<p>The first three characters are indeed 「牧者所」, with 「牧」 written with a corrupted 「攵」 which appears as 「文」. The last character is a reshuffled 「」, which in the current script is written as 「愛」.</p>
<hr />
<p><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period" rel="nofollow noreferrer">戰國</a>・<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_(Chinese_state)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">晉</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions" rel="nofollow noreferrer">金</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/MZu5w.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MZu5w.png" alt="㤅" /></a><br>壺<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=9734&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">集成9734</a></kbd><kbd>戰國・<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楚</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">簡</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/y7eRt.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/y7eRt.png" alt="㤅" /></a><br>六德・17<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guodian_Chu_Slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">郭店楚簡</a></kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%9A%B6%E5%AE%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">隸定</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/SfvMK.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/SfvMK.png" alt="㤅" /></a><br><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>「愛」 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Baxter%E2%80%93Sagart_(2014)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Baxter-Sagart OC</a>: <strong>/*[q]ˤə[p]-s/</strong>, <em>[benevolent] love</em>) was originally written as 「㤅」, comprised of semantic 「心」 (<em>heart</em>) and phonetic 「旡」 (<strong>/*[k]ə[t]-s/</strong>).</p>
<p><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秦</a><br>簡<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/jIbTB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jIbTB.png" alt="" /></a><br>54.51<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">睡虎地秦簡</a></kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">篆</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BMALd.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BMALd.png" alt="" /></a><br><a href="https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;file=77390&amp;page=52" rel="nofollow noreferrer">夊部</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">說文解字</a></kbd><kbd><br>隸定<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/VCSA5.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/VCSA5.png" alt="" /></a><br><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>「夊」 was added later for no particular functionality. This was perhaps stylistic, and happened in several characters right below a component with the shape of a person. For reference, <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=5432" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「旡」 depicts a kneeling person with an open mouth</a>.</p>
<p><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Han" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西漢</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">隸</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/trkBf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/trkBf.png" alt="" /></a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching#Mawangdui_and_Guodian_texts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">老子甲</a>115<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawangdui_Silk_Texts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">馬王堆帛書</a></kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Eastern_Han" rel="nofollow noreferrer">東漢</a><br>隸<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1vXWL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1vXWL.png" alt="愛" /></a><br>郙閣頌<br>　</kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_dynasty_(266%E2%80%93420)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西晉</a><br>隸<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FGPk0.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FGPk0.png" alt="愛" /></a><br>徐美人墓志<br>　</kbd><kbd><br>楷<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/eE7D9.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eE7D9.png" alt="愛" /></a><br><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>「旡」 was later corrupted into 「⿱爫冖」, forming 「愛」. Sometimes, 「心」 and 「夊」 were also shuffled around; if 「心」 is moved to the bottom left, it is written as 「忄」.</p>
<hr />
<p>The character in question,</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/hipXe.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hipXe.png" alt="愛" /></a></p>
<p>retains the non-corrupted 「旡」</p>
<p><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/jIbTB.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jIbTB.png" alt="" /></a><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>and shuffles 「心」 to the bottom left.</p>
<p><kbd><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1vXWL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1vXWL.png" alt="愛" /></a><br>　</kbd></p>
<hr />
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">小學堂</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian" rel="nofollow noreferrer">字形演變</a></li>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/variants" rel="nofollow noreferrer">異體字表</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">漢語多功能字庫</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-10T21:46:13.970Z
2020-11-10T21:46:13.970Z
dROOOze
<p>These four characters are &quot;牧者所爱&quot; in Clerical script font.</p>
<p>&quot;牧者所爱&quot; is a title of a Hymn. The English title is &quot;DEAR TO THE HEART OF THE SHEPHERD,&quot; written by Ma­ry B. Win­gate.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-10T21:29:32.357Z
2020-11-10T21:43:03.320Z
2020-11-10T21:43:03.320Z
shuoq25
<p>I'm very rusty, and can't figure out the last character. Am I correct that the first 3 are 牧者所? Thank you so, so much!</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/gYJ6O.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gYJ6O.jpg" alt="4 characters" /></a></p>

<character-identification><calligraphy>
What are these characters? (Characters identified: 牧者所愛)
# What are these characters? (Characters identified: 牧者所愛)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-10)

I'm very rusty, and can't figure out the last character. Am I correct that the first 3 are 牧者所? Thank you so, so much!

[![4 characters](https://i.sstatic.net/gYJ6O.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/gYJ6O.jpg)

**Tags:** character-identification, calligraphy


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-11-10. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The first three characters are indeed 「牧者所」, with 「牧」 written with a corrupted 「攵」 which appears as 「文」. The last character is a reshuffled 「」, which in the current script is written as 「愛」.

---

`戰國・晉  
金  
![㤅](https://i.sstatic.net/MZu5w.png)  
壺  
集成9734``戰國・楚  
簡  
![㤅](https://i.sstatic.net/y7eRt.png)  
六德・17  
郭店楚簡` `隸定  
![㤅](https://i.sstatic.net/SfvMK.png)`

「愛」 ([Baxter-Sagart OC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Baxter%E2%80%93Sagart_(2014)): **/\*[q]ˤə[p]-s/**, *[benevolent] love*) was originally written as 「㤅」, comprised of semantic 「心」 (*heart*) and phonetic 「旡」 (**/\*[k]ə[t]-s/**).

`秦  
簡  
![](https://i.sstatic.net/jIbTB.png)  
54.51  
睡虎地秦簡` `篆  
![](https://i.sstatic.net/BMALd.png)  
夊部  
說文解字` `隸定  
![](https://i.sstatic.net/VCSA5.png)`

「夊」 was added later for no particular functionality. This was perhaps stylistic, and happened in several characters right below a component with the shape of a person. For reference, [「旡」 depicts a kneeling person with an open mouth](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=5432).

`西漢  
隸  
![](https://i.sstatic.net/trkBf.png)  
老子甲115  
馬王堆帛書``東漢  
隸  
![愛](https://i.sstatic.net/1vXWL.png)  
郙閣頌``西晉  
隸  
![愛](https://i.sstatic.net/FGPk0.png)  
徐美人墓志` `楷  
![愛](https://i.sstatic.net/eE7D9.png)`

「旡」 was later corrupted into 「⿱爫冖」, forming 「愛」. Sometimes, 「心」 and 「夊」 were also shuffled around; if 「心」 is moved to the bottom left, it is written as 「忄」.

---

The character in question,

[![愛](https://i.sstatic.net/hipXe.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/hipXe.png)

retains the non-corrupted 「旡」

`![](https://i.sstatic.net/jIbTB.png)`

and shuffles 「心」 to the bottom left.

`![愛](https://i.sstatic.net/1vXWL.png)`

---

**References:**

* [小學堂](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/)
  + [字形演變](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian)
  + [異體字表](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/variants)
* [漢語多功能字庫](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/)
* [中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/)


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-11-10. Score: 2

These four characters are "牧者所爱" in Clerical script font.

"牧者所爱" is a title of a Hymn. The English title is "DEAR TO THE HEART OF THE SHEPHERD," written by Ma­ry B. Win­gate.


---

