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2. Banzai
3. Read 10,000 Books, Travel 10,000 Miles
Old Japanese / Traditional Chinese & Korean
萬歲 is the traditional Chinese, Korean Hanja, and ancient Japanese way of writing banzai.
In modern times, the first character was simplified in Japan and China. So you might want to select the other entry for universal readability.
While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui,” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.
Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. 萬歲 is what all people would yell to their leader in respect.
So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.
Other translations include Cheers! (not the drinking kind), hurrah!, long live [name]!, and congratulations!
To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.
Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other.
Modern Japanese Version
万歲 is the modern Japanese way to write banzai.
We've made two almost identical entries for this word, with just a variation on the first character. In the last century, 萬 was simplified to 万 in Japan and China. The new generation will expect it to be written as 万 but the old generation can still read the more traditional 萬 form. You must make your determination as to what version is best for you. If your audience is mostly Japanese, I suggest 万歲.
While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.
Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. This is what all of the people would yell to their leader in respect.
So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.
To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.
Other translations: hurrah, long life, congratulations, cheers, live long.
Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other. Further, Bonzai is not a word at all - although it would make a great name for a calcium supplement for older people.
讀萬卷書行萬里路 is a lifelong suggestion for expanding your horizons by gaining knowledge, experience, and seeing the world.
Of course, this was written long ago when it was hard to travel 10,000 miles (at least 1000 years before the invention of the airplane).
With air travel and the business I'm in, I often achieve that lifetime goal on a monthly basis.
However, I am a little behind in the book count.
Note: An ancient Chinese mile (里 or lǐ) referred to in this proverb is about a third of a British/American mile. However, at that time, this was a great distance to travel.
Incredible 10,000-Mile Flight of the Peng
鵬程萬里 is an ancient Chinese proverb used in modern times to wish someone a long and successful career.
It's really about the 10,000 Flight of the Peng (Peng, also known as Roc is a mythical fish that can turn into a bird and take flight).
莊子
Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu
Breaking down each character:
1. Peng or Roc (a kind of bird).
2. Journey (in this case, a flight).
3. 10,000 (Ten Thousand).
4. Li is a unit of distance often referred to as a “Chinese Mile,” though the real distance is about half a kilometer.
Direct Translation: “Peng's Journey [of] 10,000 Li.”
Literal meaning: “The 10,000-Li Flying Range Of The Roc.”
Perceived meaning: “To have a bright future” or “To go far.”
This proverb/idiom comes from the book of Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu. It tells the tale of a huge fish that could turn into a gigantic bird. This bird was called a “peng” and was many miles long. This legendary size allowed the Peng to fly from the Northern Sea to the Southern Sea in a single bound.
Wishing someone “a Peng's Journey of 10,000 Li” will imply that they can travel far without stopping and will have great success, a long career, and a prosperous future.
行万里路胜读万卷书 translates a few ways:
To travel ten thousand miles beats reading ten-thousand books.
Better to travel ten thousand li than to read ten thousand books. (a “li” is an ancient Chinese mile)
Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books.
No matter how you slice it, this Chinese proverb is claiming that experience is more profound and meaningful than what you can get from a book. Go do it! Don't just read about it.
不怕千招会只怕一招熟 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Do not worry about making a thousand clever moves; what [one has to] fear is one bad move.
Figuratively, this means: Even if you have made many clever moves before, one wrong move will ruin the whole game.
I compare this to the English saying, “It takes only one Aw-shit to wipe out a thousand Attaboys.”
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 10000 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
万一 see styles |
manichi(p); banichi(ok); manitsu(ok); banitsu(ok) まんいち(P); ばんいち(ok); まんいつ(ok); ばんいつ(ok) |
(1) (unlikely event of) emergency; the worst(-case scenario); 10000 to 1; (adv,adj-no) (2) (if) by some chance; by some possibility; in the unlikely event that; (given name) Man'ichi |
万仞 see styles |
banjin ばんじん |
10000 fathoms; great depth; great height |
万尋 see styles |
mahiro まひろ |
10000 fathoms; great depth; great height; (female given name) Mahiro |
キリ番 see styles |
kiriban キリばん |
good turning point number (10000, 12345 etc., often referring to web site visit counts) |
万が一 see styles |
mangaichi(p); mangaitsu まんがいち(P); まんがいつ |
(adverb) (1) (See 万一・2) (if) by some chance; by some possibility; in the unlikely event that; 10000 to 1; (2) (See 万一・1) (unlikely event of) emergency; the worst(-case scenario) |
切り番 see styles |
kiriban きりばん |
good turning point number (10000, 12345 etc., often referring to web site visit counts) |
キリリク see styles |
kiririku キリリク |
(net-sl) (abbr. of キリ番リクエスト) (See キリ番) request granted to the Nth visitor to a website, where N is a special number (e.g. 10000, 12345, 33333) |
Variations: |
banjin ばんじん |
10000 fathoms; great depth; great height |
Variations: |
kiriban; kiriban きりばん; キリバン |
(net-sl) (abbr. of 切りのいい番号) satisfying number (e.g. 10000, 12345, 33333; in view counts, odometer readings, video game scores, etc.) |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Banzai Wansui | 萬歲 万岁 | banzai / manzai | wàn suì / wan4 sui4 / wan sui / wansui | |
Banzai | 万歲 / 萬歲 万岁 | banzai | wàn suì / wan4 sui4 / wan sui / wansui | |
Read 10,000 Books, Travel 10,000 Miles | 讀萬卷書行萬里路 读万卷书行万里路 | dú wàn juǎn shū, xíng wàn lǐ lù du2 wan4 juan3 shu1 xing2 wan4 li3 lu4 du wan juan shu xing wan li lu duwanjuanshuxingwanlilu | tu wan chüan shu hsing wan li lu | |
A Bright Future | 鵬程萬里 鹏程万里 | péng chéng wàn lǐ peng2 cheng2 wan4 li3 peng cheng wan li pengchengwanli | p`eng ch`eng wan li pengchengwanli peng cheng wan li |
|
Better to Travel 10,000 Miles than Read 10,000 Books | 行萬里路勝讀萬捲書 行万里路胜读万卷书 | xíng wàn lǐ lù shèng dú wàn juǎn shū xing2 wan4 li3 lu4 sheng4 du2 wan4 juan3 shu1 xing wan li lu sheng du wan juan shu | hsing wan li lu sheng tu wan chüan shu | |
1000 good moves ruined by 1 bad | 不怕千招會隻怕一招熟 不怕千招会只怕一招熟 | bú pà qiān zhāo huì zhǐ pà yī zhāo shú bu2 pa4 qian1 zhao1 hui4 zhi3 pa4 yi1 zhao1 shu2 bu pa qian zhao hui zhi pa yi zhao shu | pu p`a ch`ien chao hui chih p`a i chao shu pu pa chien chao hui chih pa i chao shu |
|
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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