An ambitious bit of carving here. The text of (apparently) a poem is carved in relief around all four sides of this columnar block. I don't know the poem, but it says in essence:
During the Chuan(?) dynasty, at the Han (Chinese) border
At the great wall [] man has not yet returned
Let's have a heroic officer stationed at this spot
To prevent the barbarian forces invading on their horses through the mountains
(Thanks to Alan Ho)
The two characters on the side say lao tie, old iron. I don't know what the seal impression says but it's pretty nice,
1 comment:
a famous Tang dynasty poem by 王昌齡 (d756AD), 出塞 Leaving the Frontier (going past the Great Wall to fight the barbarians):
秦時明月漢時關，萬里長征人未還。但使龍城飛將在，不教胡馬度陰山。
The moon is as bright as during the Chin/Qin dynasty, the Wall is the same as during the Han;
Off on an expedition of ten thousand miles, he has not returned.
If the great Flying General or Dragon City were alive now,
The barbarians would never enter our borders.
(Dragon City, where the Huns worshiped, site of a great Han victory over the Huns; Flying General, the formidable Li Kuang)
Seal face:謙復 somebody's name, excellent, imaginative carving.
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