<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/oXVEE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oXVEE.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>The characters are 「斿于」, or using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideographic_Description_Characters_(Unicode_block)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ideographic description sequences</a>: 「斿于⿰坴丮」. These are stand-ins for what we would now write as 「游于藝」; 「斿」 is the right hand side of 「游」, and 「」 is a seal script form of 「埶」, forming the middle part of 「藝」.</p>
<p>The phrase referred to is a line from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects#Chapters" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>The Analects: Transmission of Learning</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<h3>《論語・述而》</h3>
<p>子曰：「志於道，據於德，依於仁，<strong>游於藝</strong>。」</p>
<p><em>The Master said, &quot;Let the will be set on the path of duty. Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped. Let perfect virtue be accorded with. <strong>Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts</strong>.&quot;</em></p>
<p><sub>Translation by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Legge" rel="nofollow noreferrer">James Legge</a>. See <a href="https://ctext.org/analects/shu-er?searchu=%E5%AD%90%E6%9B%B0%EF%BC%9A%E2%80%9C%E5%BF%97%E6%96%BC%E9%81%93%EF%BC%8C%E6%93%9A%E6%96%BC%E5%BE%B7%EF%BC%8C%E4%BE%9D%E6%96%BC%E4%BB%81%EF%BC%8C%E6%B8%B8%E6%96%BC%E8%97%9D%E3%80%82%E2%80%9D&amp;searchmode=showall#result" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chinese Text Project</a>.</sub></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-03T18:55:10.923Z
Much appreciated @dROOOze!  I'm now enjoying reading other information on that passage from The Analects.  I just wish I could find some information about the artist, 王重為; would like to know whatever happened to him.
jd thomas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-03T19:42:26.040Z
@jdthomas I couldn't find anything on the artist (also, strictly speaking - an artist's background is not on topic for this site, you're only supposed to ask things about the Chinese language).
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-02T20:46:57.093Z
2021-03-02T20:46:57.093Z
dROOOze
<p>I have a work of calligraphy that I am trying to get as much information as possible on.  The story behind it is that back in college, I took a Chinese calligraphy summer session course (was maybe 4 weeks long) taught by a visiting artist from Hangzhou. He was a very kind, gentle guy, and I really enjoyed it.  At the end of the course, I decided to ask him if he would write a passage for me from one of the practice books we were using to copy our characters from, as a small souvenir.  He said that those passages would be kind of childish, like a nursery rhyme, and he would do something different for me.  He had taught us the different writing styles, and asked me which I liked best.  I chose Li Shu style - it was the one I most enjoyed doing (I've since read that Li Shu is generally regarded as the easiest for beginners to learn), and I thought it looked the coolest.  So several days later, the last day of class, he surprised me with this.  I didn't expect he would actually produce a work of art for me, with his seals and everything; it was incredibly nice of him.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/qLex4.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/qLex4.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>So from what was explained to me at the time, and from other research, I know that 寿而康 means &quot;Longevity and Health&quot;, and comes from ‘饮且食兮寿而康，无不足兮奚所望‘ in a Tang Dynasty work by Han Yu.  And I know that 庚午夏日 in the upper right means &quot;Summer Day, 1990&quot;, which is when this was done.  And I know that the lower left writing 王重為書 means a work by Wang Zhongwei, his name.</p>
<p>For the seals, I know that the lower left is his name seal.  But I cannot make out the characters in the upper right seal.  3 characters, correct?  Is that a date seal, mimicking the written date 庚午?  I can almost see those as the first two characters, but the bottom character is a mystery.  Or maybe it is not a date seal, and something else altogether?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/gzItT.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gzItT.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Lastly, does anyone know anything about Wang Zhongwei?  Like I said, he was from Hangzhou, and was apparently a locally well regarded/decorated artist, but of course I wouldn't know if that were true or not.  He was maybe in his late 20s/early 30s at the time, so would expect him to be around 60 now.</p>
<p>Any and all comments on this much appreciated!</p>

