The original text is xiongxiao 兇梟 [ominous owl], referring to accidental disasters. Xiao 梟 [owl] is understood as a kind of unfilial bird in the first Chinese dictionary Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 [Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters]. Lu Ji 陸機 (261-303) in his annotation to Book of Songs says that when the children of xiao grow up, they will come back and eat their mother. In general, xiao is considered an evil bird in Chinese culture. The character xiao has a negative connotation and later refers to evil, crime, and disaster.
Language and Culture Center (LCC) at Duke Kunshan University
