pluiepoco

Thank you for your detailed explanation, and I thank you in place of eye rony.

Yau

you're welcome. The words in the above sentence is actually too obsolete and too vague that Eye_Rony should avoid using it as a everyday chinese expression. I think it's okay our generations not to read it.

eye_rony

Yau, your explaination fits perfectly with the picture, that would explain why the mother figure is facing away & occupied with (her own) 2 children.

Glad you think it isn't necessarily false too, it looks quite old, but I have no way of telling how old.

I'm so pleased to have the story in the end, thank you very much

Rony

Yau

I just can't be sure about its age, but my wild guess is that it may be less than 50 years-- after the People Republic of China was found.

As Pluiepoco pointed out, 东 (east), a simpified character, was written in your calligraphy. That character isn't based on the legitimate rules of creating a chinese characters, so I guess it may be originally invented by the China Communist Party in 1950s, but not taken from other ancient calligraphy works.

pluiepoco

I have googled the “閔損單衣順母/褔州居士/東昇氏作”characters, finding the following pictured links, if your painting is a little like the ones on the Internet, then I guess it’s really valuable since you said it followed you all you life, if I may ask how old are you?and where are you now?
“
http://www.amtb.org.sg/2/2_1/2_1_1/2..._1_1_2_3_4.htm
http://www.agedhome.org/24xiao5-6.htm
http://www.chinalane.org/moral003/ma.../00003627.html

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eye_rony

Yau, interesting that you suggest the use of the character for "east" indicates the picture is post 1949.

A relative was in the East (from the UK) in the early 50's. He probably picked it up then.
It's always looked pretty old since I knew it, but I didn't know if it was new or old when he got it. Now it looks as though it was a modern tourist piece.

Thanks for Googling those pages pluiepoco, I couldn't do that (don't speak/read/write Chinese), I think it does look like the same story.

Attached is a scan of the people in the picture, so you can see for yourselves.

Thanks for your help guys.
I feel I have a much better appreciation/understanding of it now,

Bye,
Rony

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Yau

I'm sure the style of the painting was quite popular a few decades ago because I not only saw them in my grandmom's home, but most of her friends too! If your relative lived in UK Chinatown, it would not be surprising that the paint might come from Hong Kong too.