Hi, this four character inscription is on an ancestral altar which contains two spirit tablets. I am unsure of the more modern equivalents of these characters and would be grateful for any assistance.
2 Answers
as @drooze revealed, it's "孝思維則"
reading from right to left:
孝: http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=孝
思: http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=思
維: http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=維
則: http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=則
the verse is original from 詩經 大雅 文王之什 下武:
成王之孚
下土之式
永言孝思
孝思維則
the ctext.org has a translation:
He secured the confidence due to a king,
And became a pattern of all below him.
Ever thinking how to be filial,
His filial mind was the model [which he supplied].
The characters are 孝思維則, which comes from a line in a poem called 《下武》 in the anthology Classic of Poetry - Major Court Hymns.
《詩經・大雅・下武》:「永言孝思,孝思維則」
As an idiomatic expression removed from the context of the poem, this translates to:
[Man] must forever abide by filial piety, for filial piety is the moral code [of Man].
「孝」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*qʰˤuʔ-s/ > Middle Chinese: /hˠauH/, Fanqie: 呼敎切, filial piety) is composed of
- 「老」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*C.rˤuʔ/ > MC: /lɑuX/, Fanqie: 盧晧切, old), both a semantic and a phonetic component;
- 「子」(child), a semantic component.
「老」was later abbreviated to「耂」, as seen in the transition between forms A1 and A2.
A1
西周
金
曶鼎
集成2838A2
楚
簡
郭・語3・61
A3
篆
說文解字
A4
秦
簡
睡・法102
A5
現代
楷
老
「老」was originally a depiction of an old, hunched person with unkempt hair grasping a walking cane. The cane later detached from the character (transitioning from B1-B2) and changed to the shape of「匕」(form B2 onwards).
B1
商
甲
乙8896
合集22246B2
商
甲
前2.2.6
合集36416B3
西周
金
殳季良父壺
集成9713B4
秦
簡
睡・雜32
B5
現代
楷
子
「子」depicts a young child.
C1
商
甲
甲2903
合集20576C2
楚
簡
包2・66
C3
秦
簡
睡・秦62
C4
現代
楷
「思」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*[s]ə/ > MC: /sɨ/, Fanqie: 息兹切, to think about / to miss) is composed of
- 「囟」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*[s]ə[r]-s/ > MC: /siɪnH/, Fanqie: 息晉切), a phonetic component;
- 「心」(heart/mind), a semantic component.
The original form of the character is「恖」; in this character,「囟」was later merged into the shape of「田」, which is easily identifiable in the image.
D1
戰國
金
五年龏令思
集成11348D2
秦
簡
睡・為49
D3
現代
楷
心
「心」depicted a heart. The heart chambers later became exaggerated (E1-E2), then heavily abbreviated (E5 onwards).
E1
商
甲
甲3510
合集6E2
西周
金
史墻盤
集成10175E3
楚
簡
包2・218
E4
篆
說文解字
E5
魏
隸
上尊號奏
E6
現代
楷
「維」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*ɢʷij/ > MC: /jiuɪ/, Fanqie: 以追切, to bind/tie > to maintain/preserve) is composed of
- 「糸」(fine silk), a semantic component;
- 「隹」(Baxter-Sagart OC: /*ɢʷij/), a phonetic component.
/*ɢʷij/ for「隹」is a lost phonetic line; the current pronunciation derives from /*tur/ > /t͡ɕiuɪ/, 職追切.
F1
春秋
金
蔡侯墓殘鐘
集成224F2
篆
說文解字
F3
楚
簡
曾123
F4
現代
楷
糸
「糸」depicts fine silk threads.
G1
商
甲
京津4487
合集28401G2
篆
說文解字
G3
現代
楷
隹
「隹」depicts a bird.
H1
商
甲
乙660
合集2317H2
戰國
金
陳侯午敦
集成4647G3
篆
說文解字
G4
現代
楷
「則」(patterns > norms/rules) is composed of
- 「鼎」(cauldron), a semantic component;
- 「刀・刂」(knife), a semantic component.
The structure「則」originally described the carving of patterns onto bronzeware. Later on,「鼎」was abbreviated into「貝」, which is easily identifiable in the image.
J1
西周
金
曶鼎
集成2838J2
春秋
金
曾子𡱵簠
集成4528J3
篆
說文解字
J4
秦
簡
睡・日甲39
J5
現代
楷
刀
「刀・刂」depicts a knife.
K1
商
甲
甲3092
合集20349K2
篆
說文解字
K3
秦
簡
睡・日甲26
K4
現代
楷
References: