Wednesday, January 4, 2006

"Forever Lost"


http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51216/high/bmepb183813.jpg

If this tattooed phrase would be translated into English as "character-per-word", it would say "Forever Lost" or "Eternally Lost". Aside from the terrible calligraphy, the phrase is grammatically incorrect when it is read as Chinese.

4 comments:

  1. Welcome back Tian.

    Boy, that's some nasty calligraphy. They just keep on coming.

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  2. Well, the second character is really 恆, so it's actually written not so bad. 失 is the one they've really butchered.

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  3. wow i think that's some of the worst handwriting/calligraphy i've seen on your site in a while. the artist must not have any knowlege of writing chinese at all...

    love the site!

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  4. Gramatically, it is left open. In this incomplete form, it ought to translate to something like "the thing I lost to eternity" (or such). The subject that should be there is missing. What is it this person has lost enternally? Perhaps this is meant as an profound question?

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