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The character 埙, corresponding to the traditional forms 塤 and 壎, designates an ancient Chinese globular wind instrument, normally fashioned from baked clay and equipped with several finger holes to produce distinct melodic notes. Its left component, the earth radical 土, indicates the earthenware material of the instrument, and the right component 员 (yuán) functions as the phonetic, a simplification of the traditional 員. The character names one of the oldest instruments in the Chinese eight-tone classification, and its meaning is narrowly restricted to this singular musicological artifact.
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