How to write 蠶

蠶 1. A general term for insects in the families Bombycidae and Saturniidae. The larvae can spin silk to form cocoons. The silk from the cocoon can be used as a fiber resource. For example: domestic silkworm; oak silkworm; castor silkworm. "Shuowen Jiezi" states, "蠶, apportioning silk." In "The Book of Songs, Wei Feng, Master of the Mice," it says: "The nation accuses its ruler of excessively taxing the people, indulging in their wealth without repairing the government, greedy and fearful of others." Kong Yingda explained: "To consume like a silkworm means the silkworm feeds on mulberry leaves, gradually consuming until the mulberry is exhausted." From the Southern Dynasty Song poet Bao Zhao's poem "Five Poems of the Ghost Orchid": "Amidst the noise, the silkworm twirls its silk." 2. To raise silkworms. From "Shujing Duyugong" it states, "The land suitable for mulberry, having obtained mulberry, raises silkworms." Kong Yingda elucidated: "Land suitable for mulberry, having obtained the mulberry, naturally raises silkworms." In "The Book of Jin," it states: "The cultivation for food, silkworms for clothing, is also the way of heaven." Li Bai from the Tang Dynasty writes in "Gong Wu Duh River": "Kill the torrents and floods; the nine provinces begin to grow silkworms and hemp." Noun: A general term for insects in the order Lepidoptera, specifically the families Bombycidae and Saturniidae. Capable of spinning silk, moving in a caterpillar manner, with six pairs of legs on the thorax, abdomen, and tail, feeding on mulberry leaves. As they grow from larvae, they must molt several times, each time taking three or four days, and after three or four times, they form a cocoon and metamorphosize into a moth. Verb: To raise silkworms. In the "Book of Jin, Volume 110, Records of Murong Huang," it states: "Cultivating for food, silkworms for clothing, is also the way of heaven." In the "New Book of Tang, Volume 112, Biography of Han Siyuan," it mentions: "One man farms, one woman raises silkworms; nourishing and clothing a hundred people, how can one expect to save enough?"