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This Japanese title can be translated as “for this time only,” “chance meeting,” “one meeting, one opportunity,” “never again,” or “one chance in a lifetime.”
The characters literally mean “one time one meeting” - of course, the Kanji characters have meaning far beyond a direct translation like this.
Some might use this proverb to talk of an opportunity that presents itself just once in your life. It could also be a one-and-only chance meeting with your true soul mate. An expression of any event that might happen once in a lifetime.
This is primarily a Japanese title, however, there is also a Traditional Chinese (and old Korean) version of this proverb. Just the last character is different.
The traditional form was used in Japan before WWII and in Korea prior to 1900. This title is somewhat known in China.
If you want the older traditional form, just click on the character to the right.
身 is how to write “body” as in your human body, in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.
Depending on the context and certain language issues, this character can also mean: main part, hull, oneself, somebody, person, I, me, sword, lifetime, one's station in life, etc.
While this written word is universal in three languages, it still makes a rather odd selection for a wall scroll. Also, they tend to use 体 (karada) in Japanese for the body (depending on context).
See Also: Karada
來世 is a word that can be used in many different ways.
It is often used to express the next life (life in heaven or wherever your soul is bound for). So it does have a religious overtone. However, it can also be used to express your life in the future - perhaps during your present lifetime.
It can also be translated as “the next world,” “the next generation,” “the time that is to come,” “otherworld,” or simply “posterity.”
See Also: Eternity | Rebirth | Reincarnation | Immortality
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.
空無 is “nothingness” in a Buddhist context.
The first character means empty but can also mean air or sky (air and sky have no form).
The second character means have not, no, none, not, or to lack.
Together these characters reinforce each other into a word that means “absolute nothingness.”
I know this is a term used in Buddhism, but I have not yet figured out the context in which it is used. I suppose it can be the fact that Buddhists believe that the world is a non-real illusion, or perhaps it's about visualizing yourself as “nothing” and therefore leaving behind your desire and worldliness.
Buddhist concepts and titles often have this element of ambiguity or, rather, “mystery.” Therefore, such ideas can have different meanings to different people, and that's okay. If you don't get it right in this lifetime, there will be plenty more lifetimes to master it (whatever “it” is, and if “it” really exists at all).
Soothill defines this as “Unreality, or immateriality, of things, which is defined as nothing existing of independent or self-contained nature.”
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Once in a Lifetime | 一期一會 一期一会 | ichigo ichie ichigoichie | yī qī yī huì yi1 qi1 yi1 hui4 yi qi yi hui yiqiyihui | i ch`i i hui ichiihui i chi i hui |
Together Forever | 永遠在一起 永远在一起 | yǒng yuǎn zài yī qǐ yong3 yuan3 zai4 yi1 qi3 yong yuan zai yi qi yongyuanzaiyiqi | yung yüan tsai i ch`i yungyüantsaiichi yung yüan tsai i chi |
|
Teach A Man To Fish | 授人以魚不如授人以漁 授人以鱼不如授人以渔 | shòu rén yǐ yú bù rú shòu rén yǐ yú shou4 ren2 yi3 yu2 bu4 ru2 shou4 ren2 yi3 yu2 shou ren yi yu bu ru shou ren yi yu | shou jen i yü pu ju shou jen i yü | |
Body | 身 | mi | shēn / shen1 / shen | |
Eternal Life Future Life | 來世 来世 | rai-se | lái shì / lai2 shi4 / lai shi / laishi | lai shih / laishih |
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 | |
Nothingness | 空無 空无 | kuu mu / kuumu / ku mu | kōng wú / kong1 wu2 / kong wu / kongwu | k`ung wu / kungwu / kung wu |
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.
Some people may refer to this entry as A Lifetime in Chinese Kanji, A Lifetime in Chinese Characters, A Lifetime in Chinese in Mandarin Chinese, A Lifetime in Chinese Characters, A Lifetime in Chinese in Chinese Writing, A Lifetime in Chinese in Japanese Writing, A Lifetime in Chinese in Asian Writing, A Lifetime in Chinese Ideograms, Chinese A Lifetime in Chinese symbols, A Lifetime in Chinese Hieroglyphics, A Lifetime in Chinese Glyphs, A Lifetime in Chinese in Chinese Letters, A Lifetime in Chinese Hanzi, A Lifetime in Chinese in Japanese Kanji, A Lifetime in Chinese Pictograms, A Lifetime in Chinese in the Chinese Written-Language, or A Lifetime in Chinese in the Japanese Written-Language.