The Han dynasty repeatedly intermarried with the Chanyu (Xiongnu rulers) to keep peace.
Tips
history
The chán reading exists only inside 单于, the title for the supreme ruler of the 匈奴 (Xiongnu) nomadic confederation that menaced the Qin and Han empires from the 3rd century BCE. The most famous bearer is Mòdú Chányú (Modu), who unified the steppe tribes around 209 BCE. Outside this fixed historical title you will never read 单 as chán.
Components
ideograph
单chán
in 单于 — Chanyu (Xiongnu king title)
Same glyph as the everyday 单 — only the reading differs. In the fixed historical compound 单于 the character carries a phonetic Xiongnu loan-value rather than its native "single" meaning, so the chán reading is locked to that one word. The visible silhouette is the same cursive contraction of traditional 單 described under the dān entry.
Filed under radical 八 (bā) by convention. 八 is not a separate component in 单, so no strokes are highlighted.
