Buy a wall scroll with Bruce in Chinese or Japanese.

Learn how the name Bruce is written in Chinese and Japanese. Decorate your home with a cool wall scroll that says Bruce.


  1. Be Like Water

  2. Bruce

  3. Bruce Lee

  4. The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering

  5. Ip Man

  6. Jeet Kune Do

  7. Kung Fu / Gong Fu

  8. Leanna

  9. Lee / Plum

10. Little Dragon

11. Unbreakable / Indestructible


Be Like Water

 xiàng shuǐ yí yàng
Be Like Water Scroll

像水一樣 is a short quote from a much longer statement by Bruce Lee.

He summarized how people should be flexible to all circumstances, attacks, or situations. In the end, he exclaims, “Be like water, my friend.” 像水一樣 is the “Be like water” part alone since that seems to be what most people want.

 bù lǔ sī
Bruce Scroll

布魯斯 is the name Bruce in Chinese (Mandarin).

 buruusu
Bruce Scroll

ブルース is the name Bruce in Japanese.


Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

 lǐ xiǎo lóng
 bu ruu su ri
Bruce Lee Scroll

李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.

He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”

His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.

For a pronunciation lesson, the “X” in Romanized Mandarin is pronounced like a “sh” sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in “Long” is like the English “oh,” not like the “ah” sound in the English word “long.”

If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.

Note: Japanese use these same Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name “Bruce Lee” sounds in English).


See Also:  Kung Fu | Martial Arts

The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering

 huò dé yǒng shēng de yào shí shì xiān yào huó dé jīng cǎi
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering Scroll

獲得永生的鑰匙是先要活得精彩 is a famous quote from Bruce Lee.

However, when quoted, he was speaking in English. So this is a translation of his English quote into Chinese. Since Bruce spoke both Chinese and English, his quotes sometimes go both ways.

 yè wèn
 Yip Man
Ip Man Scroll

葉問 is the name of “Ip Man” or “Yip Man” (1893-1972).

He was a martial arts practitioner and master. He is perhaps most famous for being the master of Bruce Lee.

Jeet Kune Do

 jié quán dào
 jeet kune do
 sekken dou
Jeet Kune Do Scroll

In Cantonese, 截拳道 is Jeet Kune Do. Often it is explained as the “Way of the Intercepting Fist.”

截拳道 is a martial art style founded by Bruce Lee.

The first character means to cut off or sever.
The second character is a fist.
The last character means way or method.


See Also:  Bruce Lee

Kung Fu / Gong Fu

 gōng fu
 gung fu
 kan fu / ku fu
Kung Fu / Gong Fu Scroll

功夫 or Kung Fu is one of the most famous types of martial arts in the world - and not just because of Bruce Lee.

Some translate the meaning as “Accomplishment by Great Effort.” I think this is partially true, but directly translated, it literally means “Merit/Achievement/Accomplishment Man.” The word “fu” can sometimes mean “husband” or “porter,” but in this case, it can only mean “man.” However, few in China will think “man” when they hear the word “Gong Fu” spoken.

This term is also used for things other than martial arts. In fact, it's used to refer to a person with excellent skills in crafts that require a lot of effort to master, such as cooking, tea ceremonies, and calligraphy.

What a lot of people don't know is that the spelling of “Kung Fu” was actually taken from the old Wade Giles form of Romanization. Using this method, the sounds of the English “G” and “K” were both written as “K” and an apostrophe after the “K” told you it was supposed to sound like a “G.” Nobody in the west knew this rule, so most people pronounce it with a “K-sound.” And so, Gong Fu will always be Kung Fu for most westerners.

Also, just to educate you a little more, the “O” in “Gong” has a sound like the English word “oh.”

The popular Chinese dish “Kung Pao Chicken” suffers from the same problem. It should actually be “Gong Bao Chicken.”

Historical note: Many will claim that Kung Fu was invented by the monks of the Shaolin monastery. This fact is argued in both directions by scholars of Chinese history. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the Shaolin Monks brought the original fame to Kung Fu many generations ago.


