Help with Pinyin translation of a Chinese saying

[ralph1414]

Hello,

I have run across a saying that I want to do a calligraphy of.

The saying is:

"May you have the five blessings and embody the nine similarities."

wu4 fu2 jin4 ju? I think this is correct but don't know the tone of "ju" in this sense.

The five blessings are: long life, wealth, health, many sons and a natural death.

I have translated the five blessings as:

shou3, cai2, kang1, duo1 zi4, lao4 si4

Is this correct?

The nine similarities are (to be) "like high hills, mountain masses, top-most ridges, huge bulks of rock, streams, the morn, the sun, like the age of the southern hills and, like the luxuriance of fir and cypress - so may be thy increase and descendents to come."

I am not able to translate that into Chinese.

Can someone help me by providing the pinyin for the nine similarities and correcting any mistakes I may have made?

Thank you.

[林彪]

I think the five blessings should be shou4, cai2, kang1, duo1 zi3, lao3 si3. (壽, 財, 康, 多子, 老死)

[skylee]

Take a look -> http://book.bfnn.org/books/0617.htm

到底五福是什麼呢？第一福是「長壽」，第二福是「富貴」，第三福是「康寧」，第四福是「好德」，第五福是「善終」。註：《書經》上所記載的五福是：一曰壽、二曰富、三曰康寧、四曰修好德、五曰考的終命（《書經洪範》）

BTW, the pinyin for 五福 is "wu3 fu2". I don't know what "jin4 ju" and "nine similarities" are. Would it be "九如" (jiu3 ru2)?

[skylee]

OK I have found out what “jin4 ju” is.

It should be 九如 (jiu3 ru2). It is from Shi Jing (詩經 – 天保). The original is – “如山如阜，如岡如陵，如川之方至，以莫不增 … 如月之恆，如日之升。如南山之壽，不騫不崩。如松柏之茂，無不爾或承。”

Take a look -> http://fjt.todayisp.com:7751/www.zgshj.com/Html/200424211733-1.html

【天保九如】　《詩•小雅•天保》：“天保定爾，以莫不興。如山如阜，如 岡如陵，如川之方至，以莫不增……如月之恆，如日之升。如南山之壽，不騫不崩。如松柏之茂，無不爾或承。”連用九“如”字，祝頌福壽綿長。後遂以“天保九如”為祝壽頌詞。

So to summarise -

"five blessings and nine similarites" = 五福九如 (wu3 fu2 jiu3 ru2)

Five Blessings are -

長壽 (chang2 shou4)

富貴 (fu4 gui4)

康寧 (kang1 ning2)

好德 (hao3 de2)

善終 (shan4 zhong1)

Nine Similarities are -

如山如阜 (ru2 shan1 ru2 fu4)

如岡如陵 (ru2 gang1 ru2 ling2)

如川之方至 (ru2 chuan1 zhi1 fang1 zhi4)

如月之恆 (ru2 yue4 zhi1 heng2)

如日之升 (ru2 ri4 zhi1 sheng1)

如南山之壽 (ru2 nan2 shan1 zhi1 shou4)

如松柏之茂 (ru2 song1 bo2 zhi1 mao4)

[ralph1414]

Thank you skylee; you are indeed a most Excellent Member. You have answered my question with more thoroughness than I could have hoped for.

May you yourself enjoy the five blessings and embody the nine similarities!