Success in Chinese...

This Chinese and Japanese word for “success” is often used to refer to “career success” but is also used for other successes in life.

It matches the western dictionary definition of “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.” And It's also used in this old Chinese proverb: which means Failure is the Mother of Success.

Sometimes this word is translated as prosperity, but success, succeed, or successfully are more correct definitions.

See Also:  Prosperity

得誌 is a Chinese word that means to accomplish one's ambition, a dream come true, or to enjoy your success.

成就 is the word most often used in Chinese, Korean and Japanese to mean accomplishment or achievement.

成就 can also be used to mean success, attain a result, fulfillment, realization, or completion.

失败是成功之母 is a Chinese and Korean proverb that means “Every failure that you experience is a chance to learn from it and find success.”

Knowing what does not work is just as important as finding out what does work.

See Also:  Experience is the Mother of Wisdom

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.

大展宏圖 is a four-character proverb used in Chinese to mean “realize your ambitions” or “exhibit your ambition and success.”

It's used to talk about someone with great career ambitions. Almost literally, it expresses the idea of someone unfolding a great career like a map or a set of blueprint plans.

Very literally translated, these four characters mean “Great unfolding of a huge map” or “Great exhibition of a colossal plan.”

所有的成功都無法補償家庭的失敗 is a Chinese proverb that can be translated into English as “No success can compensate for failure in the home.”

Also, the word “home” can be exchanged with “family.”

不怕风浪大就怕桨不齐 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Do not fear strong winds [and] high waves; what [one should] worry about whether or not you're rowing in unison.

Figuratively, this means: However difficult the task, the key to success lies in making collective efforts.

I like to translate this as “Don't sweat the details, just get together and get it done.”

挨一拳得一招挨十拳變諸葛 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Receive one blow, [and one] learns a lesson; Receive ten blows, [and one] becomes a great Zhuge [Liang].

You must first understand that a man named Zhuge Liang was one of the great strategists and philosophers in Chinese history. He's known as a man of great wisdom.

Figuratively, this phrase means:
One can learn much from failure or “hard knocks.”

不撒大網不得大魚 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: [if one does] not cast a big net, [one can] not get big fish.

Figuratively, this means: One cannot make great accomplishments without making great efforts or taking great pains.

This is sort of the fishing version of, “No pain, no gain.”

百胜难虑敌三折乃良医 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: [Even a general who has won a] hundred victories [may be] hard put to see through the enemy's [strategy], [but one who has] broken [his] arm three [times] [will] be a good doctor.

Figuratively, this means: One cannot always depend on past successes to guarantee future success but one can always learn from lessons drawn from failure.

See Also:  Failure - Mother of Success | Experience - Mother of Success | Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 | Hard Knocks

失敗並非一種選擇 is probably the best way to say, “Failure is not an option,” in Chinese.

Just don't forget that some ancient Chinese proverbs suggest that failure is a learning opportunity that leads to success or innovation. So don't plan to fail but failure is only a waste if nothing is learned from the failure.

See Also:  Failure is a Stepping Stone to Success | Failure is the Mother of Success

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

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.

經驗是智慧之母 is a Chinese proverb that makes the simplest connection between experience and wisdom.

See Also:  Failure is the Mother of Success | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

千慮一得 means “1000 tries, one success,” or “[a] thousand tries [leads to] one success.”

This proverb is a humble way to express your success, ideas, or accomplishments. As if you are a fool who just got lucky in inventing or creating something.

Translations for this proverb include:
Even without any notable ability on my part, I may still get it right sometimes by good luck.
Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea.

Compare this to the English idiom, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

幸福成功的一生 means “A life of happiness and prosperity” or “A life of happiness and success.”

It's a very positive and inspirational wall scroll selection.

See Also:  Prosperity

百尺竿头更进一步 is a proverb that literally translates as: [Even a] one-hundred foot [tall] bamboo [can] progress even one [more] step.

Figuratively, this means: After having achieved a fair degree of success, one should try to do still better.

興盛 means to flourish and thrive.

This can also be translated as prosperity, flourishing, thriving, to blossom, prospering, being successful, or achieving success.

Can also be the given name Okimori in Japanese.

黑八馬 means “eight black horses” in Chinese.

This is an unusual title for calligraphy, but several people have searched for it, so we added it.
Eight horses are a sign of success in business in Chinese culture.

