Buy an Old Sage calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “Old Sage” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Old Sage” title below...
孔子 is how to write the name of the great sage, known in the West as Confucius.
His real name is Kongzi (The name Confucius is a westernized version of his name - his family name is Kong, and “zi” was added as a title of distinction).
He lived some 2500 years ago in Qufu, a town in modern-day Shandong Province of Northern China (about 6 hours south of Beijing by bus). He was a consort to Emperors, and after his death, the impact of his philosophies still served to advise emperors, officials, and common people for generations.
Also during these thousands of years, the Kong family remained powerful in China, and the Kong estate was much like the Vatican in Rome. The Kong estate existed as if on sovereign ground with its own small garrison of guards and the privileges of a kingdom within an empire.
This was true up until the time the Kong family had to flee to Taiwan in 1949 when the Red Army took victory over the Nationalists during the Revolution. The home of Confucius was later razed and all statues were defaced or stolen during the Cultural Revolution. Finally, after years of smearing his name and image, it is once again okay to celebrate the teachings of Confucius in mainland China.
Known as Khổng Tử in Vietnamese.
聖 is the simple, single-character religious form of “saint” in Chinese (also holds the same meaning in Japanese and Korean, though rarely used alone like this).
This can also mean holy, sage, master, or priest.
Note: 聖 is often used in compound words (words of more than one character) to create further meanings. In compounds, it can mean holy, sacred, or divine.
聖 is also used as the first word for Spanish and English place names such as “San Diego” and “St. Louis” in Chinese (not Japanese).
In the Buddhist context, this can represent ārya or sādhu. And mean a sage; wise and good; upright, or correct in all his character; sacred, holy, or saintly.
聖者 is the religious way to express the idea of “Saint” in Chinese, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.
Some may translate this as “Holy man” or “Holy person.”
聖人 can mean saint, sage, or holy man.
Note: There is more than one way to express this idea. This one really matches “Holy man” because the second character means “human” or “person” (therefore, this could equally mean “Holy woman”).
老師 directly translates as “old teacher,” “old master,” or “old sage.”
Together, they are understood as “teacher.” When you think about that, also realize that with age comes respect in Asian cultures. So calling someone old is a term of respect (not like the way we mean it in English). You could replace “old” with “respected” and be closer to how this is meant in Chinese.
Teachers, in general, are more respected by their students and the population in China. When I was a teacher in China, I certainly felt that.
This term is also used for masters of certain fields. For instance, a master calligrapher would respectfully be addressed as a “teacher.” In this case, “master” and “teacher” are synonymous.
Other artists (especially those who are famous or accomplished) should be addressed with this term. Also, some martial arts schools use this term of respect for their masters/teachers/instructors.
This title is recognized in Japanese as "roushi" with the same meaning but it’s rarely used in Japan.
哲 is a Japanese name that is often romanized as Tetsu.
The meaning of the character can be: philosophy; wise; sage; wise man; philosopher; disciple; sagacity; wisdom; intelligence.
哲 can also be romanized as: Yutaka; Masaru; Hiroshi; Tooru; Tetsuji; Choru; Satoru; Satoshi; Akira; Aki.
This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...
Gallery Price: $200.00
Your Price: $69.88
Gallery Price: $67.00
Your Price: $36.88
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your old sage search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
哲 see styles |
zhé zhe2 che tetsu てつ |
More info & calligraphy: Tetsu / Wise Sage(1) sage; wise man; philosopher; disciple; (noun or adjectival noun) (2) sagacity; wisdom; intelligence; (given name) Yutaka discerning |
聖 圣 see styles |
shèng sheng4 sheng hijiri ひじり |
