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Custom Dragon Symbol Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

See our Chinese Zodiac and Animal Signs webpage which has more information if you were born in the year of the dragon.

First, about Chinese/Japanese/Asian Dragons...

The dragon as known in Asia is not the wild and almost gruesome creature depicted in the stories of medieval Europe.
Instead, the Chinese dragon is full of wisdom, strength, and goodness. It is said the dragon can be found in the unclimbable mountains, or deep in the unfathomed sea. When active, he can be found in the storm clouds flying high above.
Of course, he is also known as the god of water, so the clouds and sea are home to him.

The dragon can grab lightning with his claws and the roar of a hurricane is really the voice of the dragon.

He is the chief of all scaled animals, and is described in ancient writings this way:
The head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a rabbit, ears of a bull, neck of a snake, belly of a frog, scales of a koi fish (carp), claws of a hawk, and palms of a tiger.

These are the nine "resemblances" of a dragon - one of the reasons that 9 is seen as "the number of the dragon".

The official Romanized Chinese for dragon is "long" but in older English books it's sometimes spelled "lung". Both of these spellings don't tell you the true vowel sound which is really like the English word "oh".

More Dragon Info:

In Chinese culture, the dragon represents power and for many generations, only the emperor could dare to wear the symbol of a dragon on their clothing.

If you hang a dragon calligraphy scroll on your wall, it indicates that you are strong and powerful. A great gift for a corporate executive with a chip on his shoulder - lol.

This is probably the most popular Chinese character for tattoos these days. You'll see it on the shoulders of pro-basketball players, and on the hips of pop star divas. Of course, half of them have no idea what this symbol means, and the other half incorrectly think it directly means "warrior" or "power".

Of course, long before it became a tattoo staple, the mythological dragon roamed the earth - at least in the legends and minds of Asian people.

The history of the dragon is hidden deep in myth and history. Drawings and symbols of this mythological animal can be traced back to prehistoric tribal peoples of China. Evidence of the dragon's importance in Chinese culture can be traced to dragon figures and other artifacts unearthed from the Yin Dynasty (3000 years ago).

See our Chinese Dragon Artwork Here

...or select your Chinese dragon calligraphy artwork below...

Quick links to words on this page...




Select

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Mandarin: wò hǔ cáng lóng
Korean: 와호장룡

臥
虎
藏
龍

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.

Select

Dragon

Mandarin: lóng
Japanese: ryuu / tatsu
Korean: 룡 or 용

龍

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 Also...  Phoenix

Select

The Spirit of the Dragon Horse, the Power of a Tiger.

Mandarin: lóng mǎ jīng shén hǔ hǔ shēng wēi

虎
虎
生
威
龍
馬
精
神

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.

Select

Dragon Tiger Snake Leopard Crane

Mandarin: lóng hǔ shé bào hè
Korean: 룡호사표학

龍
虎
蛇
豹
鶴

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).

Select

Dragon Tiger Snake Leopard Crane

Mandarin: lóng hǔ shé bào hè
Japanese: ryuu tora hebi hyou tsuru
Korean: 룡호사표학

龍
虎
蛇
豹
鶴

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).

Select

The Spirit of Dragon and Tiger

Mandarin: lóng hǔ jīng shén
Japanese: ryuu tora seishin

龍
虎
精
神

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.

Select

Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger

An idiom describing undiscovered talent

Mandarin: cáng lóng wò hǔ
Korean: 장룡와호

藏
龍
臥
虎

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.

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Select

Home of the Dragon

Mandarin: lóng zhī jiā
Korean: 룡지가

龍
之
家

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").

Select

Home of the Auspicious Golden Dragon

Mandarin: jīn ruì xiáng lóng zhī jiā
Korean: 금서상룡지가?

龍
之
家
金
瑞
祥

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.

Select

Laughing Dragon Kung Fu

Mandarin: xiào lóng gōng fu
Korean: 소룡공부

笑
龍
功
夫

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

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Select

Under the Protection of the Dragon Saint

Mandarin: shén lóng bì hù

神
龍
庇
護

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".

