10
votes
Why most cursive forms of two Chinese characters, "不" and "正", have a different shape that violates the stroke order?
There might be a bit of misunderstanding about where cursive script comes from. Many cursive characters do not actually come from regular script, but are derived from Warring States era brush ...
- 22.2k
6
votes
Accepted
what exact image is the basis for the 圭?
「圭」 does not come from a depiction of a tablet. That meaning of jade tablet is a semantic extension.
時期字體
字形
參考資料
—
A
—
商甲
乙6776合集11006
—
B
—
商玉璋
殷墟玉璋
西周金
師遽方彝集成9897
春秋金
旨於賜戈集成11310
戰國・...
- 22.2k
5
votes
When does 木 as a character component get detached legs?
To start off,「木」is not supposed to have detached legs and end up looking like「朩」. In one of the most stringent glyph standards, Kangxi Dictionary style Ming (Serif), if the Shuowen small seal shape ...
- 22.2k
5
votes
Please help identify traditional Chinese painting
Starting from the seal script, the left character is either 歡 or 觀 (from 趙孟頫 as well). I can't guess which one because the top-right part is blurred. As for the right-hand side one, I don't know ...
- 781
5
votes
What is the signature and red seal on my landscape painting? (Characters identified: 廣城作)
Regular script transcription
The cursive calligraphy says
作廣
城
Work of 廣城 (Mandarin Pinyin: Guǎng Chéng)
The seal says
⿸厂𡕛 （廣）
𩫨 （城）
廣城
Where 廣城 is the artist's name (probably using a ...
- 22.2k
5
votes
Looking for translation of calligraphy piece into English
the seal is “董陽孜”, the name of the calligrapher.
the text is “海內存知己・天涯若比鄰”
- 15.1k
4
votes
What was the idea behind simplification, given 行書 existed?
Simplified Chinese is much simpler than 行書, involving less strokes overall. Two reasons:
Many simplified characters were already derived from cursive forms (草書楷化). Examples include 書 → 书, 車 → 车, 興 → ...
- 8,547
4
votes
I'm trying to figure out who the artist is on a painting. I don't know if it's Chinese or Japanese (Characters identified: 新羅山人 秋岳)
The artist used two courtesy names in the piece:
One in the calligraphy, 新羅山人;
One in the seal, 秌（秋）𡵽（岳）.
The artist's real name is 「華嵒」 (Mandarin Pinyin: Huà Yán), a Qīng Dynasty painter.
Notes ...
- 22.2k
3
votes
What is the style called where we draw characters without lifting the brush?
I would just call it 一笔画 (one stroke).
Because there are some famous arts are called in this way. Like:
一笔虎: write the character 虎 in one stroke.
一笔龙: write the character 龙 in one stroke.
And the ...
- 51
3
votes
Accepted
Translation and script type of Chinese calligraphy scroll (Characters identified: 高明配天 敬璧)
The large calligraphy says 髙（高）明⿰酉卩（配）天
The seal says 𢿩（敬）璧
「高明配天」 is a short segment from the Doctrine of the Mean. The entire line that this segment is found in is
...博厚配地，高明配天，悠久無疆...
...one's ...
- 22.2k
3
votes
Accepted
What are these characters from this chopsticks packaging?
御 royal; imperial
箸 chopsticks
The dot at the right-hand side of the 者 component is due to different typefaces.
- 1,511
3
votes
Traditional alternative to 水寫布 (water-writing paper) for calligraphy practice?
Don't know if it counts, but in mainland China, some people write on the street with a huge writing brush, half as long as an adult is tall. And they only dip the brush in water to write. After the ...
3
votes
Accepted
What was the idea behind simplification, given 行書 existed?
The idea behind Simplification was not really to write faster - it was one of several other movements to abandon the administrations and culture of Imperial China, and modernise into the Republican ...
- 22.2k
3
votes
Accepted
How to write Chinese fluently?
Haha, it is difficult even for a native to decipher very cursive or bad handwriting. Basically, when we read, we are only certain about some of the characters and then deduce other characters based on ...
- 3,101
3
votes
Accepted
What about the orthography of 苹 (like in 苹果)? It seems consensus is missing
From a Unicode perspective it is the same character. Depending on the font and the environment you are using it may look different. Take for instance a look at the code charts of Unicode 12:
As can ...
- 166
3
votes
translation of text and seals on painting (Poet identified: Pu Ru 溥儒)
井・飛影露走・
閒坐階前為有情
萬里碧空雲似錦
月・團扇不分明
茗函冷澀石生斑
苦竹・・・檻間
扇影生寒消月魄
・聲邊・成雲山
・・・影玉西沉
落・江上變秋音
誰知錦瑟・・然
玉露微霜正傷・
結合畫面來看，是思歸之詩。秋仲，霜降露結之日，月朧雲疏之時，少婦執團扇，捧香茗，倚坐石邊階前，是“為有情”也。至月沉日更，霜已成露，沸茶作冰，不知何處秋音自起，再添神傷。
（...
