<p>己亥 - The 己亥
year: The previous 己亥年 was 1995, further back was 1935</p>
<p>Read about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">干支 - Sexagenary cycle</a></p>
<p>冬 - Winter</p>
<p>寫於 - expressed at</p>
<p>香港 - Hong Kong</p>
<p>程振 - Cheng Zhen (the author)</p>
<p>The seal also read &quot;程振&quot; in seal script</p>
<p><em>寫 literally means &quot;write&quot; but @lilysirius pointed out 寫 here is short for 寫意 (express the feeling)</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T22:46:10.813Z
I was taught that the 題款 on a painting, 寫 always means 寫意，a term of the technique/style of Chinese painting, not to write or a general 寫 in 寫生
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T22:48:49.710Z
in this case, 寫 should mean "created" or "expressed"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T22:54:05.917Z
I don’t agree, it’s still 寫意. This is still one of the ways that I learned to do it myself. The verb to use is pretty fixed.
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T22:55:01.917Z
寫意 literally means "express the feeling" and it would also include the meaning of  "to create"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T23:00:51.090Z
寫 is actually from calligraphy, to write something, either concrete or abstract. But then when 寫意 became a term, 寫 is used conventionally as a short hand for 寫意. As a 寫意畫 painter I wouldn’t think otherwise.
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T23:01:18.420Z
Side note: Google Translate: 寫意 = freehand (drawing), 寫 in 寫意 should be understood as 描寫 (describe)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T23:07:02.260Z
Oh I see, you translate 寫 into express. That’s the cause of my previous confusion. To express seems to broad a verb while 寫意 is some specific term. But well, I don’t have better translations. The google translate also confuses me.
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T23:09:46.960Z
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/140239/discussion-between-tang-ho-and-lilysirius).
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T23:19:58.483Z
I think 寫 means 簽(sign) here.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-30T03:28:53.583Z
From the discussion so far, is it feasible to categorize 寫意 as a type of Chinese painting technique equivalent to the Western "Impressionist" style? Just a thought? So, we have "A Wintery Impression of Hong Kong"?
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-30T21:09:28.660Z
@TangHo Thank you for the translation. Do I understand you correctly that the characters says it's a Hong Kong winter landscape made between 1935-1995 and by an artist named Cheng Zhen. I can't seem to find much information about the artist when googling Cheng Zhen 程振, do you think that he is a less-known artist with not much recorded about his life?
JED123
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-30T21:39:22.687Z
It is "made either in  1935 or 1995"; I've never heard of the artist 程振 before. 1995 is more likely
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-01T20:03:53.733Z
@TangHo Ok, thanks again.
JED123
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T22:39:05.113Z
2022-10-30T03:06:15.963Z
2022-10-30T03:06:15.963Z
Tang Ho
<p>I have previously received great help here on discovering the meaning of characters and seals on a pair of Chinese paintings I own. I also own a third Chinese painting which I've always wondered what its seal and Chinese characters mean. The painting is a landscape painting and the seals and characters are situated on the upper-left corner (please see images below), thanks in advance for the help.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/qVDQ0.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/qVDQ0.jpg" alt="thepainting" /></a>
The Chinese Landscape Painting.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ZKMSV.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ZKMSV.jpg" alt="sealandcharacters" /></a>
Close-up of the paintings seal and characters.</p>

<translation><characters><character-identification><seal>
Meaning of one seal and characters on my Chinese painting?
# Meaning of one seal and characters on my Chinese painting?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-10-29)

I have previously received great help here on discovering the meaning of characters and seals on a pair of Chinese paintings I own. I also own a third Chinese painting which I've always wondered what its seal and Chinese characters mean. The painting is a landscape painting and the seals and characters are situated on the upper-left corner (please see images below), thanks in advance for the help.
[![thepainting](https://i.sstatic.net/qVDQ0.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/qVDQ0.jpg)
The Chinese Landscape Painting.

[![sealandcharacters](https://i.sstatic.net/ZKMSV.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/ZKMSV.jpg)
Close-up of the paintings seal and characters.

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


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-10-29. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

己亥 - The 己亥
year: The previous 己亥年 was 1995, further back was 1935

Read about [干支 - Sexagenary cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle)

冬 - Winter

寫於 - expressed at

香港 - Hong Kong

程振 - Cheng Zhen (the author)

The seal also read "程振" in seal script

*寫 literally means "write" but @username_2 pointed out 寫 here is short for 寫意 (express the feeling)*

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I was taught that the 題款 on a painting, 寫 always means 寫意，a term of the technique/style of Chinese painting, not to write or a general 寫 in 寫生  
> **username_1**: in this case, 寫 should mean "created" or "expressed"  
> **username_2**: I don’t agree, it’s still 寫意. This is still one of the ways that I learned to do it myself. The verb to use is pretty fixed.  
> **username_1**: 寫意 literally means "express the feeling" and it would also include the meaning of  "to create"  
> **username_2**: 寫 is actually from calligraphy, to write something, either concrete or abstract. But then when 寫意 became a term, 寫 is used conventionally as a short hand for 寫意. As a 寫意畫 painter I wouldn’t think otherwise.  
> **username_1**: Side note: Google Translate: 寫意 = freehand (drawing), 寫 in 寫意 should be understood as 描寫 (describe)  
> **username_2**: Oh I see, you translate 寫 into express. That’s the cause of my previous confusion. To express seems to broad a verb while 寫意 is some specific term. But well, I don’t have better translations. The google translate also confuses me.  
> **username_1**: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/140239/discussion-between-username_1-and-username_2).  
> **username_3**: I think 寫 means 簽(sign) here.  
> **username_4**: From the discussion so far, is it feasible to categorize 寫意 as a type of Chinese painting technique equivalent to the Western "Impressionist" style? Just a thought? So, we have "A Wintery Impression of Hong Kong"?  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Thank you for the translation. Do I understand you correctly that the characters says it's a Hong Kong winter landscape made between 1935-1995 and by an artist named Cheng Zhen. I can't seem to find much information about the artist when googling Cheng Zhen 程振, do you think that he is a less-known artist with not much recorded about his life?  
> **username_1**: It is "made either in  1935 or 1995"; I've never heard of the artist 程振 before. 1995 is more likely  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Ok, thanks again.  

---