Select

Dragon

Year of the Dragon / Zodiac Sign

Mandarin: lóng
Japanese: ryuu / tatsu
Korean:

龍

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.


Wall scroll artwork shown on this page is priced as follows:

1 character $28.88 each

2-3 characters $39.88 each

4 characters $49.88 each

5-10 characters $59.88 each


We dispatch any size order to any country worldwide for a flat rate US$9.80 P&P

After you select your calligraphy, our website will take you through the process of customizing your artwork.

Options for other mounting such as portraits are available for $12 less.

We also offer the services of a famous master calligrapher for a $40 fee on any scroll if you are looking for investment-quality calligraphy.

If you chose our famous master-calligrapher, you also get more choices for silk and paper colors and the option for larger artwork.



All of our calligraphy is completely done by hand in the ancient way.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to our 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.

Therefore, allow at least 3 weeks for delivery from the time you place your order.

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 scroll that I am holding in this picture is a "regular size"
4-character wall scroll.
As you can see, it is a great size to hang on your wall.
(We also offer custom wall scrolls in larger sizes)

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.



See: Our list of specifically Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.



The following table is only helpful for those studying Chinese (or Japanese), and perhaps helps search engines to find this page when someone enters Romanized Chinese or Japanese

Title
 
Characters
Simplified
Traditional
Japanese Romaji
(Romanized Japanese)
Various forms of Hanyu-Pinyin
(Romanized Chinese)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon卧虎藏龙
臥虎藏龍
n/awò hǔ cáng lóng
wo4 hu3 cang2 long2
Dragon
ryuu / tatsulóng
long2
The Spirit of the Dragon Horse, the Power of a Tiger.龙马精神虎虎生威
龍馬精神虎虎生威
n/alóng mǎ jīng shén hǔ hǔ shēng wēi
long2 ma3 jing1 shen2 hu3 hu3 sheng1 wei1
Dragon Tiger Snake Leopard Crane龙虎蛇豹鹤
龍虎蛇豹鶴
n/alóng hǔ shé bào hè
long2 hu3 she2 bao4 he4
Dragon Tiger Snake Leopard Crane龙虎蛇豹鹤
龍虎蛇豹鶴
ryuu tora hebi hyou tsurulóng hǔ shé bào hè
long2 hu3 she2 bao4 he4
The Spirit of Dragon and Tiger龙虎精神
龍虎精神
ryuu tora seishinlóng hǔ jīng shén
long2 hu3 jing1 shen2
Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger藏龙卧虎
藏龍臥虎
n/acáng lóng wò hǔ
cang2 long2 wo4 hu3
Home of the Dragon龙之家
龍之家
n/alóng zhī jiā
long2 zhi1 jia1
Home of the Auspicious Golden Dragon金瑞祥龙之家
金瑞祥龍之家
n/ajīn ruì xiáng lóng zhī jiā
jin1 rui4 xiang2 long2 zhi1 jia1
Laughing Dragon Kung Fu笑龙功夫
笑龍功夫
n/axiào lóng gōng fu
xiao4 long2 gong1 fu
Under the Protection of the Dragon Saint神龙庇护
神龍庇護
n/ashén lóng bì hù
shen2 long2 bi4 hu4
Dragon
ryuu / tatsulóng
long2
If you have not set up your computer to display Chinese, the characters in this table probably look like empty boxes or random text garbage.
This is why we spent hundreds of hours making images so that you could view the characters in the "Dragon" listings above.
If you want your Windows computer to be able to display Chinese characters you can either head to your Regional and Language options in your Win XP control panel, select the [Languages] tab and click on [Install files for East Asian Languages]. This task will ask for your Win XP CD to complete in most cases. If you don't have your Windows XP CD, or are running Windows 98, you can also download/run the simplified Chinese font package installer from Microsoft which works independently with Win 98, ME, 2000, and XP. It's a 2.5MB download, so if you are on dial up, start the download and go make a sandwich.


All custom calligraphy items are made-to-order in our little Beijing artwork-mounting workshop.
Normal delivery isjust over 3 weeksfor these handmade items.



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