Buy a Custom Altruism-related Chinese and/or Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

Beyond "benevolence" word can be also be defined as "charity" or "mercy" depending on context.

The meaning suggests that one should pay alms to the poor, care for those in trouble, and take care of his fellow man (or woman).

This is one of the five tenets of Confucius. In fact, it is a subject in which Confucius spent a great deal of time explaining to his disciples.

I have also seen this benevolent-related word translated as perfect virtue, selflessness, love for humanity, humaneness, goodness, good will, or simply "love" in the non-romantic form.

This word is so important to me that I named my second daughter with this character. Her name is "Renni" which means "Benevolent Girl".
-Gary.

This is also a virtue of the Samurai Warrior
See our page with just Code of the Samurai / Bushido here

See Also...  Love | Kindness | Charity | Brotherhood | Confucius

This means benevolent heart, compassionate heart, or merciful heart in Japanese. This is a Japanese only phrase, and should be ordered from our Japanese master calligrapher. This is because the third character is special Hiragana.

Chances are you are into Inuyasha and are seeking the title of chapter 471 which is often translated as "Merciful Heart".

See Also...  Love

These two characters create a word that can be translated as love, kindheartedness, benevolence and humanity.

The first character means benevolence by itself.
The second character means virtue or morality.

Japanese note: The second Kanji of this word has been slightly simplified (one tiny horizontal stroke removed). It is still readable for Japanese, but if you select our Japanese calligrapher, expect that stroke to be missing on your wall scroll.

There are a few different words used to express charity in Chinese characters, Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja, but this is the most common. Some of the other words describe acts such as "giving alms" etc.

Note: Also considered to be one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues.

If you need a different meaning, just post your request on our Asian calligraphy forum.

Note: Sometimes this is translated as benevolence or benevolent.

See Also...  Benevolence

Caring is giving love and attention to people and things that matter to you and anyone who is in need of help. When you care about people, you help them. You do a careful job, giving your very best effort. You treat people and things gently and respectfully. Caring makes the world a safer place.

This means caring in Chinese, and is also a word in Korean Hanja, but with more of a flavor or "taking an interest" and "concern".

Note, this is also a word in Korean Hanja, but in Korean, it means taking interest or concern. In Korean it's still a good word, but it doesn't quite have the "caring for a person" meaning that it does in Chinese.

See Also...  Love | Benevolence

Compassion is caring and understanding someone is hurt or troubled (even if you don't know them). It is wanting to help, even if all you can do is listen and say kind words. You forgive mistakes. You are a friend when someone needs a friend.

These same two characters contain this meaning of compassion and sympathy in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which makes this word universal.

See Also...  Love | Caring | Kindness

This is the simplest way to express the idea of compassion. It can also mean love for your fellow humans, humanity, or living creatures. Sometimes this is extended to mean charity.

This term is often used with Buddhist or Christian context. The concept was also spoken of by Laozi (Lao Tze) in the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching).

This Chinese character is understood in Japanese, but is usually used in compound words (not seen alone). Also used in Korean Hanja, so it's very universal.

See Also...  Mercy | Benevolence | Forgiveness | Kindness

These are the core of Confucius philosophy. Simply stated they are:
benevolence / charity
justice / rectitude
politeness / tact
wisdom / knowledge
fidelity / trust

Many of these concepts can be found in various religious teachings. Though it should be clearly understood that Confucianism is not a religion, but should instead be considered a moral code for a proper and civilized society.

See Also...  Confucius Teachings | Ethics

Some may think of this as a "Christian trait" but actually it transcends many religions.

This Chinese teaching dates back to about 2,500 years ago in China. Confucius had always taught the belief in being benevolent (ren) but this idea was hard to grasp for some of his students, as benevolence could be kind-heartedness, or an essence of humanity itself.

When answering Zhong Gong's question as to what "ren" actually meant, Confucius said:

"When you go out, you should behave as if you were in the presence of a distinguished guest, when people do favors for you, act as if a great sacrifice was made for you. Whatever you wouldn't like done to you, do not do that thing to others. Don't complain at work or at home."

Hearing this, Zhong Gong said humbly, "Although I am not clever, I will do what you say."

From this encounter, the Chinese version of the "Golden Rule" or "Ethic of Reciprocity" came to be.
The characters you see above express, "Do not do to others whatever you do not want done to yourself."

See Also...  Confucius Teachings | Benevolence

The title says it all.

This could also be translated as:
"Never hesitate to do what is right".

