Information in Chinese / Japanese...

動物王國 is literally what it says.

There is even a TV show in China that is similar to Wild Kingdom or what you would currently see on the Discovery Channel that has this same title.

For your information: In the Chinese way of thinking, the Tiger is the king of the animal kingdom (lions are not native to China, so the tiger took the role that we have given to the lion in our western way of thinking).

The modern Japanese version has a slight variation on the last character (国 instead of 國). Let me know if you want the modern Japanese version (國 would be considered the old or traditional version).

李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.

Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.

He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”

His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.

For a pronunciation lesson, the “X” in Romanized Mandarin is pronounced like a “sh” sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in “Long” is like the English “oh,” not like the “ah” sound in the English word “long.”

If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.

Note: Japanese use these same Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name “Bruce Lee” sounds in English).

See Also:  Kung Fu | Martial Arts

花 is the simple way to write “flower” in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.

It can also mean blossoms or can refer to a fancy or assorted pattern.

Note: In some contexts, it can mean “spend money.” However, as a single character, it will be read as a flower.

This has the meaning of Xochitl (flower) in Spanish, so if your name is Xochitl, I suggest this character to represent your name.

More random information about this character:
花 is the Korean surname spelled as “Hwa” before the Korean Romanization reformation of 2000-2001.
It's also a somewhat common given name in China (for females).
花 is a borrowed word from Chinese, so it sounds similar in Chinese and Korean.

天之御中主神 is a phrase submitted by a customer.

I do not have information on the origin of this phrase.

花木蘭 is the name of the famous Chinese woman warrior Hua Mulan.

She was made famous in the west by Disney's animated movie, “Mulan.”

Most of the historical information about her comes from an ancient poem. It starts with a concerned Mulan, as she is told a man from each family is to serve conscription in the army. Her father is too old, and her brother is too young. Mulan decides to take the place of her father. After twelve years of war, the army returns, and the best warriors are awarded great posts in the government and riches. Mulan turns down all offers and asks only for a good horse for the long trip home. When Mulan greets visiting comrades wearing her old clothes, they are shocked to find the warrior they rode into battle with for years is actually a woman.

獨立精神 means independent spirit in Chinese.

The first two characters mean independent, independence, or to stand alone.

The last two characters mean spirit, spiritual, vigor, vitality, drive, mind, consciousness, thought, essence, heart, or soul.

With this information, you can make your translation combination such as “independent heart,” “stand-alone spirit,” or more creatively, “the drive to stand alone” in English. There are a lot of ways to interpret 獨立精神.

If you are a government spy, engaged in business espionage, or in some military intelligence department, 情報 is both the title of what you are doing and what you are collecting about your enemy.

It is suggestive by itself of military intelligence but applies to corporate intelligence if you are keeping an eye on your competition in business.

精武 is the title used for a certain type of martial arts. You can translate this roughly as “Excellent Martial Arts” or “Excellence in Martial Arts.” You will notice that the second character is “wu” as in wushu (martial arts) and wushi (warrior).

More information can be found at the Jing Mo website. You should probably only order this if you are a member of this association.

Note that “jing mo” is the Cantonese pronunciation of these characters. In Mandarin, they are “jing wu.”
Also used in Korean but only by those involved with martial arts who can also read Korean Hanja (a small percentage of the population).

唐手道 is the alternate title for Karate-do.

This title uses a character, 唐, which represents the Tang Dynasty of China. Thus, this is often translated as the “Tang Hand Way” or incorrectly, “Tang Fist Way.”
I have also seen some call it “China Hand Way.”
Many in Korea refer to and romanize these characters as “Tang Soo Do” (당수도) where these characters refer to a kind of Korean style of Karate.

There is not a lot of information on this title but some believe that a simplified form of Kung Fu that started in China and ended up very popular in Japan used this title initially. It was later changed in Japan to a different Karate title which means “Empty Hand” (as in, without weapons).

Note: When used in Korean, this is pronounced 당수도. This title is often romanized as “Tang Soo Do,” “Tangsudo,” “Dang Su Do,” or “Dangsudo.” The last two romanizations on that list are the official Korean government romanization, though martial arts schools tend to use other non-standard versions.

