New Members etcheberri Posted February 20, 2015 at 06:54 AM New Members Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 at 06:54 AM Hi there friends!I am just discovering the exciting world of chinese culture by starting to collect chinese art!and i would like your help to understand what is written on the side of my vase I can figure some ideograms with my book, but i can t go far yet... and on the bottom i try to identifiate its exact era. it seems to be in republic era.but yet i know nothing!xiexie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted February 20, 2015 at 09:31 AM Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 at 09:31 AM The bottom says 景德镇制 'produced in Jingdezhen'. Jingdezhen is a city famous for its pottery. No indication of when it was made, I'm afraid. The side looks like it might be a poem, but I can't read enough of the handwriting to figure out which one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 20, 2015 at 04:08 PM Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 at 04:08 PM LU is right. And as a native speaker, I can recognize what the poem is but my English is not good enough to translate it. The poem is 三月风光无限好，杏林桃柳并双飞. They were written by traditional Chinese characters. In summary, The poem describes the landscape in the spring(三月 means March and symbolizes the season spring here) and praises it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members etcheberri Posted February 20, 2015 at 05:33 PM Author New Members Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 at 05:33 PM Thank you very much Lu and Fragrance! i appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwq Posted February 21, 2015 at 12:35 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 12:35 AM I believe it is 燕双飛 rather than 并。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted February 21, 2015 at 01:26 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 01:26 AM I agree with dwq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 21, 2015 at 02:34 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 02:34 AM No, it's 並, not 燕. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbradfor Posted February 21, 2015 at 06:40 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 06:40 AM If it's 並, then what is flying together in pairs? I hope not the trees! [This is a real question. I don't understand what 并双飞 means here, but 燕双飛 makes sense to me.] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneEye Posted February 21, 2015 at 06:56 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 06:56 AM It's definitely 燕. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
889 Posted February 21, 2015 at 07:06 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 07:06 AM As I've rather peevishly suggested on other recent threads, folks who want translations but don't provide full, clear photos just waste time. In this case, a photo of the other side of the vase would no doubt tell us what's flying about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted February 21, 2015 at 07:08 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 07:08 AM 並 - makes no sense 燕 - makes sense Not just because of flying. There is no way the poem will look right with 並 stuck in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 21, 2015 at 09:51 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 09:51 AM In my opinion, if it is 燕, the stroke order will be wrong. I didn't find where to attach some pictures, so..... Here, can you open the webpage? The first is about 燕 and the second is about 並. http://www.cidianwang.com/shufa/yan392_xs.htm http://www.cidianwang.com/shufa/bing5335_xs.htm In addition, 桃柳 can mean peach blossom and willow catkin here and many other poems, not just trees. And although I can make sense of the poem as a whole, I think it is a little weird because I can't understand why there are 桃柳 in 杏林. And to be honest, if the character is 燕, I can't understand the second sentence more because 桃柳 is unnecessary here, especially the place is 杏林. Also, I cannot find any information about this poem online, so it may be written by someone who is not famous at all or neoteric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted February 21, 2015 at 10:04 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 10:04 AM In my opinion, if it is 燕, the stroke order will be wrong. If the character was 並 then the final stroke would be 横. Now look at the bottom stroke of that character on the vase - it is very wavy and definitely not 横. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 21, 2015 at 10:22 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 10:22 AM To imron Sorry, I clicked a wrong button (helpful -1), I was unmeant. I'm so sorry. And you are right, so I'm confused as well. But 燕 is definitely not written like that. Can you access the page? It's from Chinese website so I worry whether it is be intercept or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted February 21, 2015 at 10:45 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 10:45 AM In addition, 桃柳 can mean peach blossom and willow catkin here and many other poems, not just trees. And although I can make sense of the poem as a whole, I think it is a little weird because I can't understand why there are 桃柳 in 杏林. And to be honest, if the character is 燕, I can't understand the second sentence more because 桃柳 is unnecessary here, especially the place is 杏林. Maybe it's not 杏林. Maybe it's 杏+林+桃+柳.Juxtaposition of images. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 21, 2015 at 11:08 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 11:08 AM No, 林 is different from others. Also, the former sentence is 三月/风光/无限好(only one subject: 风光)，so the latter should be divided into 杏林/桃柳/并双飞 as well. The only subject should be 桃柳. 无限好 describes 风光(in March), so 并双飞 is supposed to describe 桃柳(in 杏林). If 杏林桃柳燕双飞, 双飞 describes 燕 definitely, but the rhythm of 杏林桃柳 is missed. So the form isn't symmetrical. It can't be accepted in poems. There is an image '柳燕双飞' in the traditional culture actually. But if 杏林桃/柳燕双飞, it's more ridiculous. PS. How to quote the post of others? I can't find some button. Thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted February 21, 2015 at 11:41 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 11:41 AM I forgot to mention how 燕 is a symbol of spring. Where I come from, 燕=春天. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 21, 2015 at 12:19 PM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 12:19 PM Yes, 燕=春天. 杏桃柳 are all specific images. But 林 is a joint name. The relationship is like one, two, three（杏桃柳） and number（林）. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted February 21, 2015 at 12:38 PM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 12:38 PM How do you know 林 does not mean 竹子 (or anything similar) here? When I hear 燕, the first thing that comes to my mind is 春天. So ... and the final stoke is wavy ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragrance Posted February 21, 2015 at 02:04 PM Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 at 02:04 PM About the stoke, please read the #14. 林 has this meaning but the emphasis is the large number of trees. The kind of these trees can conclude 竹. Please concentrate on '成片' rather than the examples following. 竹子 is just an example. I can give you many other examples like 桃树,柳树 and 李子树. We never just used 林 to mean 竹子 or any other kind of trees even if in common articles because it cannot mean 竹林 only by the character 林. '竹' cannot be missed if we want to describe 竹林. Similarly, if we want to describe the pine forest(松林), we never omitted 松(树) before 林. Please remember: 林 is just a concept that there are many tress. It can't refer in particular to any kind of trees. Especially, considering the special role of 竹子 in traditional culture in my country, it's more impossible that 林 means 竹子 in the poem just by itself. Besides, 杏桃柳 all show the good feeling and beautiful landscape in spring. They're common images in poems which praise the spring. But 竹子 doesn't have the same function and it was never used to describe it. Because 竹子 is firm and is hard to bend, it is used to symbolize some people who are brave,lofty and unswerving and praise them. So, they're totally different. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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