葛

// Botanical: The kudzu vine (//Pueraria montana*), including its climbing stems and its root (used medicinally or as a source of starch).

• Proper Noun: A common surname (Ge).

While some dictionaries list the plant as an "edible bean" due to its classification as a legume, it is functionally a climbing vine. The distinction between the seed/pod and the physical vine is significant for the visual and tactile quality of a passage.

Tang-period reading: gɑt; Fanqie reading: 古達.

Consider whether the text refers to the plant's medicinal root or its growth habit. Because of the vine's tendency to twist and wrap, the glyph can evoke imagery of entanglement or complexity; while specific terms for "conflict" (such as //geteng//) are later developments, the physical image of intertwining may be present in earlier texts.