稗官

Traditional form:

稗官

Pinyin (reading):

bàiguān

Definitions:

• (old) petty official charged with reporting back to the ruler on what people in a locality are talking about
• novel in the vernacular
• fiction writer; novelist

Characters:

• 稗 - darnels, weeds; small, insignificant
• 官 - official, public servant

Traditional characters:

• 稗 - darnels, weeds; small, insignificant
• 官 - official, public servant