More info & calligraphy: The Saint(1) highly virtuous monk; (2) (honorific or respectful language) monk; (3) Buddhist solitary; (4) (See 高野聖・1) Buddhist missionary; (5) saint (i.e. a virtuous person); (6) (archaism) (honorific or respectful language) emperor; (7) (in form 〜の聖) master; expert; (female given name) Mina ārya; sādhu; a sage; wise and good; upright, or correct in all his character; sacred, holy, saintly. |
賢 贤 see styles |
xián xian2 hsien ken けん |
More info & calligraphy: Wise and Virtuous(noun or adjectival noun) (archaism) intelligence; genius; scholarship; virtue; (male given name) Masaru Wise and virtuous, sage, second rank to a 聖 saint; good, excellent in character, virtuous. |
仙女 see styles |
xiān nǚ xian1 nu:3 hsien nü senjo; sennyo; sennyu せんじょ; せんにょ; せんにゅ |
More info & calligraphy: Fairy / Nymphfairy; nymph; elf; (given name) Sennyo female sage |
大智 see styles |
dà zhì da4 zhi4 ta chih hirotomo ひろとも |
More info & calligraphy: Great WisdomMahāmati; cf. 大慧; Great Wisdom, Buddha-wisdom, omniscience; a title of Mañjuśrī, as the apotheosis of transcendental wisdom. |
眞智 see styles |
zhēn zhì zhen1 zhi4 chen chih masatoshi まさとし |
More info & calligraphy: Knowledge of Ultimate TruthWisdom or knowledge of ultimate truth, or the absolute, also called 無智 knowledge of the no-thing, i.e. of the immaterial or absolute; also 聖智 sage wisdom, or wisdom of the sage. |
聖人 圣人 see styles |
shèng rén sheng4 ren2 sheng jen seijin / sejin せいじん |
More info & calligraphy: Holy Man / Saint(1) {Christn} saint; (2) (orig. meaning) wise and virtuous person (esp. in Confucianism); great religious teacher; sage; (3) (See 清酒) refined sake; (male given name) Masato is the opposite of the 凡人 common, or unenlightened man. |
諸葛亮 诸葛亮 see styles |
zhū gě liàng zhu1 ge3 liang4 chu ko liang juugaa ryan / juga ryan ジューガー・リャン |
More info & calligraphy: Zhuge Liang(person) Zhuge Liang (181-234; Chinese statesman and military strategist) |
釋迦牟尼 释迦牟尼 see styles |
shì jiā móu ní shi4 jia1 mou2 ni2 shih chia mou ni Shakamuni |
More info & calligraphy: Shakyamuni / The Buddha釋迦文 (釋迦文尼); 釋伽文 Śākyamuni, the saint of the Śākya tribe. muni is saint, holy man, sage, ascetic monk; it is: intp. as 仁 benevolent, charitable, kind, also as 寂默 one who dwells in seclusion. After '500 or 550' previous incarnations, Śākyamuni finally attained to the state of Bodhisattva, was born in the Tuṣita heaven, and descended as a white elephant, through her right side, into the womb of the immaculate Māyā, the purest woman on earth; this was on the 8th day of the 4th month; next year on the 8th day of the 2nd month he was born from her right side painlessly as she stood under a tree in the Lumbinī garden. For the subsequent miraculous events v. Eitel. also the 神通遊戲經 (Lalitavistara), the 釋迦如來成道記, etc. Simpler statements say that he was born the son of Śuddhodana, of the kṣatriya caste, ruler of Kapilavastu, and Māyā his wife; that Māyā died seven days later, leaving him to be brought up by her sister Prājapati; that in due course he was married to Yaśodharā who bore him a son, Rāhula; that in search of truth he left home, became an ascetic, severely disciplined himself, and finally at 35 years of age, under a tree, realized that the way of release from the chain of rebirth and death lay not in asceticism but in moral purity; this he explained first in his four dogmas, v. 四諦 and eightfold noble way 八正道, later amplified and developed in many sermons. He founded his community on the basis of poverty, chastity, and insight or meditation, ad it became known as Buddhism, as he became known as Buddha, the enlightened. His death was probably in or near 487 B.C., a few years before that of Confucius in 479. The sacerdotal name of his family is Gautama, said to be the original name of the whole clan, Śākya being that of his branch, v. 瞿, 喬.; his personal name was Siddhārtha, or Sarvārthasiddha, v. 悉. |
夫 see styles |
fú fu2 fu pu ぷ |
(classical) this, that; he, she, they; (exclamatory final particle); (initial particle, introduces an opinion) (1) (archaism) my dear; dear; honey; (2) (kana only) garnish (esp. one served with sashimi); (3) (kana only) embellishment; (1) (archaism) that; (2) (archaism) he; she; that person; husband; (n-pref,n-suf,n) (1) male; man; (2) (archaism) husband; (surname) Pu A man; a sage, officer, hero; a husband, mate; a fellow; a particle, i. e. for, so, etc. |
