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Chinese Vase Inscriptions

Blogs > LegalLord
Post a Reply
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 16 2017 20:14 GMT
#1
So I bought a Chinese vase, and it has some rather interesting inscriptions on it. Problem is, none of the Chinese folk I know are able to read it. They can identify it as definitively Chinese, but they also say that it's an archaic dialect they don't know how to read. I know there are a fair few folk here that are Chinese speakers or native Chinese; I was wondering if any of you happen to be able to read this?

Thanks.

+ Show Spoiler [Photos of the vase] +
[image loading]
[image loading]
[image loading]
[image loading]


History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
YokoKano
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
United States612 Posts
January 16 2017 23:18 GMT
#2
no one really knows how language works man. it's recursive relation between you, the writer, the world, and other variables too. the vase might say exactly what it's supposed to say given the time, context, and recent change of ownership. expensive calligraphy jobs wont reveal their intended meaning until presented to a TL scholar of sufficient experience, age, and merit.

china has a very complex causal map compared to the western world, with a vast unexplored second level ante-dating the pyramids. great wars were fought in the dawn of marijuana smoking using magickal powers far beyond the diminutive power of modern man. only with the aid of the egyptian witch doctors could the space:time:mind ratio be shattered and unbound as the pre-hindu religions discovered meditation, creating a permanent lock to the time:mind ratio. finally the pyramids were constructed as edifices to flesh and blood, ceiling for a time the fate of earth in a space:time-mind ratio called the golden ratio.

the beginning work of the unbinding followed with the primitive space-time relationship of the desert wastes wherein mescaline provided a lightspeed isotope. mescaline began the work of disassembling the space-capsules called pyramids, gradually loosing the 12,000 year hold meditative technique had ingrained on the time-mind relation. it was entirely necessary to place the meditative hold on the time-mind relation to develop space-faring spatial vehicles... thus only recently...
IQ 155.905638752
IntoTheEmo
Profile Joined February 2009
Singapore1169 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-01-17 05:04:47
January 17 2017 04:57 GMT
#3
It's definitely Chinese. The main problem is that the words are scribbled/painted so awkwardly that only a few of them resemble readable characters at all. I'll be surprised if anyone can decipher it.

It's like trying to read the essence of Chinese before the characters took form.
MMOs kill APM. However Proleague plus BW Proscene music increase APM -> 100. 이제동 Fighting! Highest ranked Jaedong owner in FPL10 = clearly #1 Jaedong fan~! <- Keeping my sig from 2010
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 17 2017 06:13 GMT
#4
On January 17 2017 13:57 IntoTheEmo wrote:
It's like trying to read the essence of Chinese before the characters took form.

Well, that's a really interesting way to put it, and in fact I think I should give a little more info about the vase, because frankly you might be right.

The person I bought this vase from specializes in importing antiques from China, and somehow he managed to bring this monstrosity across the world. He didn't speak much English so there was very little that I could get out of him as to the origin of the vase or what it says. All I could gather was that it's a few words from a philosopher. I could not really understand the name, and while I asked him to write it down, it was his personal transliteration that didn't Google well. It looked phonetically similar to Lao Tzu, but different enough that I really couldn't tell if there was any similarity whatsoever.

I took a look at the inside of the vase as well. While it's clear that it was once glazed, most of the inside was reduced to a very bland ceramic rubble. There were layers of glaze that were partially intact (and the top of it was very much intact), but it certainly showed signs of age.

I guess it's probably too much to hope for for someone here to be well-versed in ancient Chinese writing - would be cool if someone is though, haha. In any case, looks like at the very least I learned something interesting about the vase.
History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
YokoKano
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
United States612 Posts
January 17 2017 08:58 GMT
#5
that's pretty cool. i wish i had an ancient chinese antiques dealer to send me stuff. like half my chinese stuff disappears after about a year. i had like $500 dollars in tea that i'd set aside to appreciate and it disappeared after 5 years. i think i bet it all on avilo or something, i really have no idea what happened to it but i'm out several grand. if i had like a hundred thousand in start up capital i'd probably pioneer an import export business, but my broken mandarin isn't gonna translate what this thing says. i'd keep it safe though especially if there are chinese people in your area. the frequency of random disappearances is markedly higher when people of chinese ethnic descent are in the area.
IQ 155.905638752
cakepie
Profile Blog Joined November 2012
985 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-01-17 17:38:50
January 17 2017 17:32 GMT
#6
On January 17 2017 15:13 LegalLord wrote:
All I could gather was that it's a few words from a philosopher. I could not really understand the name, and while I asked him to write it down, it was his personal transliteration that didn't Google well. It looked phonetically similar to Lao Tzu, but different enough that I really couldn't tell if there was any similarity whatsoever.

This information might be useful if you could provide it. Someone who knows philosophers and their sayings well might then be able to make a guess at it. It's easier to decipher the calligraphy if you have some idea what you're looking for.
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 17 2017 17:58 GMT
#7
"A very well known philosopher, possibly the most famous, someone you definitely would know."

Unless it was a phonetic naming of Confucius that I couldn't recognize, Lao Tzu is probably the most likely person to fit that description.

