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Subject:Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Tibor Kovács Tue, Oct 18, 2016 IP: 62.165.210.152

Hi,

Can you please help me to translate the Chinese inscription of this Tiger Tally.

Many thanks,

Tibor



Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: mikeoz Wed, Oct 19, 2016

Here are most of the characters:
申 (?) (?) 符 左 在 皇 帝 右 杜 (or more probably 在) (?) 沙

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Tibor Kovács Thu, Oct 20, 2016

Thank you very much!

Please,let me know what does these Chinese characters mean in English.

Best regards and many thanks in advance,

Tibor

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: mikeoz Fri, Oct 21, 2016

Where is Super when we need him?

I've made suggestions on all but one character, and that may become clearer to someone with Super's knowledge.

申 兵 之 符 左 在 皇 帝 右 在 (?) 沙

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Super Thu, Oct 20, 2016

甲兵之符,右在皇帝,左在阳陵

The tallies used to send troops, right one would stay with the emperor, left one would be at Yang Ling (with the troops).

http://kongming.net/novel/tiger_tally/
"A ‘tally’, or fu 符, in many cases, was a special two-piece object granted to people – usually officers – of ancient China as a representation of authority or identification. One piece was held by a certain person or in a certain location and the other, carried on the officer’s person, was matched when verification was necessary. Certain types of special fu were assigned to high-ranking officers at places like the capital palaces and were used as symbols of authority or to gain clearance. On a more general level, fu made of simple material such as wood or iron may be handed out to guests entering certain areas for use inside and repossessed upon their exit. During the Han and Three Kingdoms periods the fu held by high-ranking officers were usually made of bronze and separated from the shape of a tiger.

Tiger-shaped fu, properly identified as hufu 虎符, are better known today as ‘Tiger Tallies’. Hufu is the proper representation of ‘Tiger Tally’ but you will frequently come upon them being referred to as fujie 符节, which was actually a more general term used to represent symbols of authority – but was most commonly associated with the official seal and ribbon, the true representation of rank in these periods. Tiger Tallies (hufu) are perhaps among the most interesting relics from ancient China. Because they were uncommon in this period, they have become extremely rare and valuable today. Here we present tiger tallies from different periods of Chinese history for you to enjoy."

http://kongming.net/novel/symbols_of_authority/#hufu

Hufu 虎符: Tiger Tallies

Tiger Tallies, or hufu (虎符), were two-piece fu formed in the shape of a tiger. The material from which tiger tallies were created varied through Chinese history and included everything from jade and gold to bronze. According to Hou Han shu tiger tallies made of bronze were used for kings, heads of commanderies, and similar high and comparatively static ranks. They were not common. The Hou Han shu’s explanation applies accurately to the the Han and Three Kingdoms periods and to surrounding periods to a degree. At different points the material from which tiger tallies were created varied, but the fundamental purpose remained the same.

No small amount of confusion exists behind the way in which tiger tally is rendered in Chinese. Hufu (‘tiger mark’ or ‘tiger symbol’), the literal and most obvious rendering, does not appear commonly. Tiger tallies at times may be described simply as fu and at other times, including some later-era historic texts, as fujie (符节) the term most commonly used today, and often in error (see ‘Fujie’). Striving for accuracy, a translator must be careful in rendering this term.

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: rat Sat, Oct 22, 2016

說曹操,曹操就到!

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: mikeoz Sat, Oct 22, 2016

Thanks Super.

I notice that in this case the left side is to stay with the Emperor, while the right is sent somewhere else. Does this put doubts on the authenticity?

Could Tibor post photos of the side aspect of the Tally so we can get more of an opinion of the whole object?

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Super Sat, Oct 22, 2016

I just realized that while the usual way should be:

甲兵之符,右在皇帝,左在阳陵
The tallies used to send troops, right one would stay with the emperor, left one would be at Yang Ling (with the troops).

But after I took a look at Mikeoz's translation, be was indeed correct, because the scripts on this tally was different:

甲兵之符 The tallies used to send troops (no change)
左在皇帝 (left tally will stay with the emperor instead of the usual right one)
右在(?) 沙 (the right tally would be with? could not figure out the second to last character)

Therefore either the carver did it on purpose or he was not that knowledgeable.

Cheer. My bad.

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Tibor Kovács Mon, Oct 24, 2016

Dear Super and Dear Mike many thanks for your help!
Here are some new pictures of Tiger tally,which was made of bronze.The body and the head inlaid with silver tendrils and the characters with gold,which were cleaned by a professional conservator recently because of the old patina.Only ca. 30% of the characters were visiable.

Best wishes,
Tibor





Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Tibor Kovács Sun, Oct 23, 2016

Thank you Super for your promt and useful reply, but I need your help again in the translation of the characters on this little Tiger.

Best wishes and many thanks in advance,

Tibor

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: mikeoz Mon, Oct 24, 2016

Interesting that Rat refers to Cao Cao 曹操. The combination of darkish bronze with gold inlaid filigree I expect to have some relevance with the Warring States period.

Was there a place name at that time that included the word Sha 沙 ?

I'm not suggesting this is a genuine Warring States object, but perhaps an interesting conflicted piece.

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: Tibor Kovács Tue, Oct 25, 2016

When this Tiger tally was made?

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: mikeoz Mon, Oct 24, 2016

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

The missing character is Zhang 長。

The whole inscription is now revealed:

甲兵之符
左在皇帝
右在長 沙

Subject:Re: Chinese inscription of a Tiger Tally
Posted By: mikeoz Mon, Oct 24, 2016

長沙 Changsha Hunan, a city since the Zhou era


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