Hacker News Reader

Comment by lacampbell | Hacker News Reader

Wouldn't something from that period be written with seal script? That script looks like modern Han characters with an archaic font - it's completely readable.

View on HN

Seal script is significantly older than that. 2100 years ago is squarely in the middle of the Han dynasty, after the square script we are familiar with was already standardized.

Someone commented on the site that it's a 17th century reproduction.

Also while those are Han, the language is sophisticated to regular Chinese readers. I can't even make sense of the words (individually yes) as a native Chinese speaker.

A far as paper writing, I found [1] which said roughly 100 A.D. some paper production began.

[1]: http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/tien-hsia.php?searchte...

Can you make an annotated version? Nothing fancy, if you add the translation with paintbrush and host it in imgur, I'll be completely happy.

It's traditional chinese but it's a challenge. This is my best guess: http://imgur.com/a/rnXPW

Looks like they were using colour as variable/labels.

Thanks! I replied in my other comment, because I made a previous explanation attempt but after looking at your translation I think that it was wrong and I wanted to highlight the differences.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13953495

Keep in mind that the earliest copies of Euclid, Plato, etc, are often from several hundred or 1000 years later.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com