舜 see styles |
shùn shun4 shun hitoshi ひとし |
Shun (c. 23rd century BC), mythical sage and leader (male given name) Hitoshi The legendary Emperor Shun, 2255-2205 B.C. |
下げ see styles |
sage さげ |
(1) lowering; sinking; bringing down; letting down; (2) depreciation; price fall; (3) punch line (of a rakugo story); (4) (abbreviation) (archaism) sword strap |
丹參 丹参 see styles |
dān shēn dan1 shen1 tan shen |
(botany) red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza) |
亜聖 see styles |
asei / ase あせい |
sage of the second order; (personal name) Tsuguhito |
亞聖 亚圣 see styles |
yà shèng ya4 sheng4 ya sheng asei / ase あせい |
Second Sage, traditional title of Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3] in Confucian studies (female given name) Asei |
仙聖 仙圣 see styles |
xiān shèng xian1 sheng4 hsien sheng senshō |
reclusive sage |
仙駕 仙驾 see styles |
xiān jià xian1 jia4 hsien chia senga |
carriage of a recluse sage |
傅說 傅说 see styles |
fù shuō fu4 shuo1 fu shuo |
Fu Shuo (c. 14th century BC), legendary sage and principal minister of Shang ruler Wu Ding |
僧佉 see styles |
sēng qiā seng1 qia1 seng ch`ia seng chia sōkya |
saṅkhyā, 僧企耶; intp. 數 number, reckon, calculate; Saṅkhyā, 'one of the great divisions of Hindu philosophy ascribed to the sage Kapila, and so called as 'reckoning up' or 'enumerating' twenty-five Tattvas or true principles, its object being to effect the final liberation of the twenty-fifth (Purusha, the Soul) from the fetters of the phenomenal creation by conveying the correct knowledge of the twenty-four other Tattvas, and rightly discriminating the soul from them.' M.W. Cf. 迦 and 數. |
先聖 先圣 see styles |
xiān shèng xian1 sheng4 hsien sheng sensei / sense せんせい |
ancient sage (esp. Confucius) sages of yore |
先賢 先贤 see styles |
xiān xián xian1 xian2 hsien hsien senken せんけん |
(literary) ancient sage ancient sage prior worthies |
凡聖 凡圣 see styles |
fán shèng fan2 sheng4 fan sheng bonshō |
Sinners and saints. |
劫比 see styles |
jié bǐ jie2 bi3 chieh pi Kōhi |
(劫比羅) kapila; also 劫畢羅; 迦比羅 (or 迦毗羅) The meaning is 'brown', but it is chiefly used for 'the sage Kapila, founder of the classical Sāṃkhya' philosophy and the school of that name. |
勝仙 胜仙 see styles |
shèng xiān sheng4 xian1 sheng hsien katsunori かつのり |
(male given name) Katsunori a great sage |
医聖 see styles |
isei / ise いせい |
great doctor; sage physician |
十聖 十圣 see styles |
shí shèng shi2 sheng4 shih sheng jūshō |
ten sage [levels] |
古聖 see styles |
kosei / kose こせい |
ancient sage |
古賢 see styles |
koken こけん |
ancient sage |
哲人 see styles |
zhé rén zhe2 ren2 che jen tetsujin てつじん |
wise man wise man; philosopher; sage; (personal name) Norihito |
四世 see styles |
sì shì si4 shi4 ssu shih yonsei / yonse よんせい |
(1) four generations; (2) fourth generation immigrant; yonsei; (3) the fourth (e.g. George IV) The period of the Buddha's earthly life, styled 聖世 the sacred period (or period of the sage), is added to the three periods of 正法 correct Law; 像法 semblance of the Law; and 末法 decadence of the Law. |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Confucius | 孔子 | koushi / koshi | kǒng zǐ / kong3 zi3 / kong zi / kongzi | k`ung tzu / kungtzu / kung tzu |
The Saint | 聖 圣 | sei | shèng / sheng4 / sheng | |
The Saint | 聖者 圣者 | seija | shèng zhě sheng4 zhe3 sheng zhe shengzhe | sheng che shengche |
Holy Man Saint | 聖人 圣人 | seijin | shèng rén sheng4 ren2 sheng ren shengren | sheng jen shengjen |
Teacher Master Old Sage | 老師 老师 | lǎo shī / lao3 shi1 / lao shi / laoshi | lao shih / laoshih | |
Tetsu Wise Sage | 哲 | tetsu | zhé / zhe2 / zhe | che |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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 Old Sage Kanji, Old Sage Characters, Old Sage in Mandarin Chinese, Old Sage Characters, Old Sage in Chinese Writing, Old Sage in Japanese Writing, Old Sage in Asian Writing, Old Sage Ideograms, Chinese Old Sage symbols, Old Sage Hieroglyphics, Old Sage Glyphs, Old Sage in Chinese Letters, Old Sage Hanzi, Old Sage in Japanese Kanji, Old Sage Pictograms, Old Sage in the Chinese Written-Language, or Old Sage in the Japanese Written-Language.
30 people have searched for Old Sage in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Old Sage was last searched for by someone else on Feb 27th, 2024