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Personalize your custom “Skill” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Skill” title below...
1. Skill Acquired Through Hard Training
3. Benevolent and Skilled Doctor
5. Kenzo
7. Martial Arts
9. Sensei / Master / Teacher / Mister
15. Tai Jutsu
醫道 means the art of healing or medical skill.
This can also refer to a Korean TV show, Hur Jun about an ancient doctor. The Chinese-subtitled version of the show is also quite popular in China.
While this is a common title in Chinese and Korean, it's not used as often in Japanese where someone might read it as “medical course” or “the way of medicine.”
妙手仁心悬壶济世 is a phrase that celebrates the benevolence, skill, and service to his/her patients.
Here's a breakdown of the characters:
妙手 miào shǒu admirable skill in curing disease (when used in reference to doctors).
仁心 rén xīn kindheartedness, charity, benevolent heart.
悬壶济世 xuán hú jì shì practice medicine or pharmacy to help the people or the public.
Short version
These two characters mean intelligence or intelligent.
The first character means wisdom, intellect, or knowledge.
The second means ability, talent, skill, capacity, capable, able, and can even mean competent.
Together, 知能 can mean “capacity for wisdom,” “useful knowledge,” or even “mental power.” Obviously, this translates more clearly into English as “intelligence.”
Note: This is not the same word used to mean “military intelligence.” See our other entry for that.
In modern Japan, they tend to use a version of the first character without the bottom radical. If your audience for this artwork is Japanese, please click on the Kanji to the right instead of the button above.
功夫 or Kung Fu is one of the most famous types of martial arts in the world - and not just because of Bruce Lee.
Some translate the meaning as “Accomplishment by Great Effort.” I think this is partially true, but directly translated, it literally means “Merit/Achievement/Accomplishment Man.” The word “fu” can sometimes mean “husband” or “porter,” but in this case, it can only mean “man.” However, few in China will think “man” when they hear the word “Gong Fu” spoken.
This term is also used for things other than martial arts. In fact, it's used to refer to a person with excellent skills in crafts that require a lot of effort to master, such as cooking, tea ceremonies, and calligraphy.
What a lot of people don't know is that the spelling of “Kung Fu” was actually taken from the old Wade Giles form of Romanization. Using this method, the sounds of the English “G” and “K” were both written as “K” and an apostrophe after the “K” told you it was supposed to sound like a “G.” Nobody in the west knew this rule, so most people pronounce it with a “K-sound.” And so, Gong Fu will always be Kung Fu for most westerners.
Also, just to educate you a little more, the “O” in “Gong” has a sound like the English word “oh.”
The popular Chinese dish “Kung Pao Chicken” suffers from the same problem. It should actually be “Gong Bao Chicken.”
Historical note: Many will claim that Kung Fu was invented by the monks of the Shaolin monastery. This fact is argued in both directions by scholars of Chinese history. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the Shaolin Monks brought the original fame to Kung Fu many generations ago.
Japanese note: While most Japanese martial artists will recognize these characters, Katakana is more often used to approximate the pronunciation of "Kung Fu" with "カンフー." Some will argue as to whether this should be considered a Japanese word at all.
See Also: Bruce Lee
武藝 is a Korean Hanja title that means “martial arts” or “military skill.”
武藝 is also a word in Chinese but used more often in the context of Korean martial arts.
From Korean, this is romanized as either “mu ye” or “moo ye.”
If you want to order this in modern Korean Hangul, just click the Hangul characters in the pronunciation box next to the Korean flag above.
先生 is sensei, which is associated in the west with a master or instructor of karate, aikido, judo, and other Japanese martial arts.
In reality, this is a term of respect for almost any professional or skilled person (doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc.). Sometimes, it is used for musicians and artists who have achieved a certain level of fame, skill, or accomplishment.
It should be noted that this is also a courtesy title in Chinese but more like calling someone “mister” or “gentleman.” It doesn't have the “master” or “teacher” meaning in Chinese - see our Chinese “Master / Sifu / Shi Fu” entry if your audience is Chinese.
In Korean Hanja, this means teacher, instructor, schoolmaster, or schoolmistress.
This entry is for educational purposes. 先生 is kind of a strange thing to put on a wall scroll. It's a title that is used more orally to show respect rather than something written in calligraphy. If you feel it is appropriate in your circumstances, we will create a piece of sensei Japanese calligraphy artwork for you.
練 is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word that is the simplest way to say practice, train, drill, exercise, or to describe the effort taken to perfect one's skill.
心技体 is the Japanese title “shin gi tai” or “shingitai.”
This can refer to the three elements of Sumo wrestlers or martial artists, “heart-technique-physique.”
Here is what each character represents:
心 (shin) mind, heart, and spirit.
技 (gi) skill, knowledge, and experience.
体 (tai) body and physical effort.
心技体 have the same meanings in Chinese, though this title is used much more often in Japanese.
