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1. If you have not been a monk, how can you know what it is like to be a vegetarian?
2. One Day Seems Like 1000 Years
3. Devotion / Dedication / Attentive / Focused
4. No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own
5. Kodokan
7. Kodokan
Only by experiencing hardship will allow you understand the plight of others
不當和尚不知齋戒苦 literally translates as:
[One who has] not been a monk [does not] know the suffering of [being on a] vegetarian diet.
This is a bit like the “walk a mile in another man's shoes” saying. Basically, it's about you cannot fully understand the plight of others until you experience it yourself.
一日千秋 is a Japanese and Chinese proverb about missing someone.
一日千秋 is often used to express how hard it is to wait for someone's return or to be away from someone.
Some will translate this as “one day feels like a very long time” or “waiting for someone (something) is hard.”
You might see this romanized as a single word, Ichijitsusenshuu, or as “Ichijitsu Senshuu” from Japanese.
If you break down the characters one-by-one, we get:
一 = one/a
日 = day/sun (can also represent time or date)
千 = 1000/thousand
秋 = autumn/fall
Together, 千秋 can mean “autumn comes thousand times” (or 1000 years). It can also be read as 1000 periods of time.
However, it relays the idea of heartache as you wait for someone you miss.
專心 makes a word that means “paying attention with your heart.”
It's often translated as “dedication,” as in “be absorbed in” or “concentrate one's efforts.” It's also used to mean “with the single mind,” “whole-heartedly,” “paying attention,” “undivided attention,” “concentration (-ed),” “engrossed,” “devotionally (listening/watching),” and/or “attentive.”
The first character means “for a particular person, occasion, or purpose,” “focused on one single thing,” “concentrated,” and sometimes, “special.”
The second character means “heart” or “mind” by itself.
My favorite translation, which comes from the Oxford Advanced Chinese/English Dictionary, is, “wholehearted devotion.”
If it seems like the meaning of this word is quite open, you are correct. The context in which the word is used matters a lot. It can mean different things depending on how you use it. This makes it kind of nice as you can decide what this means to you (within some limits). This is always positive in meaning, so even if a Chinese person reads it differently than you, it will still have a good meaning.
In Japanese, they tend to use a variation of the second character which has one less stroke. If you want your calligraphy written this Japanese form, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note: Japanese and Chinese people will recognize either form.
子を持って知る親の恩 literally translates as: Only after you have a baby, you would appreciate your parents (feel the way they do, etc).
This is a bit like the “walk a mile in another man's shoes” saying. Basically, it's about you cannot fully understand the plight of others until you experience it yourself. It also shows appreciation for the plight of parents.
This Japanese proverb can also be translated a few more ways:
No man knows what he owes to his parents till he comes to have children of his own.
One knows not what one owes to one's parents till one comes to have children of one's own.
Only after you have a baby, you will appreciate your parents or feel the way they do.
Only after becoming a parent yourself do you realize how much you owe [how indebted you are] to your own parents.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
光道館 is Kodokan.
This is the title of an Aikido dojo, studio, or hall.
Be careful in selecting the correct Kodokan, as there are a few different titles that romanize as Kodokan.
Here's how the characters break down in meaning for this one:
1. Light / Bright
2. Way / Path (the Tao/Dao as in Taoism/Daoism)
3. Schoolroom / Building / Establishment / Mansion / Hall (of learning)
Altogether, you get something like “The Path of Light Establishment.”
氣功 or Qigong is the title of a technique that is somewhere between medical practice, meditation, and in some cases, religion.
The definition is blurred depending on which school of Qigong you are following. In some cases, it is even incorporated with martial arts.
Some people (even Chinese people) mix this title with Tai Chi (Tai Qi) exercises.
Lately, in China, people will claim to practice Tai Chi rather than Qigong because the Qigong title was recently used as a cover for an illegal pseudo-religious movement in China with the initials F.G. or F.D. (I can not write those names here for fear of our website being banned in China).
