Need help figuring out Chinese in portrait

[calibre2001]

Found this old Chinese portrait (see the thumbail) and couldn't understand a single thing. It's in 隸書 and contains 異體字 too. So far, with the help of Chinese friends, we've been able to transcribe the chinese characters below.

I need help to:
1) Check whether these characters match the original on the portrait
2) Figure out the missing character X below. I've searched high and low but not successful so far.

Here is what's been transcribed thus far.

偉哉 君身酷肖,
迫真尊莊瞻視冠,
冕垂紳鎮日兀坐,
綠褥繡茵溯厥生,
平智而且仁威鳳,
丰采龍馬精神比,
其清花蓬瀛僊客,
方諸朗潤玉山上,
人出類拔萃絕倍,
離群時主會盟呷,
國生春靡亂弗厄,
靡梗弗馴怡然以,
和藹然以親移風,
易倍既見精醇它,
年績茂追古大巨,
將移此圖繪之麒麟，

[Teresa Lin]

Good work!

 

Here's my opinion:

1. The word in"古大巨"，should be古大 "臣".
2. The missing word is "華".

 

I would really like to know where's the portrait from.

[Teresa Lin]

You really did a great work!

 

Here are my opinion:

1. the last word "巨" in the second sentence from the bottom should be "臣".

2. The missing word is "華(T)/华(S)". You can't simply transcribed it. it's because the writer did not write the "grass radical". It's acceptable in calligraphy, and readable in traditional Chinese.    

[calibre2001]

Hi Teresa,

 

Thanks so much!

 

Credits to my Chinese friends, not me   .

 

It's from a portrait (像贊) of a rich Chinese merchant in the 19th century.

 

On 2) I'm not sure if I get you on why it cannot be transcribed.

I'm a bit confused whether it means 花 or 華. The character in the portrait is 異體字 and could mean either one of them. See http://www.zdic.net/z/84/sw/20336.htm . Hope you won't mind sharing your analysis on the sentence!

 

I'm hoping to transcribe it in contemporary 繁體字 as much as possible so that I can get some professional help for translation.

For example, 僊 is more recognisable as 仙 in today's language.

[Publius]

Yes there is some 異體字. And... it should be read four syllables a line to make it rhyme...

偉哉君身

酷肖迫真（=逼真, both read 'bik1 zan1' in Cantonese）

尊莊瞻視

冠冕垂紳

鎮日兀坐
綠褥繡茵

溯厥生平

智而且仁

威鳳丰采

龍馬精神

比其清華（清麗華美, so, not 花）

蓬瀛僊客（=仙客）
方諸朗潤

玉山上人

出類拔萃

絕俗離羣（I tought it was 通假字 for “輩”, until I saw “移風易俗”...）（羣=群）

時主會盟

呷國生春（“呷(haap3)” doesn't make sense, probably meant to say “闔(hap6)”）

靡亂弗厄

靡梗弗馴

怡然以龢（=和）

藹然以親

移風易俗（this one is pretty obvious）

既見精醇

它年績茂

追古大臣（and this one, just look up '麒麟閣'）
將移此圖（he actually used 啚, which is wrong according to 康熙字典：《韻會》俗以爲圖字，非。）

繪之麒麟

[calibre2001]

Thanks!

Since it's a poem about a man, it's probably 他 and not 它.

And you are right about 圖.

https://www.kanripo.org/text/KR4f0048/015

On this website, I happened to have stumbled upon the same blue words (see enclosed picture) from the poem in another ancient book/novel (no idea really).

[Publius]

I think 它 is OK, though 他 indeed is more common. 他年 means "some other year" => "some day in the future". Here it does not refer to a person but to a time period.

[calibre2001]

Publius,

 

Many thanks. Abit more background of the portrait: it's a poem basically praising a rich Chinese merchant in the 19th century based in Melaka(馬六甲) in today's Malaysia.

 

With that in mind, i have a strong belief that 呷國 means Melaka. Googling has shown that as far back as the 1930s, Melaka was  馬六呷 in written chinese. Since the chinese is a transliteration of a foreign name, it seems reasonable that 呷 is more likely pronounced  甲, with the 口 radical indicating its a sound/foreign name. There is also a book here (see link below) about a certain temple in Melaka (Cheng Hoon Teng Temple) written in the late 19th century too.

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiIhfn7hcXOAhXDLY8KHb0zDSgQFghUMAY&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%2Fabout%2F%25E5%2591%25B7%25E5%259C%258B%25E9%259D%2592%25E9%259B%25B2%25E4%25BA%25AD%25E6%25A2%259D%25E8%25A6%258F%25E7%25B0%25BF.html%3Fid%3D45wZMgAACAAJ&usg=AFQjCNF0baB0cW9wv_GPDRtWN09wDcYSlQ&sig2=xUhKtC8KVDc-PcJRDE5V6g

 

Btw, any idea what 絕俗離羣 means? Breaking from tradition and leaving the clan?

[Publius]

I totally agree with your analysis. Given that context, 呷 must be a transliteration. It seems the standard practice in the 19th century.

 

 

As for 絕俗離羣, I think it's synonymous with 出類拔萃. Both 絕 and 離 mean "departing from", 俗 and 羣 refer to "the ordinary people, the crowd", so put together, the phrase means "outstanding", and in a good way.

[calibre2001]

Here's a modern chinese translation worked out by a friend.

Sharing it here (with permission) for discussion.

 

偉哉君身          :            好偉大啊！    
酷肖迫真          :            畫像十分逼真    
尊莊瞻視          :            神態庄重讓人敬畏    
冠冕垂紳          :            帽子的須子整齊垂直    
鎮日兀坐          :            整日端坐    
綠褥繡茵          :            綠色繡花墊子    
溯厥生平          :            回顧#先生生平    
智而且仁          :            智仁兼備    
威鳳丰采          :            是位難得的人才, 具有威望    
龍馬精神          :            龍馬精神    
比其清華          :            清貴高華    
蓬瀛仙客          :            好比仙人    
方諸朗潤          :            如明珠    
玉山上人          :            品德高尚    
出類拔萃          :            出類拔萃    
絕俗離群          :            超越世俗, 超群出眾    
時主會盟          :            與當代權貴結盟    
呷國生春          :            於馬六甲發跡    
靡亂弗厄          :            平穩地度過動蕩時代    
靡梗弗馴          :            不言棄，不屈服    
怡然以和          :            怡然處世    
藹然以親          :            藹然可親    
移風易俗          :            不守舊，知變革    
既見精醇          :            如此優秀    
它年績茂          :            將來所建立的豐功偉績    
追古大臣          :            可追昔日英豪    
將移此圖          :            如今決定題上像贊    
繪之麒麟          :            描繪#先生的傳奇    

 

1) For the original poem bolded parts, my crude interpretation in English is roughly along the lines of  "in time to come, his legacy shall flourish, for those who seek to remember & celebrate it, the portrait of this honourable gentleman shall contain it & be delivered down the passage of time". I think 將 means 領帶 & 移 means 遞送 here. So I am not sure if the modern chinese translation here carries that meaning or is my understanding incorrect?

 

2)Feedback on the translation is most welcome! 

[Publius]

它年績茂　待將來先生功績卓著

追古大臣　可以直追古代名臣之時

將移此圖　必然會將此幅畫像

繪之麒麟　移入麒麟閣中供人瞻仰、從而流芳後世

I've already provided the relevant link in #5. Did your friend not know what 麒麟 is referring to?

 

There are numbers of places that warrant discussion. I'm just not interested in participating.