How to write 垩

垩 (è) 1. **White soil**; generally refers to soil that can be used for coating or decoration. - Example: 白～ (commonly known as "white soil"), also referred to as “大白”. 2. **To coat with white soil**. - Example: ～墙 (whitewashing walls), ～墁 (coating with white soil), ～室 (a room coated with white soil, where sons of filial piety lived after their parents passed away, in the eleventh month of mourning in familial temples). **Base Meaning**: White soil, used to decorate walls. - **Character Formation**: The character is phono-semantic; composed of 土 (earth) and 亚 (similar sound). 3. **Later generalized to refer to various types of soil that can be used for coating.** - Example: 垩灰 (another name for lime), 垩笔 (chalk). 4. **To coat walls with white paint** (*En.* whitewash). - **Examples**: - 垩帚 (a tool for whitewashing walls), - 垩室 (a house where mourners stay, with walls coated in white soil), - 垩车 (a white-coated vehicle for mourning), - 垩涂 (to paint or coat), - 垩庐 (a room coated with white soil). **Citations**: 1. *Shuowen Jiezi*: 垩, white coating. 2. *Shanhaijing*: On the mountain, abundant with垩; noted for its very white color. 3. Sima Xiangru wrote in "Zi Xu Fu": The soil consists of red, green, and white. 4. In *Guliang Zhuan*: Nobles had deep 垩. Note: The character 垩 has multiple meanings that derive from its foundational concept of coating and decoration, primarily using white soil.