<p>the text, with my best guess:</p>

<p>水殿亭¹亭荷 飛鳧浴³晚波 香</p>

<p>凮²吹不斷 時送采蓮歌　為</p>

<p>兆南五兄大人雅正之</p>

<p>丁酉冬月石泉何濂畫</p>

<p>¹the actual character is a variant (u+20158), i guess most os, app can't display it correctly. have a look of this page:</p>

<p><a href="http://chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char/28048" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char/28048</a></p>

<p>²凮 (u+51ee) is a variant of 風 (u+98a8)</p>

<p>³浴 is my guess only, might be wrong :(</p>

<p>edited, here's an variant adjusted, character "浴" assumed, interpretation of the poem:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>水殿亭亭荷</p>
</blockquote>

<p>[near] a building at the shore (水殿), [growing] nobly and honestly (亭亭) [are] lotus flowers (荷)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>飛鳧浴晚波</p>
</blockquote>

<p>wild ducks (飛鳧) are bathing (浴) in the evening (晚) ripple (波)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>香風吹不斷</p>
</blockquote>

<p>[lotus] scented (香) breeze (風) is blowing (吹) non stop ((不斷)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>時送采蓮歌</p>
</blockquote>

<p>occasionally (時), [the breeze] is carrying (送) [the sound of] the song of harvesting lotus root (采蓮歌)</p>

<p>[pending] for (為) fifth brother (五兄) who named "兆南"'s comment / criticism (雅正)</p>

<p>"大人" is a courteous title added to "兄"</p>

<p>"雅正" is a courteous term for "begging for other's comment" (懇求他人指正)</p>

<p><a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=Z00000152166" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=Z00000152166</a></p>

<p>"之" referred back to the painting and poem.</p>

<p>"丁酉" is one of the sexagenary cycle, for indicating year, it would be 2017-60i (i is any integer)</p>

<p>2017 - 0%, 1957, or earlier, are more likely.</p>

<p>"冬月" means eleventh month of lunar calendar</p>

<p><a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=Z00000048678" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=Z00000048678</a></p>

<p>now, the trickier part: 石泉何濂畫</p>

<p>"石泉" i would interpret as "石泉縣", a small county in 陝西</p>

<p><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%9F%B3%E6%B3%89%E5%8E%BF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/石泉县</a></p>

<p>cause, in the past, it's common to declare one's ancestral home (籍貫) before one's name. and, it's very unlikely that one would write his given name / courtesy name before his surname.</p>

<p>"何濂" is the author of the painting and poem, with "何" as surname, "濂" as given / courtesy name.</p>

<p>畫 means "draw / paint"</p>

<p>the seal is</p>

<pre>
石何
泉印</pre>

<p>石 <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E7%9F%B3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=石</a></p>

<p>泉 <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%B3%89" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=泉</a></p>

<p>何 <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E4%BD%95" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=何</a></p>

<p>印 <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%8D%B0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=印</a></p>

<p>have fun :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T22:54:11.547Z
REALLY Appreciate your Big help on the Translation! I will Copy it to Google Translator and see what I come up with. I was going to put a Picture of the Painting up also but it would just erase the first Picture.  Very fine old painting I am hoping is from a well known artist!  Thank You again for your Excellent Help! Sincerely, Gary K
Gary Knudtzon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T23:56:58.783Z
Is there an actual Date on this Painting? I have the Artist Name "He Lian" but really would like a Date Translation, is that Possible?  Thanks Again for your Help! Gary K
Gary Knudtzon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T02:50:53.533Z
date translation? no way. unless you know the birth & death of the painter; then, one might guess it :) sincerely, i would suggest you contact christie's, or sotheby's; their hong kong office should be glad to identify this artefact.
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T02:52:17.347Z
forget the google translator, it can't deal with literary chinese :( please wait, i'll try to   "translate" the poem, maybe this evening :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-19T03:19:18.153Z
2018-08-21T13:06:04.627Z
2018-08-21T13:06:04.627Z
水巷孑蠻
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/kE8aV.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/kE8aV.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Really Hoping someone can Translate this Old Chinese Painting Poem and Seal into English for me.</p>