麒麟 is the title of a mythical beast of Asia.

The animal is thought to be related to the giraffe, and in some ways, it is a giraffe. However, it is often depicted with the horns of a dragon or deer and sometimes with the body like a horse, but many variations exist.

In Japanese, it is pronounced “Kirin” as in “Kirin Ichiban” beer.


Notes:

1. This is sometimes spelled as “kylin.”

2. In Japanese, this is the only Kanji word for giraffe. Therefore in Japan, this word needs context to know whether you are talking about the mythical creature or the long-necked giraffe of Africa.

3. Apparently, this was the first word used for regular giraffes in China (some were brought from Africa to China during the Ming Dynasty - probably around the year 1400). Though the mythical creature may have existed before, the name “qilin” was given to the “new giraffe.” This is because, more than 600 years ago, giraffes somewhat matched the mythical creature's description when Chinese people saw them for the first time. Later, to avoid such an ambiguous title, a three-character word was devised to mean a “giraffe of Africa.” The characters for “qilin” shown here are only for the mythological version in modern Chinese.

4. More information about the qilin / kirin from Wikipedia.

5. This creature is sometimes translated as the “Chinese Unicorn,” although it is generally portrayed with two horns. I think this is done more for the fantasy aspect of the unicorn and because most westerners don't know what a qilin or kirin is (this avoids a long explanation by the translator).

6. In Korean, this can mean kirin or simply giraffe (usually, the mythological creature is what they would think of when seeing these characters alone on a wall scroll).

兼聽則明偏聽則暗 is an ancient Chinese proverb about getting all the information from all sides so that you truly understand a situation.

Wei Zheng

A man named Wei Zheng lived between 580-643 AD. He was a noble and wise historian and minister in the court of the early Tang Dynasty. The emperor once asked him, “What should an emperor do to understand the real-world situation, and what makes an emperor out-of-touch with reality?”

Wei Zheng replied, “Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; listen to only one side and you will be left in the dark.”

Then Wei Zheng went on to cite examples of leaders in history that were victorious after heeding both sides of the story, and other leaders that met their doom because they believed one-sided stories which often came from flattering lips.

Please note that there is an unwritten rule when the same character appears twice in the same phrase, the calligrapher will alter the appearance so that no two characters are exactly alike in the same piece. This calligraphy has two repeating characters that will be written differently than they appear here.

軍事情報 is the full way to say “Military Intelligence.”

The first two characters mean “military affairs.”

The second two characters mean “intelligence” or “information-gathering.”

If you work in the G2 section of your military unit, this is the wall scroll for you.

See Also:  Military

機 is an odd one - I've seen this on coffee cups and posters with the meaning of “opportunity.”

機 is a correct definition but this character also means “machine.” In fact, if you put the character for “flying” in front of this character, you have the Chinese word for “airplane” (literally: flying machine). Alone, on a wall scroll, it will be generally understood as “opportunity” but I want you to know this extra information before you make your selection. Note that in Japanese and Korean, this has a similar meaning but can also mean machine or loom.

See Also:  Success

靈氣 is the title of a healing practice now found globally but with origins in Japan.

Special note: Outside of the context of the healing practice of Reiki, this means “aura” or “spiritual essence that surrounds all living things.” A Japanese person unfamiliar with the practice will take the “aura” meaning.

Reiki is a technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also heals. It can be compared to massage but is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If your life force energy is low, you'll be more likely to get sick or feel stressed. If your life force energy is abundant and flowing well, you become more capable of being happy and healthy.

There is a lot of information available if you want to Google this term - my job is to offer the calligraphy while you can decide if it is right for you.

Note: We are showing the ancient (traditional) form of the Reiki Kanji. I have seen Reiki written with the slightly simplified version and this more classic form. If you want the form of Reiki with the two strokes in the shape of an X on the second character and the modern first character, simply click on the Kanji characters to the right.

Note: 靈氣 is also a Chinese word, but in Chinese, these characters create a word that refers to a smart person or someone with high aspirations. It is not read as a healing method in Chinese.
In Korean Hanja, this can be read as a “mysterious atmosphere” by a Korean who is not familiar with the practice of Reiki (still has a cool meaning in Korean).