See Also...  Work Unselfishly For The Common Good | Justice | Bravery

This word means impartial, fairness, and justice in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.

This character, on your wall, should be used to remind yourself to be fair and just in all situations of life.

See Also...  Justice | Balance

This is the kind of forgiveness that a king might give to his subjects for crimes or wrong-doings. This is a rather high-level forgiveness. Meaning that it goes from a higher level to lower (not the reverse).

Alone, first character can mean "to bear", "to allow" and/or "to tolerate", and the second can mean "to forgive", "to pardon" and/or "to excuse".

See Also...  Benevolence

This character means forgive, show mercy, absolve, or excuse in Chinese and Korean Hanja (though mostly used in compound words in Korean).

This character incorporates the pictogram of a heart at the bottom, and a woman and a mouth at the top. The heart portion has the most significance, as it is suggested that it is the heart's nature to forgive.
In Asian culture, as with most other cultures, forgiveness is an act of benevolence and altruism. In forgiving, you put yourself in someone else's shoes and show them the kindness that you would want them to show you. Confucius referred to this quality as "human-heartedness".

Generosity is giving and sharing. You share freely, not with the idea of receiving something in return. You find ways to give others happiness, and give just for the joy of giving. Generosity is one of the best ways to show love and friendship.

This word can also be translated as charitable, magnanimity, liberality or in some context broad-mindedness.

Note: There is a tiny deviation in the first character when written in Japanese. If you choose our Japanese master calligrapher, the little dot on the lower right of the first character will be omitted. With or without the dot, this can be read in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.

See Also...  Benevolence | Charity

Gentleness is moving wisely, touching softly, holding carefully, speaking quietly and thinking kindly. When you feel mad or hurt, use your self-control. Instead of harming someone, talk things out peacefully. You are making the world a safer, gentler place.

See Also...  Kindness | Caring

This is a Chinese, Japanese and old Korean word for "gentle" or "gentleness". This can also mean "kindness" (more as an adjective like "kind person").

The modern Japanese version of the first character looks like the one to the right. If you want this modern Japanese form, just click on that Kanji instead of the button above.

See Also...  Kindness | Caring

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This is not a traditional Chinese phrase. We professionally translated it for a customer's request (in proper Chinese grammar).

See Also...  Christ | God | Justice | Impartial

This is the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion. In Chinese, the proper name of this being is Guan Yin. There is some debate as to whether Guan Yin is female. The argument comes from some scripture that suggests Buddhist deities take on male form. Others say that Guan Yin has no sex. And still others are okay with the female representation of Guan Yin.

This bodhisattva is also known or Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guan Yin, Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin.
Japanese: Kannon, Kwannon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Âm.
Thai: Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.

Note: The first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.

See Also...  Buddhism | Goddess | Namo Amitabha | Bodhisattva

This is the longer, and perhaps more formal title for the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The longer title of this bodhisattva is Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guanshi Yin, Kuan-shih Yin.
Japanese: Kanzeon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-se-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Thế Âm.
Thai: Prah Mae Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.

Please view our more common and shorter version "Guan Yin" before you make a decision. Also note that the first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.

See Also...  Buddhism | Goddess

This is the specifically Japanese version of Bodhisattva of Compassion or Guan Yin. In Japanese this is pronounced Kannon, and occasionally spelled Kwannon. The Chinese version is a bit more commonly-seen in Asia, but in Japanese, there is a slight variation with the first character.

Some time ago, a camera company in Japan named their company after this Buddhist deity. That camera company is still known as Canon (they chose a "C" instead of a "K" when they Romanized this name).

This is the longer and more formal Japanese version of Bodhisattva of Compassion or Guan Yin. In Japanese this is pronounced Kanzeon. The Chinese version is a bit more common in Asia, but in Japanese they use a slight variation of the first character. Choose this version only if your intended audience is specifically Japanese.

This word means goodness, virtue, good deed, charitable, benevolent, well-disposed, nice, pleasant, kind, or simply, "good".

This is the kind of good that applies to someone's good character, or a good person in general.

Referring to someone with this word means that they have a well-aimed moral compass, are charitable, giving, wise, and honest. Basically this is a blanket statement for every good trait a human can have, or all the things that makes someone good.

In other context, it can mean to improve or perfect something or refer to someone who is good at something.

This word means good and honest, kind-hearted, goodness, excellence, and/or virtue.

This is the deepest way to say "Heaven's Grace" or "God's Grace" in Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji.

The first character means Heaven or sky (referring in this case to the domain of God).
The second character means grace, blessings, benevolence, favor / favour, acts of kindness, merits, or beneficial influence.

