Hey all,

Sorry for my slight hiatus, that darn real life always interfering, I
adopted a puppy (about 1yr. old Whippet/fox terrier) and she has been
consuming most of my days outside of work.

I did manage to pick up a new Yixing teapot that I really liked, and
was hoping that someone better than I could help to translate it. The
style of character is different to me. Here's the photo:

<a href="http://img126.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn05483mt.jpg"
target="_blank"><img
src="http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/3083/dscn05483mt.th.jpg"
border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

Thanks to any and all who can help me out, I appreciate it.

- Dominic
Drinking: Brewing some loose Pu-Erh right now.

Doh, the HTML link didn't work properly. The first link in the HTML is
to the full pic (1600x1200 - 379kb) and the second link is to the small
thumbnail image. Sorry 'bout that.

On the right it reads: Fu Ru Dong Hai - May your Prosperity be as ample as
the Eastern Sea

On the left it reads: Shou Bi Nan Shan - May you lifespan be as long as the
Southern mountain

On the bottom it reads from right to left: Yi Xing Zi Sha - Purple Clay of
Yixing

Danny


"Dominic T." > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Doh, the HTML link didn't work properly. The first link in the HTML is
> to the full pic (1600x1200 - 379kb) and the second link is to the small
> thumbnail image. Sorry 'bout that.
>

samarkand wrote:
> On the right it reads: Fu Ru Dong Hai - May your Prosperity be as ample as
> the Eastern Sea
>
> On the left it reads: Shou Bi Nan Shan - May you lifespan be as long as the
> Southern mountain
>
> On the bottom it reads from right to left: Yi Xing Zi Sha - Purple Clay of
> Yixing
>
> Danny

Amazing Danny, thank you so very much! Good Stuff. Does that symbol in
the middle mean anything or merely decorative? Also what script would
this be in, it seemed more "rounded" than regular Chinese writing?

I came across this teapot in an unusual place and it seems like it may
not be a high quality teapot due to the actual writing on it stating
"Yi Xing Zi Sha" but I only paid about $12 for it in a very nice lined
box.

Thanks again!
- Dominic
Drinking: Mlesna Dimbula

These are standard phrases wishing someone happy birthday, although
generally reserved for older folks. You wouldn't normally tell someone
who's 25 these things, but you would someone 65.

The script is an imitation of an ancient style, mostly used before
200AD, but I think it's not entirely accurate and adapted to modern
writing.

I think the thing in the middle is a very stylized "shou", which means
longevity.

"Dominic T." > writes:

> samarkand wrote:
>> On the right it reads: Fu Ru Dong Hai - May your Prosperity be as ample as
>> the Eastern Sea
>>
>> On the left it reads: Shou Bi Nan Shan - May you lifespan be as long as the
>> Southern mountain
>>
>> On the bottom it reads from right to left: Yi Xing Zi Sha - Purple Clay of
>> Yixing
>>
>> Danny
>
> Amazing Danny, thank you so very much! Good Stuff. Does that symbol in
> the middle mean anything or merely decorative? Also what script would
> this be in, it seemed more "rounded" than regular Chinese writing?
>
> I came across this teapot in an unusual place and it seems like it may
> not be a high quality teapot due to the actual writing on it stating
> "Yi Xing Zi Sha" but I only paid about $12 for it in a very nice lined
> box.
>
> Thanks again!
> - Dominic
> Drinking: Mlesna Dimbula
>

--

Regards, Jijun MA
College of software engineering, Zhejiang University
http://jjmmma.googlepages.com

MarshalN is correct, these are standard phrases for birthday well
wishes...in the past it was reserved for people at their 70th birthday as
that is the age chinese believe to be longevity itself, and some local
customs add another 3 years to it, making it 73, hence making the birthday
person even older than he or she already is...these days though, we use it
freely for other age groups too...

The script is the Seal Script, used between 221 - 207 BC in the Qing
dynasty. There are varying styles of this script, broadly divided into Big
Seal Script and Small Seal Script. The script on the pot is based on the
Big Seal Script, and as MarshalN pointed out, is adapted for modern writing,
at least the first character on the left is.

The centre is a pictograph of the character Longevity, highly stylised and
creative. Bats are a symbol of longevity in Chinese mythology, and you see
3 of them on the pictograph - one on the top, and the wings of 2 in the
centre. The character 'Gu' to mean 'old, ancient' is also incorporated into
the character: one under the wing, one inverted, and one at the bottom.

