, "Just as a silkworm spinning a cocoon expels silk and binds itself." The sūtra writing it as 蠒 is not the original character).