This title can also be defined as:
Blessings of Heaven, Favor of the Emperor, Divination's luckiest day, or blessings of nature. Note: When you see "Emperor" above, keep in mind that the Emperor, like the Pope is theoretically chosen by God, or seen as an emissary or conduit of God in ancient Asian culture. It would only be read that way in certain context such as, "The Emperor, in his mercy, bestowed upon him Heaven's Grace and the prisoner was set free".

Helpfulness is being of service to others, doing thoughtful things that make a difference in their lives. Offer your help without waiting to be asked. Ask for help when you need it. When we help each other, we get more done. We make our lives easier.

See Also...  Caring | Charity | Benevolence

This is the way to say mankind or humankind in Chinese. It's kind of the "animal title" for human. This is the word you would use if you said this phrase in Chinese, "Mammals include dolphins, monkeys, dogs, and humans among others".

This is a weird selection for a calligraphy wall scroll. But a customer begged me to add this word.

This is the essence of what it means to act and be human. These two characters refer to the way we are as people.

This is also sometimes translated as human personality, human instinct, humanity, or humanism.

The first character literally means human or people. The second most-closely means nature.

In Chinese and Korean, this means universal fraternity, brotherhood, or universal love.

In Japanese, this means charity, benevolence, philanthropy, or love for humanity.

Please note these subtle differences and take that into account depending on your intended audience (Chinese, Korean or Japanese).

See Also...  Love | Benevolence

This is how to write "universal benevolence". This is also how to express the idea that you see all people the same.

If you are kind and charitable to all people, this is the best way to state that virtue. It is the essence of being impartial to all mankind, regardless of social standing, background, race, sex, etc. You do not judge others, but rather you see them eye to eye on the same level with you.

See Also...  Benevolence | Compassion | Equality | Justice | Right Decision | Selflessness | Work Unselfishly For The Common

This is about doing the right thing or making the right decision, not because it's easy, but because it's ethically and morally correct.
No matter the outcome or result, one does not lose face if tempering proper justice.

This character can also be defined as righteousness, justice, morality, honor, or "right conduct". In more a more expanded definition, it can mean loyalty to friends, loyalty to the public good, or patriotism. This idea of loyalty and friendship comes from the fact that you will treat those you are loyal to with morality and justice.

This is also one of the five tenets of Confucius doctrine.

There's also an alternate version of this character sometimes seen in Bushido or Korean Taekwondo tenets. It's just the addition of a radical on the left side of the character. If you want this version, click on the image to the right instead of the button above.

This is also a virtue of the Samurai Warrior
See our page with just Code of the Samurai / Bushido here

See Also...  Judgement | Impartial | Confucius Tenets

These two characters create a word in Chinese and Japanese that means something like benevolence with magnanimity or kindness with a forgiving nature.

If this describes you, then you are the type of person that I would like to call my friend.

This may not be the most common word in daily use, but it's old enough that it transcended cultures from China to Japan in the 5th century when Japan lacked a written language, and absorbed Chinese characters and words into their language.
Note: This is not commonly-used in Korean.

Kindness is showing you care, doing some good to make life better for others. Be thoughtful about people's needs. Show love and compassion to someone who is sad or needs your help. When you are tempted to be cruel, to criticize or tease, decide to be kind instead.

This Chinese / Japanese / Korean word can also mean affectionate, cordial, warmly, or close (emotionally).

See Also...  Love | Caring | Benevolence

This is a very universal character. It means love in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, old Korean Hanja, and old Vietnamese.

This is one of the most recognized Asian symbols in the west, and is often seen on tee-shirts, coffee mugs, tattoos, and more.

This character can also be defined as affection, to be fond of, to like, or to be keen on. It often refers to romantic love, and is found in phrases like, "I love you". But in Chinese, one can say, "I love that movie" using this character as well.

It's very common for couples to say "I love you" in Chinese. However, in Japanese, "love" is not a term used very often. In fact, a person is more likely to say "I like you" rather than "I love you" in Japanese. So this word is well-known, but seldom spoken.

More about this character:

This may be hard to imagine as a westerner, but the strokes at the top of this love character symbolize family & marriage.

The symbol in the middle is a little easier to identify. It is the character for "heart" (it can also mean "mind" or "soul"). I guess you can say that no matter if you are from the East or the West, you must put your heart into your love.

The strokes at the bottom create a modified character that means "friend" or "friendship".

I suppose you could say that the full meaning of this love character is to love your family, spouse, and friends with all of your heart, since all three elements exist in this character.

