rhew
Member
Posts: 94
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Post by rhew on Dec 6, 2012 13:27:18 GMT -5
Dear laohuaqiao & lachinatown:
I hadn't looked at this thread for a long time, and didn't realize that you had replied. My apologies. Is there any setting on this forum to have it send me an email when a "watched" thread or one I have contributed to is updated?
Could you please tell me what the difference is in the English meanings of 大 and Tai 太 ? Whereas I can find the "old" version of the name on a map, I can't find 太和村. Is it more likely, as lachinatown suggests, that the dot was a mistake?
And what the English translation of 大围坊 is? The English translation of 大圍場 seems to be "large paddock" according to Google Translate, but it doesn't give a translation for 大围坊. Thanks Robert
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Post by Doug 周 on Dec 6, 2012 13:58:04 GMT -5
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rhew
Member
Posts: 94
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Post by rhew on Dec 6, 2012 18:26:40 GMT -5
Doug: Thanks. In other boards, e.g. ancestry.com, all those steps occur automatically, without you having to do anything. I've set up some notifications now.
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Post by Doug 周 on Dec 6, 2012 19:12:24 GMT -5
This Forum used outdated software. You get what you pay for. The downside to updating the forum engine is losing the older posts.
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Post by lachinatown on Dec 6, 2012 20:21:08 GMT -5
大 [da4] big; large; great; heavy (rain, etc.); strong (wind, etc.); loud; general; main; major; size; age; greatly; fully; in a big way; on a big (or large) scale; eldest; your.
太 [tai4] highest; greatest; remotest; more or most senior; excessively; too; overextremely; very.
太婆【tàipó】 <dialect> great-grandmother. 太太【tàitài】 Mrs.; madam; the mistress if a household; lady. 太子【tàizǐ】 crown prince. 老太太【lǎotàitai】 <honor.> old lady; your (my, his, etc.) mother.
Note that the headstone sure shows 太和村 clearly.
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Post by lachinatown on Dec 6, 2012 20:30:55 GMT -5
大 = big, great, vast, large, high 圍 = surround, encircle, corral 坊 = subdivision of a city
Hope this helps rhew.
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rhew
Member
Posts: 94
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Post by rhew on Dec 6, 2012 20:56:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the translations.
So am I to assume that 圍 is the same as 围 ?? Is the first one just the traditional character and the second the simplified one? The record and the inscription both come from Jamaica circa 1970's, where I believe the traditional characters were still being used.
And is it possible that 大 [da4] and 太 [tai4] could be used interchangeably as the first character in the village name, or would they refer to 2 different villages. i.e. I should keep searching the maps for a village called 太和村, or assume that the people that recorded the burial and carved the headstone simply made a mistake including the dot?
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Post by lachinatown on Dec 6, 2012 21:25:57 GMT -5
Yes. 圍 and 围 are the same, traditional and simplified.
It is possible 大 and 太 are used interchangeably since both are basically big or great.
Mathews' dictionary: 太和 = Universal harmony; harmony of the duel powers, Yin and Yang; the essence of all things. 大和 = Japan; yamato.
Sure look like 太和 is correct since it means harmony.
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