<translation><character-identification><seal><calligraphy>
Further information on calligraphy piece? (Characters identified: 斿于⿰坴丮)
# Further information on calligraphy piece? (Characters identified: 斿于⿰坴丮)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-02)

I have a work of calligraphy that I am trying to get as much information as possible on. The story behind it is that back in college, I took a Chinese calligraphy summer session course (was maybe 4 weeks long) taught by a visiting artist from Hangzhou. He was a very kind, gentle guy, and I really enjoyed it. At the end of the course, I decided to ask him if he would write a passage for me from one of the practice books we were using to copy our characters from, as a small souvenir. He said that those passages would be kind of childish, like a nursery rhyme, and he would do something different for me. He had taught us the different writing styles, and asked me which I liked best. I chose Li Shu style - it was the one I most enjoyed doing (I've since read that Li Shu is generally regarded as the easiest for beginners to learn), and I thought it looked the coolest. So several days later, the last day of class, he surprised me with this. I didn't expect he would actually produce a work of art for me, with his seals and everything; it was incredibly nice of him.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/qLex4.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/qLex4.jpg)

So from what was explained to me at the time, and from other research, I know that 寿而康 means "Longevity and Health", and comes from ‘饮且食兮寿而康，无不足兮奚所望‘ in a Tang Dynasty work by Han Yu. And I know that 庚午夏日 in the upper right means "Summer Day, 1990", which is when this was done. And I know that the lower left writing 王重為書 means a work by Wang Zhongwei, his name.

For the seals, I know that the lower left is his name seal. But I cannot make out the characters in the upper right seal. 3 characters, correct? Is that a date seal, mimicking the written date 庚午? I can almost see those as the first two characters, but the bottom character is a mystery. Or maybe it is not a date seal, and something else altogether?

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/gzItT.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/gzItT.jpg)

Lastly, does anyone know anything about Wang Zhongwei? Like I said, he was from Hangzhou, and was apparently a locally well regarded/decorated artist, but of course I wouldn't know if that were true or not. He was maybe in his late 20s/early 30s at the time, so would expect him to be around 60 now.

Any and all comments on this much appreciated!

**Tags:** translation, character-identification, seal, calligraphy


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-03-02. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/oXVEE.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/oXVEE.png)

The characters are 「斿于」, or using [ideographic description sequences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideographic_Description_Characters_(Unicode_block)): 「斿于⿰坴丮」. These are stand-ins for what we would now write as 「游于藝」; 「斿」 is the right hand side of 「游」, and 「」 is a seal script form of 「埶」, forming the middle part of 「藝」.

The phrase referred to is a line from [*The Analects: Transmission of Learning*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects#Chapters):

> ### 《論語・述而》
>
> 子曰：「志於道，據於德，依於仁，**游於藝**。」
>
> *The Master said, "Let the will be set on the path of duty. Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped. Let perfect virtue be accorded with. **Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts**."*
>
> Translation by [James Legge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Legge). See [Chinese Text Project](https://ctext.org/analects/shu-er?searchu=%E5%AD%90%E6%9B%B0%EF%BC%9A%E2%80%9C%E5%BF%97%E6%96%BC%E9%81%93%EF%BC%8C%E6%93%9A%E6%96%BC%E5%BE%B7%EF%BC%8C%E4%BE%9D%E6%96%BC%E4%BB%81%EF%BC%8C%E6%B8%B8%E6%96%BC%E8%97%9D%E3%80%82%E2%80%9D&searchmode=showall#result).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Much appreciated @username_1!  I'm now enjoying reading other information on that passage from The Analects.  I just wish I could find some information about the artist, 王重為; would like to know whatever happened to him.  
> **username_1**: @jdthomas I couldn't find anything on the artist (also, strictly speaking - an artist's background is not on topic for this site, you're only supposed to ask things about the Chinese language).  

---