You can learn those names and more here: Further info about Qigong
If you are wondering why I wrote “Qi Gong” and “Chi Kung” as the title of this calligraphy entry, I should teach you a little about the various ways in which Chinese can be Romanized. One form writes this as “Chi Kung” or “Chikung” (Taiwan). In the mainland and elsewhere, it is Romanized as “Qi Gong” or “Qigong.” The pronunciation is the same in Taiwan, mainland, and Singapore Mandarin. Neither Romanization is exactly like English. If you want to know how to say this with English rules, it would be something like “Chee Gong” (but the “gong” has a vowel sound like the “O” in “go”).
Romanization is a really confusing topic and has caused many Chinese words to be mispronounced in the west. One example is “Kung Pao Chicken,” which should actually be more like “Gong Bao” with the “O” sounding like “oh” for both characters. Neither the Romanization system in Taiwan nor the Mainland is perfect, in my opinion, and leads to many misunderstandings.
In modern Japan, you may see this written as 気功, but the original 氣功 is still recognized. If you need the Japanese version, please contact me.
講道館 is a title that refers to a certain kind or school of Judo martial arts.
Here's how the characters break down in meaning for this one:
1. Mutual Assistance or Association. Can also refer to a lecture, speech, or explaining something (as in teaching).
2. Way / Path (the Tao/Dao as in Taoism/Daoism)
3. Schoolroom / Building / Establishment / Mansion / Small Castle / Hall (of learning)
Altogether, you get something like, “The Path of Mutual Learning Hall.”
More about Kodokan from the Institute of Kodokan.
This is the Mawangdui version of Daodejing chapter 54.
大公無私 is a Chinese proverb that comes from an old story from some time before 476 BC. About a man named Qi Huangyang, who was commissioned by the king to select the best person for a certain job in the Imperial Court.
Qi Huangyang selected his enemy for the job. The king was very confused by the selection, but Qi Huangyang explained that he was asked to find the best person for the job, not necessarily someone that he liked or had a friendship with.
Later, Confucius commented on how unselfish and impartial Qi Huangyang was by saying, “Da Gong Wu Si” which, if you look it up in a Chinese dictionary, is generally translated as “Unselfish” or “Just and Fair.”
If you translate each character, you'd have something like
“Big/Deep Justice Without Self.”
Direct translations like this leave out a lot of what the Chinese characters really say. Use your imagination, and suddenly you realize that “without self” means “without thinking about yourself in the decision” - together, these two words mean “unselfish.” The first two characters serve to drive the point home that we are talking about a concept that is similar to “blind justice.”
One of my Chinese-English dictionaries translates this simply as “just and fair.” So that is the short and simple version.
Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly used term.
See Also: Selflessness | Work Unselfishly for the Common Good | Altruism
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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 | |
If you have not been a monk, how can you know what it is like to be a vegetarian? | 不當和尚不知齋戒苦 不当和尚不知斋戒苦 | bù dāng hé shang bù zhī zhāi jiè kǔ bu4 dang1 he2 shang bu4 zhi1 zhai1 jie4 ku3 bu dang he shang bu zhi zhai jie ku | pu tang ho shang pu chih chai chieh k`u pu tang ho shang pu chih chai chieh ku |
|
One Day Seems Like 1000 Years | 一日千秋 | ichi jitsu sen shuu ichijitsusenshuu ichi jitsu sen shu | yí rì qiān qiū yi2 ri4 qian1 qiu1 yi ri qian qiu yiriqianqiu | i jih ch`ien ch`iu ijihchienchiu i jih chien chiu |
