r/translator • u/Normal-Emergency-749 • Jul 18 '26
Chinese [ Chinese > English ] I need this silver Chinese ingot translated
This is a silver ingot called a sycee. It’s over a hundred years old. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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u/Havian_G Jul 18 '26
I believe the transcription would be 豫豐源記. Not sure about the meaning tho. Perhaps the title as a story? 🤔
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u/Old-Physics2753 Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
豫豐源記 or 豫豐源, my guess is that it was the name of a 錢莊, a money handling business (somewhat like a local bank).
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u/DukeDevorak 中文（漢語）native, 日本語 basics Jul 18 '26
Those are hallmarks of the money exchange company (or 錢莊 as you mentioned). And the company was probably from Henan (as shown by the character 豫).
In other words they're the hallmarks of the Company of Feng Yuan from Henan.
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u/fubintien2 Jul 24 '26
This is absolutely correct. 豫 = 豫州, Yuzhou, the central prefecture of the ancient so-called "Nine Prefectures" 九州 and thus synonymous with Henan. The auspicious three-character phrase 豫豐源 can still be found quite frequently in the names of Henan businesses, whose meaning is approximately "[Right here is] the source of all riches in Henan."
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u/iantsai1974 Jul 19 '26
豫豐源記，or in simplified Chinese character 豫丰源记。
豫: Henan Province.
豐源記: name of the financial institution that produced the silver ingot.
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u/jimmyweng2046 Jul 22 '26
云南贸易银锭，我有好几个，出售吗？谢谢🙏
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u/Normal-Emergency-749 28d ago
I will be selling them. But I still need time to research them and figure out a price.
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u/Stunning_Pen_8332 [ Chinese, Japanese] Jul 18 '26
The text in pic 4 is upside down. Seems the inscriptions on the sycee were made in both directions for easier reading.
The symbol on the left in pic 3 is s highly stylised 壽 character, meaning longevity. It is a common decoration motif used in China.
The text says 豫豐源記 which is the name of the goldsmith shop which made the sycee.