The inscription reads (approximately): "On this salubrious site the divine immortals [would] choose to dwell in such a beautiful building." 

This image is from a slide in the Purcell Papers.  The location of the original drawing, if it survives, is unknown.  The calligraphy was graciously translated for me by Qichang Zhao, Director of the Beijing Archaeological Institute, and his wife, a scholar of Classical Chinese, on the occasion of a dinner at Tani-y-Deri, Taliesin, in the summer of 2000.  The rendering of the calligraphy in Mandarin was generously translated into English by their architect daughter, Lang Yue. 

If you want a higher resolution version of the image showing more detail (62K), click here.

   Collection: William Gray Purcell Papers, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries [P:ST].

 

research courtesy mark hammons