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郯 (tán) is a phono-semantic compound: the right-side radical 阝 (yì, 'city, state') marks it as a place name, while the left-side component 炎 (yán, 'flame, inflammation'), composed of two stacked fire (火) elements, provides the sound. The character denoted the ancient State of Tan, a minor vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty and subsequent Spring and Autumn period, and it survives today in the name of Tancheng County in Shandong province.
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