- 3,101
3
votes
Accepted
What are these characters? (Characters identified: 牧者所愛)
The first three characters are indeed 「牧者所」, with 「牧」 written with a corrupted 「攵」 which appears as 「文」. The last character is a reshuffled 「𢜤」, which in the current script is written as 「愛」.
戰國・晉金...
- 22.2k
3
votes
Please, help translate the text and stamps on this painted silk screen to identify the artist and date?
《彎弓騎射圖1》
昔曹將軍畫馬骨肉兼善2，今觀劉貫道之作3，人馬精神皆善，御衣局使4不靈傳矣
乾隆乙丑5吳郡王寵6識7
Outstretched Bow of a Horseriding Marksman
In the past, General Ts'ao was skilled in painting both the bone and flesh of a horse. Now as I ...
- 5,595
3
votes
Accepted
Further information on calligraphy piece? (Characters identified: 斿于⿰坴丮)
The characters are 「斿于𡎐」, or using ideographic description sequences: 「斿于⿰坴丮」. These are stand-ins for what we would now write as 「游于藝」; 「斿」 is the right hand side of 「游」, and 「𡎐」 is a seal script ...
- 22.2k
3
votes
Identifying mark (Characters identified: 胡窯)
The characters are 「胡窯」, a maker's mark for Japanese arita ware. Google search 胡窯 to get more information and image hits.
- 22.2k
3
votes
Help translating seals, and phrase
The four large characters say 「慈悲平安」 (benevolence and peace).
The two seals say:
「佛海」, The world of Buddhahood is as vast as the ocean (佛界如海)
「⿺辵𩠐（道）林」, literally Forest of Ways, probably an art ...
- 22.2k
3
votes
Need translation for painting in regards to who the artist is and what it reads in Chinese calligraphy
Calligraphy
山茶花
Camellia flowers
建明画於吳都
Painted by Jiànmíng at Sūzhōu City
Seal
朱建明印
Seal of Zhū Jiànmíng
- 22.2k
3
votes
Calligraphy translation assistance
It is a poem by a Qing Dynasty painter-calligrapher Huang Shen, who was known as one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.
The poem is:
籃內河魚換酒錢，
蘆花被裏醉孤眠。
每逢風雨不歸去，
紅蓼灘頭泊釣船。
It basically discribes the ...
- 133
3
votes
Help translating calligraphy
the calligraphy is "福如东海" in Chinese.
In English, it means "May your happiness be as vast as the East Sea". It's often used to wish someone immense good fortune or blessings.
福: ...
- 31
2
votes
translation of text and seals on painting (Poet identified: Pu Ru 溥儒)
My best guess, 1st poem is:
井梧飛影・・・
閒坐階前美有情
萬里碧空雲似錦
月・・・・・・
2nd is:
茗函冷澀石生斑
苦竹・・・・閒
扇影生・消月魄
・・・・・雲山
the 3rd one is:
・・・影玉西沉
・・江上・秋音
誰知錦瑟・・・
・・・・・・・
remaining characters are:
西山逸生詩・・・・・
- 15.1k
2
votes
translation of text and seals on painting (Poet identified: Pu Ru 溥儒)
This is a painting by the Qing imperial descendant Pu Ru (溥儒). I'll leave someone else to do the calligraphy, as it's beyond my ability.
飛鴻
Flying swan
舊王孫
Descendant of the former monarchs
溥儒
Pu ...
- 22.2k
2
votes
Translation of seal script text (Poem identified: 元・譚處端《西江月・作伴修行未是》)
This is an incomplete text of the poem 《西江月・作伴修行未是》 by Yuan Dynasty poet 譚處端, produced verbatim from the image, detailed below:
The text is split into columns from right to left as on the image, with ...
- 22.2k
2
votes
How to learn to read Chinese calligraphic paintings (and Chinese handwriting)?
So sorry for bringing up such an old thread, but I want to put something here that might be useful for anyone searching this thread later on. I used Google Translate and with my limited knowledge of ...
- 121
2
votes
Chinese painting signature and seal translation (Characters identified: 羅鼎華印)
There's nothing here but the artist name, which is 羅鼎華 (Mandarin: Luó Dǐnghuá).
The calligraphy says
鼎華
Dǐnghuá
The seal says
羅鼎蕐（華）印
Seal of Luó Dǐnghuá
- 22.2k
2
votes
What about the orthography of 苹 (like in 苹果)? It seems consensus is missing
I'm afraid that the other answer missed the point here - the font that Duolingo displays is a East Asian Gothic typeface, which is a derivative of Ming Typeface. Gothic and Ming are print typefaces, ...
- 22.2k
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