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1. The Tree of Enlightenment / The Bodhi Tree
2. Hazel Tree
5. Wood
6. Bodhi - Awakening Enlightenment
7. Willow
10. Squirrel
11. Maple
12. Birch
13. Sequoia
14. Apple
15. Small Forest
16. Orange
17. In Flowers the Cherry Blossom, In Men the Samurai
18. Bonsai / Penzai
19. Banzai / Wansui
20. Banzai
21. Push or Knock
22. Pine
菩提樹 is the full title of the Bodhi tree (a fig tree) under which Siddhartha Gautama (the legendary man who established the Buddhist religion), achieved enlightenment.
Sometimes this is referred to as “the tree of enlightenment.” If you don't have a Bodhi tree to sit under, maybe you can achieve enlightenment under a wall scroll with this title.
榛 is the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean for Hazel Tree (Corylus Heterophylla).
Sometimes used to refer to the Japanese alder tree (Alnus japonica). Also, can be the Japanese surname, Hashibami.
(One of the five elements)
木 is the symbol for wood in Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
This can sometimes mean “tree” depending on context. In fact, the character comes from a pictogram that is supposed to resemble a tree.
Wood is one of the five elements that ancient Chinese believed all things were composed of. These elements are also part of the cycle of Chinese astrology. Every person has both an animal sign, and one of the five elements according to the date of their birth. See also Five Elements and Chinese 12 Animals / Zodiac.
The Bodhi or 菩提 is the moment of completion in Buddhism.
It is when all things become known and you have completed your journey to enlightenment.
The reference is to the Bodhi tree where Siddhartha Gautama (the legendary man who established the Buddhist religion) achieved enlightenment. Sometimes this is referred to as “the tree of enlightenment,” but if you want the full version with the character for a tree at the end, please see the Bodhi Tree entry.
See Also: Buddhism | Buddha | Nirvana | Enlightenment
柳 is the Chinese, old Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji for willow (as in willow tree).
In ancient Chinese astronomy/astrology, this can refer to the “Willow” constellation (one of the 28 mansions).
If you want to get scientific, this can refer to any tree of the genus Salix including the weeping willow (Salix babylonica).
Notes:
In Chinese, this can be the surname Liu.
In Japanese, it can be the surname Yanagi. It can also be pronounced other ways for different rare surnames. Some Japanese use this as a female given name.
In Korean, this can be the surname Yu, though most of the time
it’s
pronounced ryu in Korean.
櫻花 is how to write “cherry blossom” in Chinese and traditional Japanese Kanji.
The first character means “cherry” or sometimes “cherry tree.”
The second character means “flowers” or “blossoms.”
Oddly, my Chinese dictionary also defines these two characters as “Japanese oriental cherry tree” or “Oriental cherry blossom.” However, the first character is the only one that means “cherry,” so it can refer to any cherry blossoms in the whole world (not just those in Asia).
There is an alternate version of the first character, which has become the standard for Japanese Kanji. If you want this version, instead of the one shown to the upper left, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Although this is an alternate form in Chinese, most Chinese people will think this is just the Japanese version (Chinese people don’t necessarily know the history and all alternate forms of Chinese characters from the past). Therefore, this version shown to the right is best if your audience is Japanese (though most Japanese will recognize the form shown in the upper left).
櫻 is the single-character (short) way to write “cherry blossom” or “cherry tree” in Chinese and traditional Japanese Kanji.
There is an alternate version of this character, which has become the standard for Japanese Kanji. If you want this version, instead of the one shown to the upper left, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Although this is an alternate form in Chinese, most Chinese people will think this is just the Japanese version (Chinese people don’t necessarily know the history and all alternate forms of Chinese characters from the past). Therefore, this version shown to the right is best if your audience is Japanese (though most Japanese will recognize the form shown in the upper left).
楓 is the most simple way to say “maple” as in the tree and syrup.
Some other technical names include Formosan Sweetgum (Liquidambar formosana), or Acer spp.
樺 is a Chinese, old Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja word that means birch [tree].
If you are a botanist, this can refer to “betula japonica” or “Japanese white birch.”
Note: In Japanese, as a single Kanji, this is a little antiquated. There are several more common multi-character words that include this Kanji that specify different species of birch trees.
林 refers to a small forest, a grove, a thicket, or the woods.
In Chinese, this can be the surname Lin. It's also the lin in Shaolin (referring to the monks of the Shaolin temple).
The symbology of this character is two trees side-by-side. Take a look, you can see the tree figures.
橙 is the single-character version of orange. This can refer to the color orange, or the fruit (Just like in English). Sometimes it can refer to a whole orange tree. In botany, it can refer to bitter orange (Citrus aurantium).
In Japanese, this is sometimes pronounced as Chen and used as a female given name. When pronounced as Daidai or Kabuchi, it can be a surname in Japanese.
This Japanese proverb simply reads, “[In] Flowers it's Cherry Blossoms, [In] Men it's Warriors.”
花は櫻木人は武士 is meant to say that of all the flowers in the world, the cherry blossom is the best. And of all men in the world, the Samurai or Warrior is the best
This proverb has been around for a long time. It's believed to have been composed sometime before the Edo Period in Japan (which started in 1603).
Some will drop one syllable and pronounce this, “hana wa sakura hito wa bushi.” That's “sakura” instead of “sakuragi,” which is like saying “cherry blossom” instead of “cherry tree.”
The third character was traditionally written as 櫻. But in modern Japan, that became 桜. You may still see 櫻 used from time to time on older pieces of calligraphy. We can do either one, so just make a special request if you want 櫻.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
Dwarf Tree Culture
盆栽 is the word that refers to the culture, hobby, and to miniature trees themselves that have become popular around the world.
