Davidr8, now you know his name, Wei Can Kwan/Guan (provided by Lachinatown) and Ancestral Village, 庆临里 Qing Lin li "Li / Lay " (provided by Henry) in Kaiping City, Guangdong, China.
It's a good start! There is so much more to learn. Maybe one day you may visit your Ancestral Village and find your Ancestral Home?
Fay Chee
Last Edit: Jan 11, 2019 13:28:39 GMT -5 by FayChee
Be careful about mixing Mandarin and Cantonese. In Mandarin the name would be Guan Weican but the Cantonese could be Romanized as Gwan Wai Chan.
Incidentally, the character 翁 (Cantonese yoong/Mandarin weng) is often found on grave markers with traditional inscriptions. It is a respectful term for an elderly man. More common is the character 公 (Cantonese goong/Mandarin gong), which means basically the same thing, although this latter character can also be used for ancestors who are not necessarily old.
Hi Greg, Thanks for your advice....I never know which is Mandarin and which is Cantonese, so I have been combining them and hope someone with more knowledge will comment....
Be careful about mixing Mandarin and Cantonese. In Mandarin the name would be Guan Weican but the Cantonese could be Romanized as Gwan Wai Chan.
Incidentally, the character 翁 (Cantonese yoong/Mandarin weng) is often found on grave markers with traditional inscriptions. It is a respectful term for an elderly man. More common is the character 公 (Cantonese goong/Mandarin gong), which means basically the same thing, although this latter character can also be used for ancestors who are not necessarily old.
Greg
Thank you for this additional information.
Would you consider what is inscribed to be a traditional inscription?
Yes, I would consider this to be a traditional inscription because of the way it is worded. For example, as I mentioned, it includes the traditional Chinese term of respect 翁, as well as information about the native place of the deceased. The opposite would be an inscription that is either totally devoid of Chinese characters or includes just the characters for the person's Chinese name. Traditional inscriptions require people who can write them or at least access to people who can write them. As ethnic Chinese families around the world become less familiar with written Chinese, Chinese characters appear less and less on grave markers. --Greg