What Script Is This?

[Lu]

I am afraid I underestimated the availability of specialized books in my direct environment. I just managed to borrow 'Xunzi : a translation and study of the complete works' from the University Library in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

There is a Chinese library (well, East Asian Library) in Leiden. If you're a student, you can get a free library card for this library, and borrow books. If you're not a student, you can still get a card but for money. More information is here. This library should have more than you ever care to read on Xunzi.

[skylee]

how far away is Utrecht from Leiden? Half an hour by train? (I've been to both places but it was a long time ago.)

[Daan]

The journey from Utrecht Centraal Station takes 41 minutes by train, if I recall correctly, and if they haven't changed anything since I left. Throw in another ten minutes to walk from Leiden Centraal Station to the East Asian Library and you're all set for a wonderful afternoon of reading

[Hein63]

That theme of the passage is about accumulating effort to attain success. A good horse cannot go farther than ten paces if it just jumps once (騏驥一躍，不能十步）. A bad/weak/slow horse can go very far if it keeps running for ten days (駑馬十駕). The key to success is not to give up (功在不舍). Similarly, if you try to carve something but give up easily, you won't be able to break a piece of rotten wood (鍥而舍之，朽木不折). But if you don't give up and keep carving, you will be able to carve on metal and stone (鍥而不舍，金石可鏤).

I am glad you've found that book.

Knoblock gives as translation for the concerned part of the phrase (which he gives as 1.6 not 1.9) "Even a famous thoroughbred like Qiji cannot cover ten paces in a single stride. But in ten yokings even a worn-out nag can. Its achievement consists in its not giving up."

[Hein63]

The key is to recognise the characters and then search them.

I have found on the web at least twenty sites with images in either Dazhuan or Xiaozhuan. Yes, I think I could make some guess that a text is written in seal script, but I have no clue whether it would be Dazhuan or Xiaozhuan. And I am afraid that to recognise an simplified or traditional character in one written in seal script is beyond my capacities.

BTW, several of the found images were also not clear about whether it was Dazhuan or Xiaozhuan, and some where definitely not IMHO.

But don't you think the words in the picture ugly?

For sure they are a bit 'rustic' (if I compare them to an image of the ShuowenJiezi, which I found). But so is the object itself (see attached).

Was it made on order or was it a gift to a friend. For a minor scribe?

As for the writing, I wonder whether the artisan himself 'invented' the characters he used or whether he used/imitated an established manner of writing.

But there is also something moving about it. The exhortation in the text certainly would also have been a good advice to the artisan himself.

[trien27]

Da Zhuan is more complex and have many more strokes. Xiao zhuan is like Da zhuan but have way fewer [many strokes of which a lot are reduced] strokes.

The picture is in Xiao zhuan.

If the text is what you say it is, there are wrong characters. I read 以學止道不舍溫故知新駑馬十駕功在.

It's not wrong. You read it top to bottom, left to right. Not the other way around.

[dumdumdum]

looks like badly carved writings on fake antiques. and yes in classical chinese it is written from right to left. writing from left to right but using 篆书 script is very funny. for standard chinese/japanese/korean script, its either left to right across, or right to left vertical. other formats are rarely seen, and would be a mockery if used as a gift or taken as a collection. the maker of this piece of writing doesnt know the basics, and made a mockery out of himself.

[dumdumdum]

As for the writing, I wonder whether the artisan himself 'invented' the characters he used or whether he used/imitated an established manner of writing.

But there is also something moving about it. The exhortation in the text certainly would also have been a good advice to the artisan himself.

there is a guideline but no 'standard' or 'identical' styles. if we all write the characters '中文' and put together, everyone's handwriting will look different too. calligraphy is an art because everyone presents his own style, though adhereing to certain general guidelines.

the carvings in this case is ugly imo.

[studentyoung]

What Script Is This?

驽马十驾，功在不舍；温故知新，乃学之道

The script looks not so good, in my opinion.

[潇潇雨]

I think it's 大篆，not 小篆。

[Hofmann]

Why?