This means "Hui Religion" in Chinese. It refers specifically to the Hui people (Huizu) who have typical Oriental looks but are Muslim (practice the religion of Islam). Hui people can be found throughout China, often establishing Muslim neighborhoods in many cities.

My Japanese dictionary lists this as the all Kanji way to write Islam as well.

In Korean, the first character is used as a short name to say Muslim.

This is a common oral way to express a chance or opportunity. I don't recommend this for calligraphy artwork if your audience is Chinese, as it just would not seem right - as calligraphy is often formal and this is an informal way to say opportunity. I only made this entry because these two characters are sometimes used in the knick-knack and coffee cups with Asian characters market. For those of you with a "ji hui" coffee cup, don't worry, it does make sense.

Note: This word is slightly more formal in Korean with a meaning of "optimal timing". It's actually a good choice if your audience is Korean, but many Koreans cannot read Korean Hanja like this.
This entry also constitutes the way this word was written in Japanese before WWII and the simplification of many Kanji.

This is a common way to express "opportunity" in Japanese. The first character means "chance" and the second can be translated as "meeting". So in Japanese business a "chance meeting" represents a real "opportunity".

Note that this also means opportunity in Chinese, but it's more an oral or informal word in Mandarin. Also, the second Kanji is the same as the simplified version of the hui Chinese character.

This title suggests having the power to recover, restore, rehabilitate. This can refer to yourself, someone else, or even to something, like rehabilitating a burned forest. This is the essence of resilience in life.

The first two characters are a word that means to reinstate, to resume, to restore, to recover, to regain, to rehabilitate, restoration, rehabilitation, recovery, return, replevin, improvement, recovery (from an illness), recuperation, or convalescence.

The last character means strength or power.

See Also...  Tenacity | Perseverance

This is the title for Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai.
A Japanese karate association of the Genbu school.

Note that while this title does make perfect sense in Chinese, it is really a Japanese title. In fact, the first word is "Japanese/Japan".

If you'd like your martial arts school, dojo or club added to our calligraphy database for easy ordering of a custom calligraphy wall scroll, just post your request on our Custom Asian Calligraphy Request Forum.

This literally translates as: [One who] cannot steer the boat blames the bends in the river.

Figuratively, this means: One who is incompetent always tries to shift the blame elsewhere.
This is similar to the English idiom, "a poor workman/craftsman blames his tools".

This is the word in Chinese for a college fraternity or some other kind of fraternal order. Literally, these characters mean "Elder brother younger brother association". The last character can also be translated as group, union, gathering, assembly, meeting, or conference.

This quote from the Analects of Confucius translates as:

For anyone who brings even the smallest token of appreciation, I have yet to refuse instruction.

Another way to put it is: If a student (or potential student) shows just an ounce of interest, desire, or appreciation for the opportunity to learn, a teacher should offer a pound of knowledge.

This was written over 2500 years ago. The composition is in ancient Chinese grammar and phrasing. A modern Chinese person would need a background in Chinese literature to understand this without aid of a reference.

This is the feeling of being or feeling repentant, apologetic, and regret. This is not sorrow.

This term is often used in the context of Buddhism and other religions.

Note: This is a strange thing to write on a wall scroll for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people - but you can bend the rules if you want in the west.

This quote from the Analects of Confucius translates as:

To quietly recite and memorize the classics,
to love learning without tiring of it,
never be bored with teaching,
How could these be difficult for me?

This is a suggestion that for a true scholar, all of these things come with ease.

This was written over 2500 years ago. The composition is in ancient Chinese grammar and phrasing. A modern Chinese person would need a background in Chinese literature to understand this without aid of a reference.

It's been said that wisdom comes from good judgment, and good judgment comes from experience, while experience comes from a series of times when you used bad judgment.

This Chinese proverb makes the simplest connection between experience and wisdom.

See Also...  Failure Is The Mother Of Success | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

This can be translated as "healing hands".

The first two characters are used to describe a doctor or medical professional who has admirable skill in curing disease. Literally: Wonderful or skilled hands.

