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蟠 is a phonosemantic compound: the left radical 虫 (insect or creeping animal) associates it with creatures like snakes, worms, and dragons, while the right component 番 (fān) provides the pronunciation. It denotes coiling or twisting around, often evoking a dragon's serpentine resting posture in classical texts. The coiling concept is metaphorically extended to plants, most notably in 蟠桃 (pántáo), which refers to a flat peach or the legendary peach of immortality from a twisting, ancient mythological tree.
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