I also had a rather interesting mount that came with the vase, made out of what is probably red resin. I didn't use it, but I can take photos of it when I get home, in case the artwork would help someone figure it out.
History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
ArmadA[NaS]
Profile Joined January 2014
United States347 Posts
January 17 2017 23:44 GMT
#8
Looks like cursive script. No idea what it means though lol.
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 18 2017 03:10 GMT
#9
I'm not sure how helpful it might be, but I did say I would post them, so here.
+ Show Spoiler +
[image loading]
[image loading]
[image loading]


Until I get better information I guess I'm just going to assume that the writing on the jar is a magical sealing spell to hold a demon sorcerer. Evidently no one would be able to contradict me on that.
History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
Karis Vas Ryaar
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
United States4396 Posts
January 18 2017 07:13 GMT
#10
If I get a chance I'll ask some of the exchange students from China at my university if they can figure it out. No idea if they'll be able to though
"I'm not agreeing with a lot of Virus's decisions but they are working" Tasteless. Ipl4 Losers Bracket Virus 2-1 Maru
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 19 2017 01:13 GMT
#11
On January 18 2017 16:13 Karis Vas Ryaar wrote:
If I get a chance I'll ask some of the exchange students from China at my university if they can figure it out. No idea if they'll be able to though

I've done that too. At this point I think I need a scholar, lol.
History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
Karis Vas Ryaar
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
United States4396 Posts
January 19 2017 01:16 GMT
#12
On January 19 2017 10:13 LegalLord wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 18 2017 16:13 Karis Vas Ryaar wrote:
If I get a chance I'll ask some of the exchange students from China at my university if they can figure it out. No idea if they'll be able to though

I've done that too. At this point I think I need a scholar, lol.


antiques roadshow ever come by where you live?
"I'm not agreeing with a lot of Virus's decisions but they are working" Tasteless. Ipl4 Losers Bracket Virus 2-1 Maru
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-01-19 03:26:45
January 19 2017 03:21 GMT
#13
It's not an archaic dialect, it's just cursive Chinese. I asked my mother and she told me it's the following poem by Yue Fei (岳飛).

怒发冲冠,凭栏处,潇潇雨歇。抬望眼,仰天长啸,壮怀激烈。三十功名尘与土,八千里路云和月。莫等闲,白了少年头,空悲切。
  靖康耻,犹未雪;臣子恨,何时灭?驾长车,踏破贺兰山缺。壮志饥餐胡虏肉,笑谈渴饮匈奴血。待从头,收拾旧山河,朝天阙!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Jiang_Hong

If you look at the third picture you can see the column on the right matches the words "八千里路云和月".
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 19 2017 03:35 GMT
#14
On January 19 2017 12:21 ZigguratOfUr wrote:
It's not an archaic dialect, it's just cursive Chinese. I asked my mother and she told me it's the following poem by Yue Fei (岳飛).

Show nested quote +
怒发冲冠,凭栏处,潇潇雨歇。抬望眼,仰天长啸,壮怀激烈。三十功名尘与土,八千里路云和月。莫等闲,白了少年头,空悲切。
  靖康耻,犹未雪;臣子恨,何时灭?驾长车,踏破贺兰山缺。壮志饥餐胡虏肉,笑谈渴饮匈奴血。待从头,收拾旧山河,朝天阙!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Jiang_Hong

If you look at the third picture you can see the column on the right matches the words "八千里路云和月".

I recognize the name. I think you solved the mystery.

Thanks a bunch!
History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
ninazerg
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
United States7291 Posts
January 19 2017 20:29 GMT
#15
On January 17 2017 08:18 YokoKano wrote:
no one really knows how language works man. it's recursive relation between you, the writer, the world, and other variables too. the vase might say exactly what it's supposed to say given the time, context, and recent change of ownership. expensive calligraphy jobs wont reveal their intended meaning until presented to a TL scholar of sufficient experience, age, and merit.

china has a very complex causal map compared to the western world, with a vast unexplored second level ante-dating the pyramids. great wars were fought in the dawn of marijuana smoking using magickal powers far beyond the diminutive power of modern man. only with the aid of the egyptian witch doctors could the space:time:mind ratio be shattered and unbound as the pre-hindu religions discovered meditation, creating a permanent lock to the time:mind ratio. finally the pyramids were constructed as edifices to flesh and blood, ceiling for a time the fate of earth in a space:time-mind ratio called the golden ratio.

the beginning work of the unbinding followed with the primitive space-time relationship of the desert wastes wherein mescaline provided a lightspeed isotope. mescaline began the work of disassembling the space-capsules called pyramids, gradually loosing the 12,000 year hold meditative technique had ingrained on the time-mind relation. it was entirely necessary to place the meditative hold on the time-mind relation to develop space-faring spatial vehicles... thus only recently...


I wish I could make this my TL quote. This whole thing.
"If two pregnant women get into a fist fight, it's like a mecha-battle between two unborn babies." - Fyodor Dostoevsky
LegalLord
Profile Blog Joined April 2013
United States13779 Posts
January 19 2017 22:33 GMT
#16
You know, in a way the vase was a lot more interesting before I found out that the inscriptions were merely some guy complaining about how sad he is that they got owned in battle.
History will sooner or later sweep the European Union away without mercy.
Cauld
Profile Joined February 2010
United States350 Posts
January 20 2017 15:49 GMT
#17
That poem has the line: "At the age of thirty, my deeds are nothing but dust, my journey has taken me over eight thousand" very dragon ball z esque.
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