Skills cannot be perfected without perseverance in practice
不怕练不成就怕心不恒 literally translates as: Do not worry about not being able to master [a skill]; What [one should] be concerned about is lack of perseverance.
Figuratively, this means: One's skills cannot be perfected without perseverance in practice.
For me, I've learned that you can only get so much from school or studying. You've really got to do “on-the-job training” to perfect your ability and skill.
For martial arts students: You can read about a kick in a book, or someone can tell you about a certain kick but until you practice the kick, there's no way you'll master it.
五祖拳 is a martial arts concept (or school) known as Five Ancestors' Fist.
The first character means five.
The second means ancestor, forefather, or grandparents.
The third means fist.
The ancestors referred to by this title and whose attributes contribute to this style are as follows:
1. Grace of the White Crane.
2. Agility of the Monkey.
3. Precision and skill of Emperor Taizu (great mythical ancestor).
4. Power of Luohan (Buddhist arhat).
5. Breath of Damo (founder of Buddhism, or the first Buddha).
体術 is the martial arts term Tai Jutsu in Japanese Kanji.
Taijutsu is a general term referring to virtually all Japanese martial arts styles that involve the use of the body (perhaps not weapons). The literal meaning of 体術 is “body technique” or “body skill.”
I included the Chinese pronunciation, but this is rarely used in Chinese.
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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 | |
Skill Acquired Through Hard Training | 練功 练功 | renkou / renko | liàn gōng lian4 gong1 lian gong liangong | lien kung lienkung |
Art of Healing | 醫道 医道 | idou / ido | yī dào / yi1 dao4 / yi dao / yidao | i tao / itao |
Benevolent and Skilled Doctor | 妙手仁心懸壺濟世 妙手仁心悬壶济世 | miào shǒu rén xīn xuán hú jì shì miao4 shou3 ren2 xin1 xuan2 hu2 ji4 shi4 miao shou ren xin xuan hu ji shi | miao shou jen hsin hsüan hu chi shih | |
Benevolent and Skilled Doctor | 妙手仁心 | miào shǒu rén xīn miao4 shou3 ren2 xin1 miao shou ren xin miaoshourenxin | miao shou jen hsin miaoshoujenhsin |
|
Intelligence Intellect | 智能 / 知能 智能 | chinou / chino | zhì néng / zhi4 neng2 / zhi neng / zhineng | chih neng / chihneng |
Kenzo | 建造 | kenzou / kenzo | jiàn zào / jian4 zao4 / jian zao / jianzao | chien tsao / chientsao |
Kung Fu Gong Fu | 功夫 | kan fu / ku fu kanfu / kufu | gōng fu / gong1 fu / gong fu / gongfu | kung fu / kungfu |
Martial Arts | 武藝 武艺 | wǔ yì / wu3 yi4 / wu yi / wuyi | wu i / wui | |
Military Engineering | 工兵 | kouhei / kohei | gōng bīng gong1 bing1 gong bing gongbing | kung ping kungping |
Sensei Master Teacher Mister | 先生 | sen sei / sensei | xiān shēng xian1 sheng1 xian sheng xiansheng | hsien sheng hsiensheng |
Practice Train Drill | 練 练 | ren | liàn / lian4 / lian | lien |
Shingitai Shin Gi Tai | 心技体 | shin gi tai shingitai | xīn jì tǐ xin1 ji4 ti3 xin ji ti xinjiti | hsin chi t`i hsinchiti hsin chi ti |
Perseverance is the Key | 不怕練不成就怕心不恆 不怕练不成就怕心不恒 | bú pà liàn bù chéng jiù pà xīn bù héng bu2 pa4 lian4 bu4 cheng2 jiu4 pa4 xin1 bu4 heng2 bu pa lian bu cheng jiu pa xin bu heng | pu p`a lien pu ch`eng chiu p`a hsin pu heng pu pa lien pu cheng chiu pa hsin pu heng |
|
Wing Chun Kung Fu | 詠春功夫 咏春功夫 | yǒng chūn gōng fu yong3 chun1 gong1 fu yong chun gong fu yongchungongfu | yung ch`un kung fu yungchunkungfu yung chun kung fu |
|
Five Ancestors Fist | 五祖拳 | wǔ zǔ quán wu3 zu3 quan2 wu zu quan wuzuquan | wu tsu ch`üan wutsuchüan wu tsu chüan |
|
Tai Jutsu | 體術 体術 | tai jutsu / taijutsu | tǐ shù / / | |
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 Skill Kanji, Skill Characters, Skill in Mandarin Chinese, Skill Characters, Skill in Chinese Writing, Skill in Japanese Writing, Skill in Asian Writing, Skill Ideograms, Chinese Skill symbols, Skill Hieroglyphics, Skill Glyphs, Skill in Chinese Letters, Skill Hanzi, Skill in Japanese Kanji, Skill Pictograms, Skill in the Chinese Written-Language, or Skill in the Japanese Written-Language.
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