Custom Dragon Symbol Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

This is pretty self-explanatory. This is the creature of myth and legend that dominates Chinese, Japanese, and even European folklore. In China, the dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, strength and power, and the Chinese dragon is known as the god of water.

See: More Chinese & Japanese Dragon calligraphy & Dragon information.

This is an alternate form of dragon. Still pronounced the same in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (this version is more popular in the Japanese language, but generally recognized by most Chinese people - recognized in Korean until 100 years ago).

This particular Kanji is often associated as an imperial symbol as well as representing the mythical Asian dragon. You may have seen it on the chest or flag of the emperor in old Japanese and Chinese movies.

Note: I would rate this as a non-universal alternate form. The other dragon character is by far more common, and universally understood.

Special Japanese note: This is the shinjitai (new character form). Shinjitai Kanji are the result a simplification effort in Japan after WWII. Theoretically, this is the only official way to write "dragon" in modern Japanese. However, virtually all Japanese people recognize the traditional and ancient form.

See Also...  Phoenix | Emperor | King

This is the movie title of the Kung Fu epic that was very popular in the west a few years back. The title is actually a re-ordering of an ancient Chinese idiom that refers to undiscovered talents.

The movie was one of the most popular Chinese foreign films to ever debut in the USA, but received a lukewarm reception in China.

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

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This is an old phrase that is used to wish someone great health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is "The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse, and the power and prestige of the tiger".

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have these qualities. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse, would seem to also be in good health.

This is a list of the Chinese characters for the five animals of Shaolin Kung Fu in a comfortable order (meaning that they are in the proper order and will simply "feel right" to a Chinese person who views this arrangement).

This is a list of the Chinese characters for the five animals of Shaolin Kung Fu in a comfortable order (meaning that they are in the proper order and will simply "feel right" to a Chinese person who views this arrangement).

This means the spirit of the dragon and tiger. It speaks to the vitality and vigor that is the nature of these two creatures.

Beyond "spirit", the second two characters can also mean mind, soul, or heart. Therefore, you can also say this means "Heart of the Dragon and Tiger", etc.

This is often titled as "Ryukoseishin" in many Japanese martial arts.

You might think this title is in reverse, but actually this is the original idiom. The movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was actually a play on words or order reversal of this old Chinese idiom.

The meaning is that both the tiger and dragon have amazing talents, but if they are out of view, you may have not discovered them. It can be said of someone with amazing ability that keeps that ability hidden.

Added by special request of a customer. This phase is natural in Chinese, but it is not a common or ancient title.

The first character is dragon.
The second is a possessive modifier (like making "dragon" into "dragon's").
The third character means home (but in some context can mean "family" - however, here it would generally be understood as "home").

Added by special request of a customer...

The first character means gold or golden.
The second and third characters hold the meaning of auspiciousness and good luck.
the fourth character is dragon.
The fifth is a possessive modifier (like making "dragon" into "dragon's").
The last character means home (but in some context can mean "family" - however, here it would generally be understood as "home").

Note: The word order is different than the English title, because of grammar differences between English and Chinese. This phrase sounds very natural in Chinese in this character order. If written in the English word order, it would sound very strange and lose its impact in Chinese.

Note: Korean pronunciation is included above, but this has not been reviewed by a Korean translator.

This is the title for a Martial Arts studio (custom-made at by request of the owner of the studio).

This is not the most common thing to say in Chinese, but it is grammatically correct and a cool title.

The first character means "supernatural or saintly". The second is "dragon". The last two mean protection. You could also translate this as something like "Protected by the Dragon God" or more closely "Holy Dragon".

This is the character for dragon in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.

If you were born in the year of the Dragon, you . . .


Have a strong body and spirit.
Are full of energy.
Have vast goals.
Have a deep level of self-awareness.
Will do whatever you can to "save face".

See also our Chinese Zodiac page.

This is an old phrase that is used to wish someone good health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is "The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse". These four characters are often accompanied by four more which mean, "...and the power and prestige of the tiger". Here we are just offering the first part which is considered the short version.

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have an amazing quality. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse, would seem to also be in good health.

This is often seen at weddings and other celebrations in China. It suggests that he dragon and phoenix will bring you auspicious tidings.

The first character is dragon.
The second is phoenix.
The third is presents or brings.
And the last means auspicious, propitious, or luck.

This literally means "little dragon" or "young dragon". This is often used as a given name in Chinese. In fact, Bruce Lee's real given name is "Little Dragon".

Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a "real" Chinese name. In mainland China and Hong Kong he is known as "Li Xiao-Long". He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). This is a common family name that also means "plum".

His given name "Xiao-Long" literally means "little dragon". This 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 Chinese 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 exact 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 | Marital Arts

This is the simple, single-character way to write emperor in Chinese and Japanese.

See Also...  Empress | King | Queen

From times of old, the emperors of Asia ruled under the authority of God himself. In fact, one definition of an emperor is a ruler put in power by God. This definition separates emperors from the various kings in Chinese history (although defining who is a king versus an emperor gets vague sometimes).

Occasionally, the emperor's wife was widowed, and she took the role of empress until her death (see our entry for empress if that is what you are looking for).

See Also...  Empress | King | Queen