Chinese Script - I Need Your Help...

I'm hoping someone on the SCF Forum can translate the Chinese characters on this cover.

The cover bears a U.S. AGENCY SHANGHAI Cancel January 14, 1875. The cover was carried to Yokohama via S.S. ALASKA , leaving Yokohama January 19, 1875, The Captain of the Steamship Ship ALASKA was named "Van Sice"; Steamship Ship ALASKA, was owned by the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Co.; it took 22 days to sail. The ALASKA arrived in San Francisco February 16, 1875; postmarked San Francisco February 17 (1875).

Any and all help on the translation is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Hal

OK, I'll take a stab at this, and let Tonymacg, Zhangcheng... fill in the facts...

Columns from right to left:

1-2, trouble the agency to send enclosed letter to Shanghai outside the little east gate

3, Mei Hua Bookstore

4, Mr. Di (some title or formality in last 2 small characters)

5, sorry I don't understand this phrase

6, sorry I don't recognize the last character

7, sealed 11th month, 27th day (don't know if this is lunar/solar calendar date)

Open to correction from others...

I can't add much to khj's excellent reconstruction, except to say that I think that the 5th and 6th lines refer to an address, possible in Soochow Road. The Mei Hua Bookshop, is probably the 'US-China Bookshop' in English.

Thank you KJH and Thank you Tonymacg! Very much appreciated!

Hal, Nice cover. Your cancel appears to be a Type 5. It is known in black from Nov. 1871 to Oct 1882 and in red from Oct 1882 to July 1886.

The Type 5 is shown below

khj's translation and tonymacg's translation are all excellent, both of yours Chinese language teachers will be proud of you all.

The USA postal agency is illegal in China, and closed in 1922.

The 5th line is an address as tonymacg pointed out, and thanks khj for leaving this for us to give us a chance to chip in. It is the sender's address. The Mr. Di is a transfer who be responsible for taking this mail to US postal agency I guess, the real addressee is the address in USA.

The 5th line for sender address: Mr. Li, Si Mansion, ShiQuan Street, Suzhou(Soochow). Suzhou is close to Shanghai about 100km.

Khj, as Hal said the cancel date is January 14, 1875 in Shanghai, the sealed date should be lunar calendar date, I checked it on internet, the 11th month, 27th day if it is lunar calendar, it is the January 04, 1875 in solar calendar, it makes sense for the courier gone from Suzhou to Shanghai and sent this mail via US postal agency.

6th line: I do not understand the phrase, the first Chinese character is "alcohol", the second Chinese character has a few meaning: an example, precedent, regulations or convention, a case. Maybe the addressee can give a answer, I know the "CO." means "corporation", I can not read other words as it is too joined-up writing to me.

ZhangCheng

I'd like to thank you very much.

I hope that is correct - I used an English Chinese Dictionary. I took Mandarin (language) for business for four years, but did not learn the characters.

Hal

Russ, Thank you for the illustration of the US Postal Agency-Shanghai CDS.

The cover is most likely from Charles Leaman father of M.E. Leaman (Mary E. Leaman) to his Daughter. Charles Leaman was an unattached missionary who went to Nanking, China in 1874.

Mary Leaman grew-up to be a Chinese Missonary in Suzhou. She was imprisoned with other missionaries in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II and expelled after WWII during the rise of Mao.

Hal,

You are welcome, and that is correct for expressing "thank you", but no the full stop will be more perfecter.

Thanks for the details about this cover, a cover shows a story, really true.

ZhangCheng

ZhangCheng -- I understand about the "no full stop" at the end. Thank you again!


Hal
(chinese name: YiFun)

given to me by a friend.

I forgot to mention, very nice and interesting cover!



Agreed.



As in "one cent" or "one point"?

Thanks again for showing the cover!

k

Your Chinese name sounds great, the Chinese name in Chinese Pinyin form no "Fun" but "Fan" is available="·²"=ordinary, and this word accord with the Chinese philosophy of the doctrine of the mean, if so, you have a good friend.

Ahhh... OK.

khj, that is just my guess, you konw that a lot of different Chinese characters using the same one Chinese Pinyin form. Tomorrow Hal will let us know the exact meaning.

By the way, my name is ÕųÌ, in Pinyin form is ZhangCheng, ÕÅ=Zhang is my family name, ³Ì=Cheng is my name meaning "journey". My elder brother's name is ÕÅÅô£¬in Pinyin form is ZhangPeng, Åô=Peng is his name meaning a kind of big bird in Chinese mythology. Our names complete a Chinese idiom "Åô³ÌÍòÀï", word for word meaning a big bird fly a journey of tens of thousands of kilometers, the implied meaning have a bright future.

"Mei Hua Xu Kuan", means American-Chinese Letter Office (USPO in China). At that time Xu Kuan or Xu Xing Kuan means post office. "Jiu Li" means tip for wine has been paid, that means a small token was given to the courier for taking the letter to the destination post office. I have just joined the SC forun today. Nice meeting you guys. I used to collect China and my collection went to the Champion of the Champions in 1979. That is a long time ago.