<p>The transcription, in columns from right to left, is:</p>
<hr />
<ul>
<li>⿰氵<a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/z36005j.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer"></a>（江）</li>
<li>上</li>
<li>⿰氵<a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/37AD.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">㞭</a>（清）</li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/z29397y.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer"></a>（風）</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<ul>
<li>山</li>
<li>⿵<a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/z63826z.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer"></a>日（間）</li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/6719.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">朙</a>（明）</li>
<li>月</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>Please see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideographic_Description_Characters_(Unicode_block)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ideographic description characters</a> for the interpretation of ⿰ and ⿵.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T15:35:04.923Z
People without special fonts installed can't render a good half of your answer
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T15:35:45.617Z
@blackgreen that's why I put links there.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T15:53:10.323Z
Just pointing out that relying on fonts and external links doesn't help bring your expertise to others, that's unfortunate. This is what your answer looks like without the proper fonts https://imgur.com/a/9AyrPo1
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T15:58:57.827Z
@blackgreen I think this calls for a font installation wiki of some sort. This way, those who are interested in rendering can follow the guide. You're right, I'm heavily reliant on Unicode extensions for a lot of answers, and they're not very user-friendly. It needs to be addressed.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T16:00:46.830Z
*installation wiki of some sort* yeah good idea! maybe the [glyph-origin] tag could be the right place? or somewhere in the help center. I'd recommend to open a thread on meta to gather ideas and mod participation (not sure if we need them to change the help pages)
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T15:11:51.940Z
2020-08-17T15:11:51.940Z
dROOOze
<pre><code>山 江
间 上
明 清
月 风
</code></pre>
<p>“江上清风， 山间明月” from 《赤壁赋》 by 苏轼.
it means：</p>
<p>Breeze over the river and moon between the mountains.</p>
<ul>
<li>江: river, especially Changjiang river.</li>
<li>上: above, over</li>
<li>清: refreshing</li>
<li>风: wind, breeze</li>
<li>山: mountains</li>
<li>间: among, between</li>
<li>明: bright</li>
<li>月: moon</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>惟 <strong>江上</strong> 之 <strong>清风</strong>，与 <strong>山间</strong> 之 <strong>明月</strong>，耳得之而为声，目遇之而成色，取之无禁，用之不竭。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Translation:</p>
<p>(When talking about all the things in the universe), only the breeze over the river and moon between the mountains (are unlimited resources), because when you listen you will hear (the wind), and when you look you will see (the moon). The amount of sound and light are always infinite: they can never be taken away or used up. (They are always there for you to admire.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T14:35:38.230Z
Thank you! Can you tell me what it translates to?
A.R. 
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T14:37:34.993Z
clear wind on the river, bright moon between mountains
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T14:39:43.780Z
Thank you both so much!
A.R. 
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-17T14:31:26.870Z
2020-08-17T14:45:39.830Z
2020-08-17T14:45:39.830Z
River
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/dQZJw.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dQZJw.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>I would love some help identifying the characters written on this stamp. I see that the 5th and 6th characters are 山 and 間, but I cannot identify the others!</p>
<p>This stamp is the underside of a <em>netsuke</em> connected to an <em>inro</em>, which could be Japanese or Chinese.</p>
<p>The image has been flipped.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance!</p>

<character-identification><traditional-characters><seal><old-chinese>
Can someone identify the characters in this Seal Script? (Characters identified: 江上清風　山間明月)
# Can someone identify the characters in this Seal Script? (Characters identified: 江上清風　山間明月)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-17)

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

I would love some help identifying the characters written on this stamp. I see that the 5th and 6th characters are 山 and 間, but I cannot identify the others!

This stamp is the underside of a *netsuke* connected to an *inro*, which could be Japanese or Chinese.

The image has been flipped.

Thank you in advance!

**Tags:** character-identification, traditional-characters, seal, old-chinese

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-08-17. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

山 江
间 上
明 清
月 风

“江上清风， 山间明月” from 《赤壁赋》 by 苏轼.
it means：
Breeze over the river and moon between the mountains.

江: river, especially Changjiang river.
上: above, over
清: refreshing
风: wind, breeze
山: mountains
间: among, between
明: bright
月: moon


惟 江上 之 清风，与 山间 之 明月，耳得之而为声，目遇之而成色，取之无禁，用之不竭。

Translation:
(When talking about all the things in the universe), only the breeze over the river and moon between the mountains (are unlimited resources), because when you listen you will hear (the wind), and when you look you will see (the moon). The amount of sound and light are always infinite: they can never be taken away or used up. (They are always there for you to admire.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you! Can you tell me what it translates to?  
> **username_4**: clear wind on the river, bright moon between mountains  
> **username_0**: Thank you both so much!  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-17. Score: 0

The transcription, in columns from right to left, is:

---

* ⿰氵（江）
* 上
* ⿰氵[㞭](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/37AD.html)（清）
* （風）

---

* 山
* ⿵日（間）
* [朙](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/6719.html)（明）
* 月

---

Please see [ideographic description characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideographic_Description_Characters_(Unicode_block)) for the interpretation of ⿰ and ⿵.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: People without special fonts installed can't render a good half of your answer  
> **username_1**: @blackgreen that's why I put links there.  
> **username_2**: Just pointing out that relying on fonts and external links doesn't help bring your expertise to others, that's unfortunate. This is what your answer looks like without the proper fonts https://imgur.com/a/9AyrPo1  
> **username_1**: @blackgreen I think this calls for a font installation wiki of some sort. This way, those who are interested in rendering can follow the guide. You're right, I'm heavily reliant on Unicode extensions for a lot of answers, and they're not very user-friendly. It needs to be addressed.  
> **username_2**: *installation wiki of some sort* yeah good idea! maybe the [glyph-origin] tag could be the right place? or somewhere in the help center. I'd recommend to open a thread on meta to gather ideas and mod participation (not sure if we need them to change the help pages)  

---

