Ë HA
Ts'un-fung tih-i in Malay: Dapat tempoh bai (We'v got good times). Pr. H. translated: e<With the vernal air (with the new year) get wat you wish» (Met de lente-lucht [met het nieuwe jaar] verkriÿg wat ge wilt). We should prefer translating with the Malay version: «Vernal breezes according to our wishes». 9
Upon the door we read the distich:
according to the Malay version: 7ni entero taun punja Moosin samoa bai. — Kaliatan segala rupa ini Moosin samoa bagoos (AI
the seasons of the whole year good. — Everything during these
1) À common abbreviation of All . Prof. Hoffmann, however, wrongly mistook it for
the c. ke l'ai, and translated it by «a clew of silk».
seasons appears beautiful). Prof. H. translated: «The four and eight times of the year are collectively merchants (they bring treasures in exchange for man’s industry). — A clew of tenthousand purple and thousand red silkthreads — such is spring (the new year)» (De vier en de acht tijden van het jaar zijn gezamenlÿk kooplieden [zÿ brengen schatten in ruiling voor ’s menschen vlÿt]. Een kluwen van tienduizend purperen en duizend roode zÿdedraden — 700 is de lente [het nieuwe jaar]). Prof. H. made here two mistakes: he has translated Æ À , which means pleasant , by <merchant», which would be 2 À iQ and, as we have already observed, he mistook the character AA for #Ù which he read t'ai and translated by <clew». Now this could never be the case. AE does not pertain to *T as he thought, for the rest or caesura in Chinese verses of seven characters is always after the 4th character, ‘) and thus A (all) in the second line corresponds to Æ (all) in the first.
The proper rendering of the distich is thus: «The four seasons and eight terms are all pleasant ?). — Myriads and thousands of
purple and red (hues) all proclaim the spring».
The 10th inscription is that upon a school ei RE (in Malay: Rumah secola).
The legend above the lintel reads:
BRIE T'uh shing-hien shu
according to the Malay translation: batja buku pinter (read clever books). Dr. H. translated: «Read wise and good books». (Lees wijze en goede boeken); better: «Read the books of the Sages and Philo-
sophers».
1) Davis, The poetry of the Chinese, p. 14 (New and augmented edition, London, Asher & C9. 1870).
2) Seng ? (Æ &) interesting; amusing; pleasing; taking the fancy. (Douglas, Dict. of the Amoy vernacular, p. 163 B.
Upon the door is found the following distich :
+ Où 2 en où HF 0h
translated in Malay by: Orang mengadjar punja djalan, trada ikat mau bôrong dagangan; Orang njang di adjur dalam secola, dia melinkin harap pènanja sadja (The ways of the schoolmaster [instructor] are not bound to the purpose of speculating; Those who are instructed in schools, they only trust to their pencils).
Pr. H. again mistranslated the whole verse: «The life of the schoolmaster does not finish at the grave. The store-house of the student consists in hair-styles (writing-pencils)>. (Het leven van den schoolmeester houdt niet op by het graf. Het goederen-magazijn van den geletterde bestaat in haren-griften [schrifpenseelen]). Prof. Hoffmann took RÈ in the sense of a <tumulus», a <tomb» or a «grave», and Er in the sense of <to eut off», and translated: «is not cut off by (does not finish at) the grave»; overlooking the fact that the expression RË Er is a fixed term in Chinese for <speculating, scheming or monopolizing». Wells-Williams and others all give these definitions, but none of these makers of dictionaries has the kindness to explain to us whence the term was derived. The expression was first used by Meng-ts2e (II F ,X,6 & 7), in relation to an offer of a house and a revenue of 10,000 «kung (40,000 peck of rice) made to him by the king, when he wanted to give up his office and return home. Mencius refused the offer, and quoted to his interlocutor the history of à certain Tsze-shuh E (F- 4 XE)
as an example that a scholar and virtuous man may not scheme
for honours or speculate on riches: «Ke-sun said A strange man was Tsze-shuh E. He pushed himself into the service of government. His prince declining to employ him, he had to retire indeed, but he agaid schemed that his son or younger brother should be made a high officer. Who indeed is there of men but wishes for riches and honour? But he only, among the seekers of these, tried to monopolize the conspicuous mound» (%, HE 1) 4). Now Mencius goes on to explain the origin of the expression <to monopolize the conspicuous mound»: «Of old time, the market-dealers exchanged the articles which they had for others which they had not, and simply had certain officers to keep order among them.
«It happened that there was a mean fellow, who made it a point to look out for a conspicuous mound, and get up upon it. Thence he looked right and left, to catch in his net the whole gain of the market. The people all thought his conduct mean, and therefore they proceeded to lay a tax upon his wares. The taxing of traders took its rise from this mean fellow» À).
Since this time the term RÈ Er means in Chinese: to monopolize, to speculate, to scheme, to put ones self in evidence or, as the French would say: «faire de la réclame».
Prof. H. translated in the second line by <store-house» (magazine of goods — goederen-magazin). Now ÆÏA has never the meaning of magazine or store-house. The compound j= FE means «riches» or «goods». Consequently the whole distich means;
«The trade of a savant does not consist in scheming;
«The riches (or goods) of the student consist in his pencil».
The eleventh inscription, being that upon a Pawnshop = & (in Malay: Rumah gadéan), has above the door the device:
1) HE = BÈ a mound; a tumulus.
2) Legge, Chin. Classics 11, pp. 103—106.
BE Tsih yü tui kin according to the rather free Malay translation: Sediah perak mûâs (Ready silver and gold). Pr. H. translated rightly «Accumulated jewels, heaped-up gold» (Vergaderde juweelen, opgehoopt goud). Upon the door we find the distich;
SAUT EPpR
translated in Malay by: PBiar bekin sediah, kalu mau sama ada; Brant kata pelahan lekas boleh kassi (Only make ready if you want both (parties) to subsist; [ dare say that slow or quick it will be given). Pr. H. translated: «Only on behalf of circulation the money ought to serve; [ dare say: slow or quick (plentiful or poorly) it comes to the same» (Alleen ten behoeve der circulatie moet het geld strekken; Ik durf zeggen: Langzaam of gaauw [ruim of bekrompen] het komt op hetzelfde neder). Pr. H. translated literally the ch. # # by <slow and quick» whilst the compound means «emergency» !). He translated ÀH SH by «it comes to the same» instead of «intercommunication»; <mutual exchange». The proper translation would be: «Only in behalf of the circulation both parties ought to be ready; then we can, so to say, be mutually helped,
when in emergency».
The 12 and last inscription is that found upon a shop of
\ Wells-Willi Tonic Dic 2 e £ in emergencies. 1) Wells-Williams Tonie Dict. #E S 4H LS to help each other in emergencies
miscellaneous goods Æf£ = (in Malay: Rumah djual segala barang (House where all sorts of goods are sold).
The inscription above the door runs: .