Devotion Dedication Attentive Focused | 專心 / 専心 / 耑心 专心 | sen shin / senshin | zhuān xīn zhuan1 xin1 zhuan xin zhuanxin | chuan hsin chuanhsin |
No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own | 子を持って知る親の恩 | ko wo motte shiru oya no on kowomotteshiruoyanoon | ||
Kodokan | 光道館 讲道馆 | kou dou kan koudoukan ko do kan | ||
Qi Gong Chi Kung | 氣功 气功 | ki kou / kikou / ki ko | qì gōng / qi4 gong1 / qi gong / qigong | ch`i kung / chikung / chi kung |
Kodokan | 講道館 讲道馆 | kou dou kan koudoukan ko do kan | ||
Daodejing Tao Te Ching - Chapter 54 | 善建者不拔善抱者不脫子孫以祭祀不絕修之身其德乃真修之家其德有余修之鄉其德乃長修之國其德乃夆修之於天下其德乃博以身觀身以家觀家以鄉觀鄉以邦觀邦以天下觀天下吾何以知天下然茲以此 善建者不拔善抱者不脱子孙以祭祀不绝修之身其德乃真修之家其德有余修之乡其德乃长修之国其德乃夆修之于天下其德乃博以身观身以家观家以乡观乡以邦观邦以天下观天下吾何以知天下然兹以此 | shàn jiàn zhě bù bá shàn bào zhě bù tuō zǐ sūn yǐ jì sì bù jué xiū zhī shēn qí dé nǎi zhēn xiū zhī jiā qí dé yǒu yú xiū zhī xiāng qí dé nǎi zhǎng xiū zhī guó qí dé nǎi féng xiū zhī yú tiān xià qí dé nǎi bó yǐ shēn guān shēn yǐ jiā guān jiā yǐ xiāng guān xiāng yǐ bāng guān bāng yǐ tiān xià guān tiān xià wú hé yǐ zhī tiān xià rán zī yǐ cǐ shan4 jian4 zhe3 bu4 ba2 shan4 bao4 zhe3 bu4 tuo1 zi3 sun1 yi3 ji4 si4 bu4 jue2 xiu1 zhi1 shen1 qi2 de2 nai3 zhen1 xiu1 zhi1 jia1 qi2 de2 you3 yu2 xiu1 zhi1 xiang1 qi2 de2 nai3 zhang3 xiu1 zhi1 guo2 qi2 de2 nai3 feng2 xiu1 zhi1 yu2 tian1 xia4 qi2 de2 nai3 bo2 yi3 shen1 guan1 shen1 yi3 jia1 guan1 jia1 yi3 xiang1 guan1 xiang1 yi3 bang1 guan1 bang1 yi3 tian1 xia4 guan1 tian1 xia4 wu2 he2 yi3 zhi1 tian1 xia4 ran2 zi1 yi3 ci3 shan jian zhe bu ba shan bao zhe bu tuo zi sun yi ji si bu jue xiu zhi shen qi de nai zhen xiu zhi jia qi de you yu xiu zhi xiang qi de nai zhang xiu zhi guo qi de nai feng xiu zhi yu tian xia qi de nai bo yi shen guan shen yi jia guan jia yi xiang guan xiang yi bang guan bang yi tian xia guan tian xia wu he yi zhi tian xia ran zi yi ci | shan chien che pu pa shan pao che pu t`o tzu sun i chi ssu pu chüeh hsiu chih shen ch`i te nai chen hsiu chih chia ch`i te yu yü hsiu chih hsiang ch`i te nai chang hsiu chih kuo ch`i te nai feng hsiu chih yü t`ien hsia ch`i te nai po i shen kuan shen i chia kuan chia i hsiang kuan hsiang i pang kuan pang i t`ien hsia kuan t`ien hsia wu ho i chih t`ien hsia jan tzu i tz`u shan chien che pu pa shan pao che pu to tzu sun i chi ssu pu chüeh hsiu chih shen chi te nai chen hsiu chih chia chi te yu yü hsiu chih hsiang chi te nai chang hsiu chih kuo chi te nai feng hsiu chih yü tien hsia chi te nai po i shen kuan shen i chia kuan chia i hsiang kuan hsiang i pang kuan pang i tien hsia kuan tien hsia wu ho i chih tien hsia jan tzu i tzu |
|
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial | 大公無私 大公无私 | dà gōng wú sī da4 gong1 wu2 si1 da gong wu si dagongwusi | ta kung wu ssu takungwussu |
|
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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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.
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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 How You Like That One Kanji, How You Like That One Characters, How You Like That One in Mandarin Chinese, How You Like That One Characters, How You Like That One in Chinese Writing, How You Like That One in Japanese Writing, How You Like That One in Asian Writing, How You Like That One Ideograms, Chinese How You Like That One symbols, How You Like That One Hieroglyphics, How You Like That One Glyphs, How You Like That One in Chinese Letters, How You Like That One Hanzi, How You Like That One in Japanese Kanji, How You Like That One Pictograms, How You Like That One in the Chinese Written-Language, or How You Like That One in the Japanese Written-Language.