See Also:  Bruce Lee

 lǐ ān nà
Leanna Scroll

This is another transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Leanna.

The first character is the only difference. Both ways, the first character is pronounced like “lee” but this one happens to be the same “lee” as in “Bruce Lee” - it also means plum.

 lǐ
 lee
 ri / sumomo
Lee / Plum Scroll

This is the most common Chinese character which sounds like “Lee” or “Li” and is used as a surname / family name in China.

李 actually means “Plum.” So it's really Mr. Plum and Mrs. Plum if you translated the name instead of romanizing.

This is not the only character in Chinese that can be romanized as “Lee” or “Li.” If your family name is “Lee” or “Li” please be sure this is the correct character before you order this scroll (look at your grandparents' Chinese passports or other documents if you are an ABC and are trying to create a heritage wall scroll).

Famous people with this surname include Bruce Lee (Li Xiao-Long), Minister Li Peng, and famous Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. In Korea, this is the original character for a surname that romanizes as “Yi.”

Little Dragon

 xiǎo lóng
Little Dragon Scroll

小龍 literally means “little dragon” or “young dragon.”

小龍 is often used as a given name in Chinese.

In fact, Bruce Lee's real given name is “Little Dragon.”


See Also:  Bruce Lee

Unbreakable / Indestructible

 jiān bù kě cuī
Unbreakable / Indestructible Scroll

堅不可摧 means “unbreakable” in Chinese.

It can also mean invulnerable, indestructible, or impregnable.

You may be searching for this because you like the 2000 film, Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis. This is the title of that film in Chinese.


The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Be Like Water像水一樣xiàng shuǐ yí yàng
xiang4 shui3 yi2 yang4
xiang shui yi yang
xiangshuiyiyang
hsiang shui i yang
hsiangshuiiyang
Bruce布魯斯
布鲁斯
bù lǔ sī
bu4 lu3 si1
bu lu si
bulusi
pu lu ssu
pulussu
Bruceブルースburuusu / burusu
Bruce Lee李小龍
李小龙
bu ruu su ri
buruusuri
bu ru su ri
lǐ xiǎo lóng
li3 xiao3 long2
li xiao long
lixiaolong
li hsiao lung
lihsiaolung
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering獲得永生的鑰匙是先要活得精彩
获得永生的钥匙是先要活得精彩
huò dé yǒng shēng de yào shí shì xiān yào huó dé jīng cǎi
huo4 de2 yong3 sheng1 de yao4 shi2 shi4 xian1 yao4 huo2 de2 jing1 cai3
huo de yong sheng de yao shi shi xian yao huo de jing cai
huo te yung sheng te yao shih shih hsien yao huo te ching ts`ai
huo te yung sheng te yao shih shih hsien yao huo te ching tsai
Ip Man葉問
叶问
yè wèn / ye4 wen4 / ye wen / yewenyeh wen / yehwen
Jeet Kune Do截拳道sekken dou / sekkendou / seken dojié quán dào
jie2 quan2 dao4
jie quan dao
jiequandao
chieh ch`üan tao
chiehchüantao
chieh chüan tao
Kung Fu
Gong Fu
功夫kan fu / ku fu
kanfu / kufu
gōng fu / gong1 fu / gong fu / gongfukung fu / kungfu
Leanna李安娜lǐ ān nà
li3 an1 na4
li an na
lianna
Lee
Plum
ri / sumomolǐ / li3 / li
Little Dragon小龍
小龙
xiǎo lóng
xiao3 long2
xiao long
xiaolong
hsiao lung
hsiaolung
Unbreakable
Indestructible
堅不可摧
坚不可摧
jiān bù kě cuī
jian1 bu4 ke3 cui1
jian bu ke cui
jianbukecui
chien pu k`o ts`ui
chienpukotsui
chien pu ko tsui
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.
In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.


All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form of art alive.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.



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