I recently bought my girl friend a lantern screen bearing some Chinese characters. If anyone can tell us what they mean or say, we’d really appreciate your help.
Picture of the lantern is here:
I asked Doper enilorac, a Chinese major, what the characters read, and she said:
She adds that if you really want a clear interpretation of the characters, you should ask a Chinese instructor or head over to your local Chinatown.
Hope this helped a little.
Thanks for your help AudreyK. I just bought the thing in a shop, and it’s a mass-produced item, so it’s not really feasible to locate the artist. As for heading off to Chinatown, here in London that’s just a couple of streets full of restaurants and a long way to go. I just thought it would be easier to rely on fellow Dopers, and I was right. I guess the literal transcription of each individual character is good enough for us, so thanks to enilorac!
You’re welcome. I’ll pass your thanks on to her. 
Well, my Chinese sucks, but I’m living in China right now so I’ll show it to someone and post back in a couple of days, 'k?
My guess is that it actually means something like “China’s reflecting flower/beauty” or “the reflection of the Chinese flower/beauty”. I may be misremembering here, but I think the flower sign is often associated with aesthetic beauty… please correct me if I’m wrong.
I’m sooo often wrong.
Anyways, I’ll get back to you.
— G. Raven
As mentioned before, starting with the largest character on the right and going counter-clockwise, the literal word by word translation is: mirror, center/middle/in, flower. Taken together, it means “the flower in the mirror”. It’s a rather odd phrase to put on a lantern screen though. Did it come with anything else?
Oh, the calligraphy is pretty decent for the two characters on the left, but that “mirror” on the right could use a little improvement 
My Taiwan born-and-raised boss’ wife says it would probably imply that you see a flower in the mirror when you look in it, meaning that you are beautiful. It did seem a little like guesswork, though.
Thanks to all for help and input. Zor no, it didn’t come with anything else. It’s a self-contained stand with a small shelf at the back, behind the screen, where you place a small night candle. Light the candle and it glows through the screen, creating a pretty effect (if you like that sort of thing!). Morrison’s Lament no rush, it will be interesting to see what you come up with!
Cheers all, and season’s best wishes as appropriate to whatever you do or do not celebrate!