少林禪 translates as “Little Forest Meditation.”

少林禪 is part of a movement to provide spiritual and mental health by integrating the practices of martial arts and meditation.

More information at Shaolin Chan Foundation.

詞韻波羅蜜大光明 are the Japanese Kanji characters that romanize as “Shikin Haramitsu Daikōmyō.”

This is a complicated proverb. I'm actually going to forgo writing any translation information here. You can figure it out via Google search and at sites like Paramita and the Perfection of Wisdom or Fecastel.Wordpress.com::Shikin Haramitsu Daikōmyō

少林寺拳法 is a specific type of martial art in Japan that claims origins in the Kung Fu practiced in the original Shaolin Monastery of China.

The first three characters mean “Shaolin Monastery,” and you might notice the Japanese is pronounced in a very similar way. The reason is, many words were “borrowed” from the original Chinese when Japan did not have a written language and simply absorbed Chinese characters into their language around the 5th century. When a Japanese word did not exist, the Chinese pronunciation was often absorbed as well as the written form.

The last two characters mean “fist law” or “method of the fist.” It has long been argued as to whether the Japanese for these characters should be Romanized as “kempo” or “kenpo.” The official method should be “kenpou” but it's common to drop the “u” that comes after the “o.”

I imagine if you are looking for this title, you already know what it means, so the above is simply extra information that a student of Shorinji Kempo might want to know.

精神 is the kind of spirit you have if you perform well in sports or competitions. It is the idea of having a good attitude and putting your all into something - so much so that others can see or feel your spirit. It is the essence of your being that can only be subjectively described because there are no words that can fully explain what “spirit” really is.

For your information:
My Japanese dictionary further tries to explain this word by comparing it to mind, soul, heart, or intention.
My Chinese dictionary compares these characters to meanings like vigor, vitality, drive, and mentality.
My Korean dictionary defines this as mind, spirit, and soul.

See Also:  Vitality | Heart | Soul

This text is the chant or poem of Wing Chun.

I call it a “chant” because it was meant to be a somewhat rhythmic poem to help practitioners memorize many aspects of Wing Chun.

You will see this referred to as “Wing Chun Kuem Kuit.” This Cantonese romanization is popular in the west (and there is no official way to romanize Cantonese, so many variations exist). In Mandarin, it would be, “Yong Chun Quan Jue.” The last character (kuit or kyut from Cantonese, jue or chüeh from Mandarin) kind of means “secrets of the art.” It's a short way to write 口訣, meaning “mnemonic chant” or “rhyme for remembering.”

In the west (especially in the military), we often use acronyms to remember things. There are no initials to make acronyms in Chinese, so in ancient times, chants like this are used to remember vast amounts of information. I will presume you already know the meaning of the 10 maxims, so I will skip that to keep this calligraphy entry from getting too large.

Some think 练拳者必记 is the title but that just says, “(When) training (the) fist, people should remember:.” Therefore, I've not included that in the calligraphy. However, you can put a note in the special instructions if you want it added.

Note: On a traditional calligraphy wall scroll, the characters will be written in vertical columns, starting from the right, and proceeding left.

Note: This is an except and variation from a huge 口訣. These 10 maxims are used extensively in Wing Chun training, and you’ll find them all over the internet. Just know there is a much longer version out there, along with several variations and excepts like this one. If you know of, or want a different version, just contact me, and I will add it for you.

巾幗 is the very old way to say woman in Chinese.

A common title in ancient China, this actually refers to the scarf or head wrapping worn by virtually all women at that time.

巾幗 is kind of a cool way to say Woman now. The actual gender character alone on a wall scroll would actually look like a fancy sign for the woman's restroom (WC).
If you are curious, the character to the right means female or woman. Knowing 女 is useful information if you are a woman searching for a toilet in China or Japan.

傳承 is a Chinese and Japanese word that means to pass on (to future generations).

This can also mean passed on (from former times), a continued tradition, handing down (information), legend, tradition, folklore, transmission, or an inheritance.

傳承 is the Chinese equivalent of Smriti (from Sanskrit: स्मृति / Smṛti). The term can be used for Hindu (and sometimes Buddhist) texts that have authority because the author is known.