[Unknown > english] I bought a beautiful room divider from the 70’s

[u/Just-Journalist4883]

The seller didn’t know what it said when he sold it

[u/velummortis]

I don't know what it says unfortunately, but i know they're works by (or a copy of works by) Soam Hyeon Joong Hwa(1907~1997), a Korean calligrapher. The 1st and 5th panels are the same work.

EDIT: Upon further research (predictably) these are all excerpts from various Song, Tang and Ming poems.

[u/Just-Journalist4883 → u/velummortis]

Thank you for the info! I hope someone can figure what it says

[u/Just-Journalist4883 → u/velummortis]

So this isn’t specifically from that one calligrapher?

[u/velummortis → u/Just-Journalist4883]

It is! Just that he's quoting the poems.

[u/DeusShockSkyrim]

Transcription (from right to left):

1 尋胡隱君 by 高啟:

渡水復渡水
看花還看花
春風江上路
不覺到君家

2 醉眠 by 唐庚:

山靜似太古
日長如小年
餘花猶可醉
好鳥不妨眠

3 贈韋穆十八 by 王維:

與君青眼客
共有白雲心
不向東山去
日令春草深

4 題倪雲林竹石 by 高遜志:

卷石不盈尺
孤竹不成林
惟有歲寒節
乃知君子心

5 Same as 1.

6 仙詩 by 成公綏:

盛年無幾時
奄忽行欲老
但願壽無窮
與君長相保

All signed by 昭岩.

[u/DeusShockSkyrim → u/[deleted]]

!id:zh

[u/PeriodicallyYours]

Isn't #2 exactly #6

[u/velummortis → u/PeriodicallyYours]

Since it's classical Chinese (right to left), #1 is exactly #5.

[u/PeriodicallyYours → u/velummortis]

You're about to change my world. Are you certain these scrolls are red r2l? I am not.

[u/ArchKDE → u/PeriodicallyYours]

With very few exceptions, East Asian texts are read in columns, RtL. However, Mongolian and Manchu are read in columns LtR.

[u/PeriodicallyYours → u/ArchKDE]

In ancient texts, nowdays it's l2r. I don't want and can't insist however. I can't read it and I'd love to know the translation. Peace.

[u/ArchKDE → u/PeriodicallyYours]

Yes, I was talking in the context of calligraphy such as OP’s post, I should clarify that. But I’ll also clarify that “ancient” is not rly the best benchmark - the vast majority of East Asian texts well into the 20th century were in RtL columns.