Like many things, this art migrated from China to Japan some time ago, but we tend to associate it with Japanese culture and even use the Japanese word in English.
Granted, in the present day, this hobby seems to be more popular in Japan but still has a great following in China and even a little in Korea as well.
Note: Many people confuse the title of the bonsai tree with “banzai” which is a form of “hooray” in Japanese. I have also seen it misspelled as “bansai.” The correct Romanization (Romaji) is “bonsai.”
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.
To weigh one's words
During the Tang Dynasty, a man named Jia Dao (born in the year 779), a well-studied scholar and poet, went to the capital to take the imperial examination.
One day as he rides a donkey through the city streets, a poem begins to form in his mind. A portion of the poem comes into his head like this:
“The bird sits on the tree branch near a pond,
A monk approaches and knocks at the gate...”
At the same time, he wondered if the word “push” would be better than “knock” in his poem.
As he rides down the street, he imagines the monk pushing or knocking. Soon he finds himself making motions of pushing and shaking a fist in a knocking motion as he debates which word to use. He is quite a sight as he makes his way down the street on his donkey with hands and fists flying about as the internal debate continues.
As he amuses people along the street, he becomes completely lost in his thoughts and does not see the mayor's procession coming in the opposite direction. Jia Bao is blocking the way for the procession to continue down the road, and the mayor's guards immediately decide to remove Jia Bao by force. Jia Bao, not realizing that he was in the way, apologizes, explains his poetic dilemma and awaits his punishment for blocking the mayor's way.
The mayor, Han Yu, a scholar and author of prose himself, finds himself intrigued by Jia Dao's poem and problem. Han Yu gets off his horse and addresses Jia Bao, stating, “I think knock is better.” The relieved Jia Bao raises his head and is invited by the mayor to join the procession, and are seen riding off together down the street, exchanging their ideas and love of poetry.
In modern Chinese, this 反復推敲 idiom is used when someone is trying to decide which word to use in their writing or when struggling to decide between two things when neither seems to have a downside.
Pine or Fir Trees
If you love pine trees or pine forests, 鬆 is your character. Also used to refer to fir trees.
Sometimes you’ll see a complex alternate version of this character. The meaning is still primarily pine but it can also have other meanings. If you want this special version, click on the character to the right instead of the button above.
There’s another rare alternate version of this character as shown to the right. In this case, the character’s radicals are arranged vertically instead of horizontally.
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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 | |
The Tree of Enlightenment The Bodhi Tree | 菩提樹 菩提树 | bodaiju | pú tí shù pu2 ti2 shu4 pu ti shu putishu | p`u t`i shu putishu pu ti shu |
Hazel Tree | 榛 | hari | zhēn / zhen1 / zhen | chen |
Shade of a Tree | 樹蔭 | juin / kokage | shù yìn / shu4 yin4 / shu yin / shuyin | |
Red Maple Tree | 花の木 | hananoki | ||
Wood | 木 | ki | mù / mu4 / mu | |
Bodhi - Awakening Enlightenment | 菩提 | bodai | pú tí / pu2 ti2 / pu ti / puti | p`u t`i / puti / pu ti |
Willow | 柳 | ryuu / yanagi ryuu / yanagi ryu / yanagi | liǔ / liu3 / liu | |
Cherry Blossom | 櫻花 樱花 / 桜花 | ouka / oka | yīng huā / ying1 hua1 / ying hua / yinghua | |
Cherry Blossom Sakura | 櫻 樱 / 桜 | sakura | yīng / ying1 / ying | |
Squirrel | 木鼠 | kinezumi | ||
Maple | 楓 枫 | fuu / kaerude fu / kaerude | fēng / feng1 / feng | |
Birch | 樺 桦 | kanba / kaba | huà / hua4 / hua | |
Sequoia | セコイア | sekoia | ||
Apple | 蘋果 苹果 | píng guǒ / ping2 guo3 / ping guo / pingguo | p`ing kuo / pingkuo / ping kuo | |
Apple | 林檎 | ringo | ||
Small Forest | 林 | rin | lín / lin2 / lin | |
Orange | 橙 | daidai | chéng / cheng2 / cheng | ch`eng / cheng |
In Flowers the Cherry Blossom, In Men the Samurai | 花は櫻木人は武士 花は桜木人は武士 | hana wa sakuragi hito wa bushi | ||
Bonsai Penzai | 盆栽 | bon sai / bonsai | pén zāi / pen2 zai1 / pen zai / penzai | p`en tsai / pentsai / pen tsai |
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 | |
Push or Knock | 反復推敲 反复推敲 | fǎn fù tuī qiāo fan3 fu4 tui1 qiao1 fan fu tui qiao fanfutuiqiao | fan fu t`ui ch`iao fanfutuichiao fan fu tui chiao |
|
Pine | 鬆 松 | matsu | sōng / song1 / song | sung |
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 Calligraphy Tree Kanji, Calligraphy Tree Characters, Calligraphy Tree in Mandarin Chinese, Calligraphy Tree Characters, Calligraphy Tree in Chinese Writing, Calligraphy Tree in Japanese Writing, Calligraphy Tree in Asian Writing, Calligraphy Tree Ideograms, Chinese Calligraphy Tree symbols, Calligraphy Tree Hieroglyphics, Calligraphy Tree Glyphs, Calligraphy Tree in Chinese Letters, Calligraphy Tree Hanzi, Calligraphy Tree in Japanese Kanji, Calligraphy Tree Pictograms, Calligraphy Tree in the Chinese Written-Language, or Calligraphy Tree in the Japanese Written-Language.