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1. The Book of Changes / I Ching
2. A Wise Man Changes His Mind
3. Changing Oneself / Self Reformation
5. Change
7. Shapeshifter
8. Desire
9. Inspiration
君子豹変す is a Japanese proverb that suggests that a wise man is willing to change his mind, but a fool will stubbornly never change his.
The first word is 君子 (kunshi), a man of virtue, a person of high rank, a wise man.
The second word is 豹変 (hyouhen), sudden change, complete change.
The last part, す (su), modifies the verb to a more humble form.
The “fool” part is merely implied or understood. So if wise and noble people are willing to change their minds, it automatically says that foolish people are unwilling to change.
應變 means “to meet a contingency,” “to adapt oneself to changes,” or “to adapt to changes” in Chinese.
It's also used in Japanese but usually only in the context of Buddhism. 應變 is probably the shortest way to express the idea of adapting and overcoming whatever circumstances present themselves.
改變 can mean to change, become different, or transform.
This can refer to the changing world or a person who changes their attitude or something about themselves.
Note: An alternate version of the second character is used in Japanese. This is actually an old alternate Chinese form which is seldom seen in China anymore. If you want this version, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the "Select and Customize" button.
If you want to wish someone a happy new year, 新年快樂 is the way.
You can hang this up during Western New Years (Dec 31st - Jan 1st) and keep it up until after Chinese New Year which happens in either January or February of each year (it changes from year to year because China uses a lunar calendar).
This Chinese word can mean desirous, wishful, or desire.
The first character means to thirst for [something] or to be thirsty. The second character means to hope for, to expect, to gaze (into the distance), or to look for something. The combined meaning of these two characters changes a bit, but I think it's nice to know the individual meanings to give you a better understanding of where a word comes from.
Korean definitions of this word include craving, longing, and thirst for knowledge.
靈感 is the Chinese word closest to hitting the mark for the English word inspiration.
In a more extended context, I have even seen this translated as “brain wave.”
The first character means alert, departed soul, efficacious, quick, effective, or intelligent.
The second character means to feel, to move, to touch, or to affect.
The combined meaning of these two characters changes a bit, but I think it's nice to know the individual meanings to give you a better understanding of where a word comes from.
You could describe this word as “the thought that pops into your head just before you patent the greatest widget ever invented that everyone in the world will want.”
At least, that's the idea.
This term can also mean “intelligent thought” if you translate it directly from each character. If you are looking for inspiration or need to be inspired, this is the word for you.
When the first character was absorbed into Japanese from Chinese, an alternate form became the standard in Japan. The Kanji shown to the right is the form currently used in Japan. This is still considered an alternate form in China to this day. it’s readable by both Chinese and Japanese people but if your audience is Japanese, I recommend the Kanji shown to the right - just click on that Kanji to order that version.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
The Book of Changes I Ching | 易經 易经 | yì jīng / yi4 jing1 / yi jing / yijing | i ching / iching | |
A Wise Man Changes His Mind (but a fool never will) | 君子豹変す | kun shi hyou hen su kunshihyouhensu kun shi hyo hen su | ||
Changing Oneself Self Reformation | 自己改革 | ji ko kai kaku jikokaikaku | ||
Adapt Oneself | 應變 应变 | ou hen / ouhen / o hen | yìng biàn ying4 bian4 ying bian yingbian | ying pien yingpien |
Change | 改變 / 改変 改变 | kaihen | gǎi biàn / gai3 bian4 / gai bian / gaibian | kai pien / kaipien |
Happy New Year | 新年快樂 新年快乐 | xīn nián kuài lè xin1 nian2 kuai4 le4 xin nian kuai le xinniankuaile | hsin nien k`uai le hsinnienkuaile hsin nien kuai le |
|
Shapeshifter | 變形者 变形者 | biàn xíng zhě bian4 xing2 zhe3 bian xing zhe bianxingzhe | pien hsing che pienhsingche |
|
Desire | 渴望 | kě wàng / ke3 wang4 / ke wang / kewang | k`o wang / kowang / ko wang | |
Inspiration | 靈感 灵感 | reikan | líng gǎn / ling2 gan3 / ling gan / linggan | ling kan / lingkan |
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. |
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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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