Danny


"MarshalN" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> These are standard phrases wishing someone happy birthday, although
> generally reserved for older folks. You wouldn't normally tell someone
> who's 25 these things, but you would someone 65.
>
> The script is an imitation of an ancient style, mostly used before
> 200AD, but I think it's not entirely accurate and adapted to modern
> writing.
>
> I think the thing in the middle is a very stylized "shou", which means
> longevity.
>

samarkand wrote:
> MarshalN is correct, these are standard phrases for birthday well
> wishes...in the past it was reserved for people at their 70th birthday as
> that is the age chinese believe to be longevity itself, and some local
> customs add another 3 years to it, making it 73, hence making the birthday
> person even older than he or she already is...these days though, we use it
> freely for other age groups too...
>
> The script is the Seal Script, used between 221 - 207 BC in the Qing
> dynasty. There are varying styles of this script, broadly divided into Big
> Seal Script and Small Seal Script. The script on the pot is based on the
> Big Seal Script, and as MarshalN pointed out, is adapted for modern writing,
> at least the first character on the left is.
>
> The centre is a pictograph of the character Longevity, highly stylised and
> creative. Bats are a symbol of longevity in Chinese mythology, and you see
> 3 of them on the pictograph - one on the top, and the wings of 2 in the
> centre. The character 'Gu' to mean 'old, ancient' is also incorporated into
> the character: one under the wing, one inverted, and one at the bottom.
>
> Danny
>
>
> "MarshalN" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > These are standard phrases wishing someone happy birthday, although
> > generally reserved for older folks. You wouldn't normally tell someone
> > who's 25 these things, but you would someone 65.
> >
> > The script is an imitation of an ancient style, mostly used before
> > 200AD, but I think it's not entirely accurate and adapted to modern
> > writing.
> >
> > I think the thing in the middle is a very stylized "shou", which means
> > longevity.
> >

Thanks to both Danny and MarshaIN, I really enjoy hearing the
background and "inside" info on these things. I rarely buy a teapot I
don't understand because to me that is part of the magic... the script
on this one had me wondering if it was even really Chinese.

I have a Yixing tea mug that was given to me on Christmas that I will
have to photograph and see if you guys will be kind enough to help me
with as well. Most of my friends are Korean and Vietnamese so they are
only marginally helpful when it comes to my Yixing questions.

You made my day!
- Dominic
Drinking: Nothing yet, need to get brewing.

"samarkand" > writes:

> [...the character...]
>
> The script is the Seal Script, used between 221 - 207 BC in the Qing
> dynasty.

Sorry to pick nits, but I think you typed one character too many in
that dynasty: you meant "Qin", not "Qing", the last one.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

If we're in nitpicking mode, then seal script wasn't excusively used in
the Qin either, but also before and after.

It's mostly preserved as a calligraphy style nowadays. I don't,
however, think that the words on this pot is strictly seal -- I don't
know seal script that well, but it might be words that are styled in
the seal script style, but would in fact be incorrect based on the
original seal script way to write these words. That's just a guess.

Amazing. The Whippet side runs the hare to ground and the terrier goes
in after. You've got you hands full.

Jim

Dominic T. wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Sorry for my slight hiatus, that darn real life always interfering, I
> adopted a puppy (about 1yr. old Whippet/fox terrier) and she has been
> consuming most of my days outside of work.

Space Cowboy wrote:
> Amazing. The Whippet side runs the hare to ground and the terrier goes
> in after. You've got you hands full.
>
> Jim

You are exactly correct. You should have seen her with a pesky mole in
my front yard. She almost had him on pure speed and then when it ducked
into a burrow she dug about 1 foot down in under 20 seconds. When you
throw her a ball she is already waiting for it to come down while it is
just reaching its peak in the air. It's been a blast and we're enjoying
her, she was less than a week away from being put to sleep at the pound
when we found her online for adoption... a 3 and 1/2 hour road trip
later and she was ours.

- Dominic

Lew is always the nitpicking one...haha! He is correct, it is 'Qin', not
'Qing'.

MarhalN, I didn't say that the Seal Script was 'exclusive' to Qing dynasty.
I said it was used during the Qin dynasty. The Da Zhuan or Big Seal Script
was believed to be developed and standardized during Zhou dynasty, in the
7th century BC. The Xiao Zhuan or Small Seal Script was developed and used
during the Qin Dynasty, and accepted widely as a standard form of writing,
the most well known was The Story of Cang Jie, which employed approximately
3000 characters in Small Script, which are rather squarish in form than the
Big Script, which have slightly more elongated characters, and more
pictograph in form.

Chinese writing, especially when employed on calligraphy, often includes the
artist's interpretation and touch on the characters, 2 same characters
written by 2 artists would appear very different, sometimes with little
ornaments here and there. One may say that the words on the pot is not
strictly seal script, but the base of its style is.

And as I have mentioned, besides the 1st character on the left, the others
are very much correctly written in the seal script. And that's not a guess.
:")

Danny


"MarshalN" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> If we're in nitpicking mode, then seal script wasn't excusively used in
> the Qin either, but also before and after.
>
> It's mostly preserved as a calligraphy style nowadays. I don't,
> however, think that the words on this pot is strictly seal -- I don't
> know seal script that well, but it might be words that are styled in
> the seal script style, but would in fact be incorrect based on the
> original seal script way to write these words. That's just a guess.
>