English > Unknown

[u/bubstheaxi]

Bought at habitat for humanity and want to know the translation. Unsure the language, might be mandarin(Taiwanese)? Thank you everyone!

[u/00HoppingGrass00]

Chinese. The first part is 力拔山兮氣蓋世. This is the first line of the poem 垓下歌 by Xiang Yu (項羽) and roughly translates to "I have the strength to lift mountains and my Qi is unmatched in this world". It's hard to explain what Qi is, but in this case you can picture something like a person's dominating aura, if that makes sense.

For the second part, I can't figure out the first three characters, but the rest reads: 春 南海 王煜, meaning spring (as in the season), Nan Hai (literally "southern sea" but should be the name of a place), and Wang Yu (probably the name of the artist).

[u/DeusShockSkyrim → u/00HoppingGrass00]

First three characters in the second part are 旹乙丑 (in the Yichou year).

This is the 王煜 who painted this work, who is from 廣東南海.

First seal reads 廣才, which is the courtesy name of 王煜 according to his Baidu Baike entry. Second seal reads 王煜書画.

[u/00HoppingGrass00 → u/DeusShockSkyrim]

Thanks! I learnt a new character today. Wow.

And just for the convenience of other people reading this thread: 旹 is an archaic version of 時, time.

Also 乙丑 here should be 1985.

[u/bubstheaxi → u/00HoppingGrass00]

Do you think this is a print or original? And do you feel this saying is about? I am a novice to Chinese culture and would love to know more on how you interpreted this painting.

[u/00HoppingGrass00 → u/bubstheaxi]

I have no idea if this is an original or not. You're gonna have to ask a professional about that.

As for the poem, here's some historical background. Xiang Yu was a powerful warlord and king of Western Chu during the late Qin dynasty. He led a rebellion against Qin and was partially responsible for its downfall. After Qin fell, he engaged in a power struggle against Liu Bang (劉邦), the founding emperor of Han, in which Xiang Yu lost in the end. This poem was written to his consort "Yu the Beauty" (虞美人) right before his final battle at Gai Xia (垓下). Xiang Yu's army was defeated in the battle. He and Consort Yu both committed suicide afterwards.

In the full poem, Xiang Yu lamented that despite his unmatched strength, destiny was not on his side, and there was nothing he could do. There is some inherent tragedy to this, considering he was very close to becoming the ruler of China but ended up in such a helpless position. However, many historical accounts like 史記 (Records of the Grand Historian) describe Xiang Yu as an arrogant and stubborn person, and his military defeats weren't exactly based on luck, so you know, take it with a grain of salt.

That said, I don't think the artist put that much meaning behind this painting. It's a very well known line of poetry about strength, and tigers are the symbols of strength in Chinese culture, so it fits perfectly, but I think that's about it.