See Also...  I Love You | Caring | Benevolence | Friendliness | Double Happiness Happy Marriage Wall Scroll

This literally means "loving heart". It can also be translated as "compassion".

Specifically in Japanese, this can be defined as a loving heart, a mind full of desire, or a mind dominated by desire.

In Chinese, it carries more of a compassion meaning.

See Also...  Compassion | Love

Can also be defined as clemency or lenience and sometimes the act of giving charity.

In Buddhist context, it can be defined as, "benevolence", "loving kindness and compassion", or "mercy and compassion".

This Chinese/Japanese Buddhist term is the equivalent of Metta Karuna from Pali or Maitri Karuna from Sanskrit.

See Also...  Benevolence

This is the simple way to express the ideas of having virtue, morals, kindness, benevolence, goodness etc. This character also happens to be the first character of the Chinese word for Germany.

There is a slight deviation in the Japanese Kanji form. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the special Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note that the traditional Chinese form is still readable and understood by Japanese people.

See Also...  Ethics | Chastity | Prudence | Benevolence | Morality

This word can be translated as "self-denial", "self-abnegation", "self-restraint", "self-discipline", "self-mastery" or selflessness.

As a tenet of Korean taekwondo, and other martial arts, this is often used with the title "self-control".

This would be literally translated as "none self" in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. It is used to express "selflessness" or "unselfish". This is a popular term for the idea of being selfless or unselfish in modern China and Japan.
This term is not as commonly-used in Korea, but still has good meaning.

See Also...  Unselfish

This is a more common way to say selflessness in Japanese. This literally means "no self" or a better translation might be "not thinking of oneself". This is also understood in Chinese and Korean. This is a very old word in CJK languages.

This is the word a Buddhist would use express the idea of selflessness or unselfishness. For Korean Buddhists it can mean self-renunciation.

This is literally the "The Way of Being Human", or "The Human Way". It can also be translated as "humanity".

This word has a secondary meaning of "sidewalk" as in "the way for people to walk" (in Japanese and Korean only). But as calligraphy artwork, nobody will read it with that translation.

Please note that there are two ways to Romanized Dao or Tao as in Daoism = Taoism. It's the same word in Chinese.

This is comes from an old story from some time before 476 BC. About a man named Qi Huangyang, who was commissioned by the king to select the best person for a certain job in the Imperial Court.

Qi Huangyang selected his enemy for the job. The king was very confused by the selection, but Qi Huangyang explained that he was asked to find the best person for the job, not necessarily someone that he personally liked or had a friendship with.

Later, Confucius commented on how unselfish and impartial Qi Huangyang was by saying "Da Gong Wu Si" which if you look it up in a Chinese dictionary, is generally translated as "Unselfish" or "Just and Fair".

If you translate each character, you'd have something like,

"Big/Deep Justice Without Self".

Direct translations like this leave out a lot of what the Chinese characters really say. Use your imagination, and suddenly you realize that "without self" means "without thinking about yourself in the decision" - together, these two words mean "unselfish". The first two characters serve to really drive the point home that we are talking about a concept that is similar to "blind justice".

One of my Chinese-English dictionaries translates this simply as "just and fair". So that is the short and simple version.

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly-used term.

See Also...  Selflessness | Work Unselfishly For The Common Good

This can also mean: "Place Strict Standards on Oneself in Public Service".
This Chinese phrase is often used to express how one should act as a government official. Most of us wish our public officials would hold themselves to higher standards. I wish I could send this scroll, along with the meaning to every member of Congress, and the President (or if I was from the UK, all the members of Parliament, and the PM)

The story behind this ancient Chinese idiom:
A man named Cai Zun was born in China a little over 2000 years ago. In 24 AD, he joined an uprising led by Liu Xiu who later became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Later, the new emperor put Cai Zun in charge of the military court. Cai Zun exercised his power in strict accordance with military law, regardless of the offender's rank or background. He even ordered the execution of one of the emperor's close servants after the servant committed a serious crime.

Cai Zun led a simple life, but put great demands on himself to do all things in an honorable way. The emperor rewarded him for his honest character and honorable nature by promoting him to the rank of General and granting him the title of Marquis.

Whenever Cai Zun would receive an award, he would give credit to his men and share the reward with them.
Cai Zun was always praised by historians who found many examples of his selfless acts that served the public interest.
Sometime, long ago in history, people began to refer to Cai Zun as "ke ji feng gong".

See Also...  Unselfish | Selflessness