Dung-beetle character

蜣 names a dung beetle, usually in 蜣螂. The compound is clearer in ordinary modern writing; bare 蜣 is rare and dictionary-like.

An old Chinese wordbook, 《爾雅》, records 蛣蜣 as another name for 蜣螂. Other traditional names—轉丸, 弄丸, and 推丸—refer to the beetle rolling a dung ball.

What do older Chinese records say about 蜣?

The animal name also appears in medical writing. A medical manuscript from Mawangdui records 慶良, identified as 蜣蜋, in a list of animal medicines; the manuscripts were excavated in 1973.

The saying 蛣蜣之智在於轉丸—“the beetle's skill lies in rolling its ball”—is linked to the Zhuangzi, a classic of Chinese philosophy. It does not appear in the received text itself; the link comes through later commentary.