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鼗 is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic element relates to drums and percussion, and the phonetic is 兆 at the top left. It denotes a traditional pellet drum, a small percussion instrument with a handle, and two pellets on strings that strike the drumheads when twirled. The character has consistently referred to this instrument, used as a musical toy, ritual object, and street vendor's signal, appearing in musical and cultural vocabularies.
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