Qilin Posted July 8, 2011 Can anybody help me identify the circled chinese character on this antique taoist charm I just bought? I'm pretty sure I've correctly identified the other characters, though I'm not positive. The other side of the coin has your typical 8 trigrams. Thanks in advance! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
exorcist_1699 Posted July 8, 2011 Can anybody help me identify the circled chinese character on this antique taoist charm I just bought? I'm pretty sure I've correctly identified the other characters, though I'm not positive. The other side of the coin has your typical 8 trigrams. Thanks in advance! Yours is too easy, I expect something more difficult: 地 Earth, ground 人 Man, people Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qilin Posted July 8, 2011 Yours is too easy, I expect something more difficult: 地 Earth, ground 人 Man, people Sorry to disappoint! Can you tell me what the character I wrote as Earth in the picture is then? Maybe I got them mixed up. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChiDragon Posted July 8, 2011 Sorry to disappoint! Can you tell me what the character I wrote as Earth in the picture is then? Maybe I got them mixed up. Thanks! 土 is Soil or earth 地 is Earth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qilin Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) 土 is Soil or earth 地 is Earth Oh, got it. Thanks!! No wonder I was confused looking it up. The capital makes all the difference. Edited July 8, 2011 by Qilin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
exorcist_1699 Posted July 9, 2011 Sorry to disappoint! Can you tell me what the character I wrote as Earth in the picture is then? Maybe I got them mixed up. Thanks! Both "土" and " 地" can mean ground ; But "土" more often refer to soil , a platform or element where plants and crops grow . So in the five-element framework , the character "土" is used. On the other hand, " 地" is always used in the context of being the opposite of the Heaven/sky ;Likely be a bigger concept which refers to an arena where people live.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qilin Posted July 9, 2011 (edited) Both "土" and " 地" can mean ground ; But "土" more often refer to soil , a platform or element where plants and crops grow . So in the five-element framework , the character "土" is used. On the other hand, " 地" is always used in the context of being the opposite of the Heaven/sky ;Likely be a bigger concept which refers to an arena where people live.. Wonderfully explained; thank you! -- I do have another amulet that has taoist magic diagrams on it. This one should be much more difficult. I have found a translation of the middle text on the 2nd picture: "Lao Zi curses saying the Heaven is round and the earth is square The Nine Songs of the Six Temperaments The spirit of the magic writing will destroy the ten thousand ghosts everywhere Let it be executed as fast as Lu Ling." There is the bagua and taijitu at the top and the figure is Zhenwu. But I cannot find any translations of any of the 3 magic diagrams. Can anyone decipher the 3 diagrams? Here is what I know already: Edited July 9, 2011 by Qilin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChiDragon Posted July 9, 2011 (edited) 1. The diagram at the left hand side seems to be a RAT(鼠) character with the figure of a rat inside. The RAT the first symbol of the Chinese zodiac. 2. At the bottom seems to be a dragon with clouds and a circle in the middle maybe the sun or the moon. 3. At the right seems to be two animals sitting on top of something are kissing each other. FYI... The second picture is a talisman to keep the evil spirits away. Edited July 9, 2011 by ChiDragon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Qilin Posted July 9, 2011 1. The diagram at the left hand side seems to be a RAT(鼠) character with the figure of a rat inside. The RAT the first symbol of the Chinese zodiac. 2. At the bottom seems to be a dragon with clouds and a circle in the middle maybe the sun or the moon. 3. At the right seems to be two animals sitting on top of something are kissing each other. FYI... The second picture is a talisman to keep the evil spirits away. 1. This is one of the magic diagrams I am talking about, it isn't a normal chinese character, though it may resemble them. 2. I think these may be clouds or waves, not sure though. 3. This is the legendary figure Zhenwu standing on a tortoise and snake. I've highlighted in yellow the diagrams I don't know. Thanks for the help though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChiDragon Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) 1. Yes, normally it is the case. However, sometimes a diagram of the actual figure was added to the character for artistic purposes. 2. The highlighted in yellow in the diagrams are just a combination of characters stacked together. They are really meaningless in the talisman. Only the Taoists in their religion would know what they are for. They have different symbols for different talismans. Edited July 10, 2011 by ChiDragon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
