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 usage.

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 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

This means benevolent heart or merciful heart in Japanese. This is a Japanese only phrase, and must be ordered using one of our master calligraphers (We suggest 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

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

Charity is one of the "Seven Heavenly Virtues". There are a few different words used to express charity in Chinese/Japanese, but this is the most common. Some of the other words describe acts such as "giving alms" etc. If you need a different meaning, just post your request on our Asian calligraphy forum.

Note: Sometimes translated as benevolence or benevolent.

See Also...  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

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 presents 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 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

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 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

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

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 phase 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.

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 express the idea that you see all people the same. 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...  Equality | Justice | Right Decision | Selflessness | Work Unselfishly For The Common Good | Judgement

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". Occasionally, I have seen it translated as loyalty or patriotism.

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

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

See Also...  Judgement | Impartial

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.

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.

Can also mean "affectionate" or "cordial".

See Also...  Love | Caring | Benevolence

Love is a special feeling that fills your heart. You show love in a smile, a kind word, a thoughtful act or a hug. Love is treating people and things with care and kindness because they mean so much to you. Love is contagious. It keeps spreading.

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 known, but seldom spoken. Can also be defined as "affection".

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

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

In Buddhist context, it can mean compassion or benevolence.

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 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 how to express the idea of universal benevolence. If you are kind and charitable to all people, this is the best way to express that virtue. This also contains the idea of charity,

See Also...  Benevolence | Equality | Compassion

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.

Qin 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