<p>edited, picture added.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/WOXEf.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/WOXEf.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T13:07:38.483Z
the poem is translated. sorry that i can't reproduce the rhyme in english, nor the verses are in "harmony" in english.
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T13:17:59.727Z
btw, my  casual search: there's a painter named "何濂" in 明 dynasty. then, there're two painting "荷鸭图", with painter "何廉" http://artso.artron.net/auction/search_auction.php?keyword=何廉
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T16:52:50.550Z
@水巷孑蠻 Oh It's exactly the same!
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T18:25:09.407Z
@TooskyHierot, not exactly, these two were signed "何廉", with different seals. btw, what do you think about the character of "浴", i'm still not 100% certain; any idea?
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T21:22:21.600Z
@水巷孑蠻 the character might be a variant writing of 落. See http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QTAzNTIw
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T00:30:17.800Z
@droooze, possible the second one the mentioned page :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T01:04:24.663Z
@水巷孑蠻 I doubt it... 若 中一撇须出头 下方为右 而此处显然是一横再加一个口...
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T01:23:34.653Z
@水巷孑蠻 However, it is the most possible one I can guess.(๑˙ー˙๑)
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T01:25:11.677Z
that's why i'm still in doubt. actually, i listed all characters with 氵as left component, and ⼝ as bottom-right component; well, not matched :(
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T01:26:11.950Z
at this moment, this variant of 落 is most acceptable, both the writing & meaning :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T05:02:46.923Z
I think OP's painting is a copy of the original one. I carefully examined the image of the lot on that website and found 1. 落 is written in correct stroke order (then deduce that the artisan mistook the character when copying the painting) 2. 为 shouldn't follow the poem in the same line (note that it's correct in the other painting) 3. The whole sentence is awkward: supposing 兆南 was a name then it should be 五兄兆南 instead of 兆南五兄 and calling your brother 大人 seems strange. 4. The lot is more exquisite.
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-22T05:44:01.973Z
my "conan kun association" :) maybe it's a team product ^ o ^. someone painted the lotus flowers, another painted the wild ducks, then, a third one copied the text, with necessary adjustment. that's why the poem is OK, but "五兄大人" sounds strange, and the different name "濂" vs "廉". i can't imagine one would write his own name wrongly.
水巷孑蠻
<translation><character-identification><seal>
Chinese Poem And Seal Translation Needed
# Chinese Poem And Seal Translation Needed

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-08-19)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/kE8aV.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/kE8aV.jpg)

Really Hoping someone can Translate this Old Chinese Painting Poem and Seal into English for me.

edited, picture added.

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

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

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: the poem is translated. sorry that i can't reproduce the rhyme in english, nor the verses are in "harmony" in english.  
> **username_1**: btw, my  casual search: there's a painter named "何濂" in 明 dynasty. then, there're two painting "荷鸭图", with painter "何廉" http://artso.artron.net/auction/search_auction.php?keyword=何廉  
> **username_2**: @username_1 Oh It's exactly the same!  
> **username_1**: @username_2, not exactly, these two were signed "何廉", with different seals. btw, what do you think about the character of "浴", i'm still not 100% certain; any idea?  
> **username_3**: @username_1 the character might be a variant writing of 落. See http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QTAzNTIw  
> **username_1**: @username_3, possible the second one the mentioned page :)  
> **username_2**: @username_1 I doubt it... 若 中一撇须出头 下方为右 而此处显然是一横再加一个口...  
> **username_2**: @username_1 However, it is the most possible one I can guess.(๑˙ー˙๑)  
> **username_1**: that's why i'm still in doubt. actually, i listed all characters with 氵as left component, and ⼝ as bottom-right component; well, not matched :(  
> **username_1**: at this moment, this variant of 落 is most acceptable, both the writing & meaning :)  
> **username_2**: I think OP's painting is a copy of the original one. I carefully examined the image of the lot on that website and found 1. 落 is written in correct stroke order (then deduce that the artisan mistook the character when copying the painting) 2. 为 shouldn't follow the poem in the same line (note that it's correct in the other painting) 3. The whole sentence is awkward: supposing 兆南 was a name then it should be 五兄兆南 instead of 兆南五兄 and calling your brother 大人 seems strange. 4. The lot is more exquisite.  
> **username_1**: my "conan kun association" :) maybe it's a team product ^ o ^. someone painted the lotus flowers, another painted the wild ducks, then, a third one copied the text, with necessary adjustment. that's why the poem is OK, but "五兄大人" sounds strange, and the different name "濂" vs "廉". i can't imagine one would write his own name wrongly.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-08-19. Score: 5