The last two characters mean "Springing back to life".

Altogether, it suggests that these skilled hands can cure whatever ails you and bring you back to life. This is a great honor to bestow on your doctor or other healthcare professional that has helped you.

This is how to say "live without regrets" in Mandarin Chinese.

Note: There is some debate about whether this makes sense in Japanese.

See Also...  Live For Today

This is how to say "no regrets" in Mandarin Chinese. This also makes sense in Japanese though not the most common way to express "no regrets" in Japanese.

See Also...  Live For Today

This is one of the key creeds of Islam.

While perhaps more often seen in Arabic as

there are many native Chinese Muslims (especially the Hui ethnicity) that do not speak Arabic.

Instead, they use this Chinese phrase to express this idea or statement of faith.

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 the single chance-meeting with your true soul mate. Basically an expression for 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.

This is the last line of a famous poem. It is perceived as a tribute or ode to your parent's or mother from a child or children that have left home.

The poem was written by Meng Jiao during the Tang Dynasty (about 1200 years ago). The Chinese title is "You Zi Yin" which means "The Traveler's Recite".

The last line as shown here speaks of the generous and warm spring sun light which gives the grass far beyond what the little grass can could ever give back (except perhaps by showing its lovely green leaves and flourishing). The metaphor is that the sun is your mother or parents, and you are the grass. Your parents raise you and give you all the love and care you need to prepare you for the world. A debt which you can never repay, nor is repayment expected.

The first part of the poem (not written in the characters to the left) suggests that the thread in a loving mother's hands is the shirt of her traveling offspring. Vigorously sewing while wishing them to come back sooner than they left.
...This part is really hard to translate into English that makes any sense, but maybe you get the idea. We are talking about a poem that is so old that many Chinese people would have trouble reading it (as if it was the King James Version of Chinese).

This is a universal word in Japanese and Chinese that expresses the Buddhist idea of "reincarnation", "transmigration of souls" or "the eternal cycle of birth and death". In some context, this can also mean "karma".

The first character means wheel, ring, turn, circle, loop or rotate.
The second character can be thought of as a suffix meaning "-times". This second character can also refer to something that revolves, returns, goes back, or a counter for the number of occurrences of some event.
Together the sum supersedes the parts and it means reincarnation. But knowing the seeing the essence of each character may help you understand some of the meaning behind the word.

If you request this selection from our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect that the second Kanji will look like the one shown to the right. This is the more common way to write this in Japanese. It's an alternate form of this character in Chinese (so neither way is technically wrong in either language).

See Also...  Buddhism | Rebirth

This is the serenity prayer, as used by many 12-step programs and support groups.

In Chinese, this says:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Whitney

This single character can be translated as wisdom, but it has more of an "intelligent" flavor. This can also mean cleverness or wit.

Japanese note: This is understood in Japanese, but seldom seen as a lone Kanji.

See Also...  Knowledge | Learning | Read

The first character means, "wise" or "smart" and the second character means "intelligence".

I have also seen these two characters translated together as knowledge, sagacity, sense, and intelligence.

Note: This word is used commonly in Chinese and is a less-common word in Japanese and Korean. If your audience is Japanese, I suggest our other Japanese wisdom option.

This means intellect or wisdom in Japanese too, but is a more unusual way to write this word (though both versions are pronounced the same in Japanese).

See Also...  Learn From Wisdom

The first Kanji represents "to know" or "to realize". Combined, these two Kanji mean "learn, know, and understand completely". Another way to translate this is "to know all things in their entirety".

Note: While vaguely understood in Chinese, this is only a real word in Japanese.

Ancient Japanese/Korean version: This is also a word in old Korean Hanja, with a slight difference in the last character - if you want that version (which is also the ancient Japanese version) please click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

This is an expression which means "sisterhood" as in a women's association, club or group.

The first two characters mean "women".

The last character means to assemble, to meet, to gather, to see, union, group, or association.

This is how to say "die with no regrets" in Mandarin Chinese.

This proverb comes from the Analects of Confucius.

See Also...  No Regrets

This Chinese proverb 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".