[1] In modern Chinese dictionaries, Carr surveys prevalent proposals for Wa's etymology ranging from a transcription of the Japanese first-person pronouns waga 我が "my; our" and ware 我 "I; oneself; thou" to Wa as 倭 implying "dwarf barbarians", and summarizes interpretations for *ʼWâ "Japanese" into variations on two etymologies: "behaviorally 'submissive' or physically 'short' ".

It defines 倭 as shùnmào 順皃 "obedient/submissive",[3] graphically explains the "person; human' radical with a wěi 委 "bent" phonetic, and quotes the above Shi Jing poem.

According to the 1716 Kangxi Dictionary (倭又人名 魯宣公名倭), 倭 was the name of King Tuyen (魯宣公) of Lu (Chinese: 魯國; pinyin: Lǔ Guó, c. 1042 – 249 BCE).

This wěi phonetic element depicts hé 禾 "grain" over nǚ 女 "woman", which Bernhard Karlgren[9] semantically analyzes as: "bend down, bent, tortuous, crooked; fall down, throw down, throw away, send away, reject; send out, delegate – to bend like a 女 woman working with the 禾 grain."

Wēi 倭 occurs in wēichí 倭遲 "winding; sinuous; circuitous; meandering", which has numerous variants including wēiyí 逶迤 and 委蛇.

The oldest recorded usage of 倭 is the Shi Jing (162) description of a wēichí 倭遲 "winding; serpentine; tortuous" road; compare (18) using wēituó 委佗 "compliant; bending, pliable; graceful".

Reconstructed pronunciations of wō 倭 in Middle Chinese (c. 6th–10th centuries CE) include ʼuâ (Bernhard Karlgren), ʼua (Zhou Fagao), and ʼwa (Edwin G. Pulleyblank).

Chinese wō 倭 "an old name for Japan" is a loanword in other East Asian languages including Korean 왜 wae or wa, Cantonese wai1 or wo1, and Taiwanese Hokkien e2.

[citation needed] In modern dictionaries, an article by Michael Carr[11] "compares how Oriental and Occidental lexicographers have treated the fact that Japan's first written name was a Chinese Wō < *ʼWâ 倭 'short/submissive people' insult."

To analyze how Chinese dictionaries deal with the belittling origins of Wō, Carr divides definitions into four types, abbreviated with Greek alphabet letters Alpha through Delta.

Beta (B) "compliant; Japanese" is illustrated by "demütig [humble; submissive; meek], gehorchen [obey; respond]" Praktisches zeichenlexikon chinesisch-deutsch-japanisch [A Practical Chinese-German-Japanese Character Dictionary] (1983).

Gamma (Γ) "type definitions such as "depreciatingly Japanese" (e.g., A Beginner's Chinese-English Dictionary of the National Language (Gwoyeu) 1964) include usage labels such as "derogatory," "disparaging," "offensive," or "contemptuous".

Some Γ notations are restricted to subentries like "Wōnú 倭奴 (in modern usage, derogatively) the Japs" (Zuixin shiyong Han-Ying cidian 最新實用和英辭典 [A New Practical Chinese-English Dictionary] 1971).

Delta (Δ) "Japanese" is the least informative type of gloss; for instance, "an old name for Japan" (Xin Han-Ying cidian 新漢英詞典 [A New Chinese-English Dictionary] 1979).

A Δ definition avoids offending the Japanese, but misleads the dictionary user in the same way as the OED2 defining wetback and white trash without usage labels.

Even the modern-day Unicode universal character standard reflects inherent lexicographic problems with this ancient Chinese Wō 倭 "Japan" affront.

The Unihan (Unified CJK characters) segment of Unicode largely draws definitions from two online dictionary projects, the Chinese CEDICT and Japanese EDICT.

The 《海內北經》; Haineibei jing; 'Classic of Regions Within the North Sea' chapter includes Wa among foreign places both real (such as Korea) and legendary (e.g. Penglai Mountain).

The Lunheng (論衡; 'Discourses Weighed in the Balance') is a compendium of essays written by Wang Chong c. 70–80 CE, on subjects including philosophy, religion, and the natural sciences.

[21]Another chapter titled 《恢國》; Huīguó; 'Restoring the Nation' similarly records that Emperor Cheng of Han (r. 51–7 BCE) was presented tributes of Vietnamese pheasants and Japanese herbs.

[27] Some 12,000 li to the south of Wa is 狗奴國; Gǒunúguó; 'dog slave country' [Japanese Kunakoku], which is identified with the Kumaso tribe that lived around Higo and Ōsumi Provinces in southern Kyushu.

A son of the ruler Shao-k'ang of Hsia, when he was enfeoffed as lord of K'uai-chi, cut his hair and decorated his body with designs in order to avoid the attack of serpents and dragons.

Researchers have noted cultural similarities between the ancient Wu state and Wō Japan including ritual tooth-pulling, back child carriers, and tattooing (represented with red paint on Japanese Haniwa statues).

In ... [107 CE], during the reign of An-ti (107-125), the King of Wa presented one hundred sixty slaves, making at the same time a request for an imperial audience.

In the twenty-eighth year [451], the additional title was granted of Peacekeeper-General of the East; Overseer of All Military Affairs in the Six Countries of Wa, Silla, Imna, Gaya, Jin-han and Mok-han.

456–479)] comes to power, self-proclaiming himself as Peacekeeper-General of the East; Overser of All Military Affairs in the Seven Countries of Wa, Baekje, Silla, Imna, Gaya, Jin-han and Mok-han.

[35]In 607 CE, the Sui Shu records that "King Tarishihoko" (a mistake for Empress Suiko) sent an envoy, Buddhist monks, and tribute to Emperor Yang.

According to the Nihongi, Suiko gave Pei a different version of the imperial letter, contrasting Japanese Tennō 天皇 'Japanese emperor' and Kōtei 皇帝 'emperor' (Chinese tiānhuáng and huángdì) instead of using "Son of Heaven".

[39]Aston quotes the 797 CE Shoku Nihongi history that this 607 Japanese mission to China first objected to writing Wa with the Chinese character 倭.

This memorial stele, which has the oldest usage of Wakō (倭寇, "Japanese pirates", Waegu in Korean), records Wa as a military ally of Baekje in their battles with Goguryeo and Silla.