the text, with my best guess:

水殿亭¹亭荷 飛鳧浴³晚波 香

凮²吹不斷 時送采蓮歌　為

兆南五兄大人雅正之

丁酉冬月石泉何濂畫

¹the actual character is a variant (u+20158), i guess most os, app can't display it correctly. have a look of this page:

<http://chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char/28048>

²凮 (u+51ee) is a variant of 風 (u+98a8)

³浴 is my guess only, might be wrong :(

edited, here's an variant adjusted, character "浴" assumed, interpretation of the poem:

> 水殿亭亭荷

[near] a building at the shore (水殿), [growing] nobly and honestly (亭亭) [are] lotus flowers (荷)

> 飛鳧浴晚波

wild ducks (飛鳧) are bathing (浴) in the evening (晚) ripple (波)

> 香風吹不斷

[lotus] scented (香) breeze (風) is blowing (吹) non stop ((不斷)

> 時送采蓮歌

occasionally (時), [the breeze] is carrying (送) [the sound of] the song of harvesting lotus root (采蓮歌)

[pending] for (為) fifth brother (五兄) who named "兆南"'s comment / criticism (雅正)

"大人" is a courteous title added to "兄"

"雅正" is a courteous term for "begging for other's comment" (懇求他人指正)

<http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000152166>

"之" referred back to the painting and poem.

"丁酉" is one of the sexagenary cycle, for indicating year, it would be 2017-60i (i is any integer)

2017 - 0%, 1957, or earlier, are more likely.

"冬月" means eleventh month of lunar calendar

<http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000048678>

now, the trickier part: 石泉何濂畫

"石泉" i would interpret as "石泉縣", a small county in 陝西

[https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/石泉县](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%9F%B3%E6%B3%89%E5%8E%BF)

cause, in the past, it's common to declare one's ancestral home (籍貫) before one's name. and, it's very unlikely that one would write his given name / courtesy name before his surname.

"何濂" is the author of the painting and poem, with "何" as surname, "濂" as given / courtesy name.

畫 means "draw / paint"

the seal is

```

石何
泉印
```

石 [http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=石](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E7%9F%B3)

泉 [http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=泉](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%B3%89)

何 [http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=何](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E4%BD%95)

印 [http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=印](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%8D%B0)

have fun :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: REALLY Appreciate your Big help on the Translation! I will Copy it to Google Translator and see what I come up with. I was going to put a Picture of the Painting up also but it would just erase the first Picture.  Very fine old painting I am hoping is from a well known artist!  Thank You again for your Excellent Help! Sincerely, username_0 K  
> **username_0**: Is there an actual Date on this Painting? I have the Artist Name "He Lian" but really would like a Date Translation, is that Possible?  Thanks Again for your Help! username_0 K  
> **username_1**: date translation? no way. unless you know the birth & death of the painter; then, one might guess it :) sincerely, i would suggest you contact christie's, or sotheby's; their hong kong office should be glad to identify this artefact.  
> **username_1**: forget the google translator, it can't deal with literary chinese :( please wait, i'll try to   "translate" the poem, maybe this evening :)  

---

