Letter to Chin Ah Quan
Date Published
: Literary
: AI
Found in the deceased estate of Chin Ah Quan who died in Cossack, WA in 1885 - this is one of the earliest surviving remittance related letters in Australia.
Letter to Ah Quan
Seal of Yee Kee - Remittance shop
Transcript
Column 1:
久違榘範、時切遐思。比維 均叔起居迪吉、近佳多勝、為慰
Column 2:
為頌。乃昨四月三十日得接來翰、脩悉一切。但姪前月中
Column 3:
旬已經付上一函、信內言明或十五元、並天青布三疋、另嬸
Column 4:
付銀一元、俱已收到、可無庸尊慮。茲特再付一函、仰祈
Column 5:
照察。今崇琢叔公年登耄耋、衰頹不堪、夕陽朝露、理無
Column 6:
久存。為子者正宜及時孝養。倘獲贏餘、早圖歸計、理宜。
Column 7:
切愛日之思、毋致抱終天之恨可也。並冀早日寄銀回家、
Column 8:
以免叔公掛心。率泐數行奉覆、希為鑒察。茲值初夏、寒
Column 9:
熱不時、伏冀善自調攝、諸維珍重、不宣。
Column 10 (Postscript insertion):
再者叔台見此如有信付回交他孖剌新聞紙館內交陳子明
Column 11 (Postscript continued with redactions):
〇〇〇 叔台在等海埠子起水便賀見字千祈千祈千祈講明其夜護街
Column 12 (Final postscript column):
寫明通知
Left Margin Address, Signatures, and Security Marks:
Column 13:
均祥叔父台電
Column 14:
姪陳子超字稟
(Red personal ink cipher: 陳象琨)
(Red pictorial security stamps: 義記)
The Literal Translation preserves the traditional epistolary structures, honorific spaces, and specific fiscal terminology. The Flowing Translation adapts the formal late-Qing idiom into standard, natural English while retaining the urgency of the family's situation.
Translation 1: Literal (Line-by-Line)
Column 1: It has been long since I stood before your exemplary model; my distant thoughts of you are constantly deep. I continuously think that you, Uncle Jun, in your daily life are guided by auspiciousness, and recently fine with many blessings, which brings comfort
Column 2: and praise. On the yesterday of April 30th, I received your esteemed letter, and fully learned of everything. However, your nephew, in the middle ten days of last month,
Column 3: already dispatched a letter. Within that letter it was clearly stated that twenty-five dollars, together with three bolts of sky-blue cloth, plus that which Aunt
Column 4: paid of one dollar in silver, have all been received; you may completely dispense with your honorable anxieties. Now, I specially send another letter, looking upward to pray
Column 5: for your examination and observation. Currently, Great-Uncle Chongzhuo has ascended to the age of eighty or ninety; he is decrepit and broken beyond endurance, like the setting sun and morning dew, and by principle cannot
Column 6: long remain. He who is a son ought precisely to fulfill filial care in proper time. If you obtain any surplus earnings, you should plan your return strategy early; this is what is principles dictate as proper.
Column 7: Have an urgent desire to cherish the remaining days of your parents, and do not cause yourself to harbor the lifelong regret of death; this is acceptable. At the same time, it is hoped you will early remit silver home,
Column 8: so as to prevent Great-Uncle from hanging his heart in worry. I hastily scribble these few lines to offer a reply, hoping you will grant it your scrutiny. At present, it is the beginning of summer, and cold
Column 9: and heat are unseasonable; I humbly hope you will skillfully adjust and care for yourself. In all aspects maintain your precious health. I do not state further.
Column 10: Furthermore, Uncle, when you see this, if you have a letter to pay back, hand it over to the interior of the Ma-La newspaper office, to be handed over inside to Chen Ziming
Column 11: [Redacted characters] Uncle, upon disembarking at the maritime port, immediately offer congratulations; upon seeing these characters, I pray a thousand times, pray a thousand times, pray a thousand times that the night street watch be explained clearly,
Column 12: explicitly written and notified.
Column 13: To the platform of my Uncle Junxiang for his telegraphic perusal.
Column 14: Your nephew, Chen Zichao, respectfully submits.
Translation 2: Flowing (Idiomatic & Natural)
It has been long since I last had the privilege of your guidance and presence, and you have been constantly in my thoughts. I trust this letter finds you, Uncle Jun, in sound health and thriving in all matters—this brings me immense comfort and heartfelt joy.
Your letter arrived safely on April 30th. I have fully taken note of everything within. I sent you a letter in the middle of last month, in which I noted the twenty-five silver dollars, three bolts of sky-blue cloth, and the one silver dollar sent by my aunt. All of these have been received in full, so please set your mind entirely at ease. I am sending this letter again and respectfully ask you to take note.
Great-Uncle Chongzhuo has already reached a very advanced age of nearly 90, utterly worn and frail. Like the setting sun and morning dew, he cannot reasonably be expected to remain with us much longer. As his son, you ought to tend to him with full filial devotion while there is still time. If your means allow, you should make plans to return home as soon as possible. Cherish the remaining days you have with him, lest you carry lifelong regret. I also hope you will send remittances home at your earliest convenience, so that he need not lie awake with worry.
I pen these few lines in reply, and hope you will understand the sincerity behind my words. It is now in early summer, with weather shifting unpredictably between cool and warm. Please take good care of yourself. There is so much more I wish to say, but I will leave it here.
One further request: when you write back, you may entrust your reply to the Ma-la Newspaper Office, to be handed over to Chen Ziming. We beg you most earnestly—when you address your reply from the overseas port, please write the delivery details clearly, with the exact street name specified, to ensure it reaches us without delay.
To Uncle Junxiang With deepest respect,
Your nephew Chen Zichao
(Seal: Chen Xiangkun)
(Seal of Yee Kee) [Remittance & Letter Agency?]
Notes:
或十五元
This is probably a misreading for 貳十五元 ("twenty-five yuan")
孖剌新聞紙館 (Ma-la Newspaper Office), is probably referring to a Chinese newspaper office in Singapore (Malacca / Malay), which served as a forwarding address for overseas correspondence.
Source: Ah Quan - AU WA S2323- cons5795 1885/15 (WA State Archives)
Translators: Jason Lee / 李傑俊 & Sarah Zhang