勤勉 can be translated as diligence, industrious, assiduity, assiduous, diligent, or sedulity.

Diligence is working hard and doing your absolute best. You take special care by doing things step by step. Diligence helps you to get things done with excellence and enthusiasm. Diligence leads to success.

See Also:  Hard Work | Tenacity | Commitment | Passion for a Cause

母 is a way to say mother in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This can also be an honorary title for an elderly female relative.

Sometimes this can refer to the origin or source of something. Examples: A spring might be the mother of a river, or experience could be the mother of success.

滴水穿石 is a Chinese proverb that means, dripping water penetrates stone.

The figurative meaning can be translated as:
Constant perseverance yields success.
You can achieve your aim if you try hard without giving up.
Persistent effort overcomes any difficulty.

While 滴水穿石 is the most common character order, you will likely see 水滴石穿, might see 滴水石穿, and will rarely see 小水穿石 in the wild.

興隆 is a kind of prosperity that applies to a business. Something great to hang behind your desk if you are a small or large business owner. Doing so says that you either are a booming business or you wish success and prosperity for your business.

Can also be translated as thriving, flourishing, brisk business, and other words related to prosperity in business.

A good meaning in China but is a little antiquated in Japanese.

See Also:  Prosperity

There is more than one way to translate the ancient Chinese military proverb, 平时多流汗战时少流血. Here are a few interpretations:

A drop of sweat spent in a drill is a drop of blood saved in war.

More practice will give one a better chance of success in real situations.

The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.

I heard this many times when I was a U.S. Marine but I had no idea at the time that it was actually an old Chinese proverb.

See Also:  Blood Sweat and Tears

龍馬精神虎虎生威 is an old proverb that is used to wish someone great health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is “The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse and the power and prestige of the tiger.”

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have these qualities. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse would seem to also be in good health.

勝 is a single character that means to win or be victorious.

This can also be translated: To overcome; success; to beat; to defeat; to surpass; superior to; to get the better of; better than; surpassing; superb.

In another context, this can mean beautiful (scenery); scenic spot; or scenic beauty.

In Taiwanese Mandarin, this can be pronounced with the first tone (sheng1) and mean: Able to bear; equal to (a task).

In Japan, this can also be the name Masaru.

In Korea, this has the same meaning but can also be the surname Sŭng.

嘗試 is a close match for the English phrase “let us try” or the French word “Essayons.”

Essayons the motto of Combat Engineers in the U.S. Army.

This word can also be translated as “to try” or “to attempt.”

Even if you're not a Combat Engineer, this word should inspire you to attempt to accomplish difficult things. If you don't try, you are certain to fail; if you do try, at least there is a chance of success.

The worst thing is not failure, the worst thing is not trying at all.

龍馬精神 is an old proverb that is used to wish someone good health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is “The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse.” These four characters are often accompanied by four more which mean “...and the power and prestige of the tiger.” Here we are just offering the first part which is considered the short version.

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have an amazing quality. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse would seem to also be in good health.

Note: In Japanese, this would be read as the spirit of 坂本龍馬 (Sakamoto_Ryōma), a beloved rebel who help abolish the old Japanese feudal system. This can be confusing, so I am declaring this proverb to be Chinese only.

Many things have opposite properties. The water you drink can also drown you. Pork may nourish you and keep you alive but under-cook it and it could kill you. Potassium nitrate is often used as a fertilizer to grow the food that sustains us but it's also been used as an explosive to topple buildings and destroy us.

This concept is easily associated with “yin yang” where an element has two opposite properties that are as different as night and day.

This proverb's meaning can be summed up this way: “Anything that can lead you to success may also contain great risks.”

This phrase is known in literary circles by Korean people (scholars or literature). It is therefore also a valid proverb in Korean Hanja, though most Koreans would not be able to make sense of it.

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.

鵬程萬里 is an ancient Chinese proverb used in modern times to wish someone a long and successful career.

It's really about the 10,000 Flight of the Peng (Peng, also known as Roc is a mythical fish that can turn into a bird and take flight).

莊子
Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu

Breaking down each character:
1. Peng or Roc (a kind of bird).
2. Journey (in this case, a flight).
3. 10,000 (Ten Thousand).
4. Li is a unit of distance often referred to as a “Chinese Mile,” though the real distance is about half a kilometer.

Direct Translation: “Peng's Journey [of] 10,000 Li.”
Literal meaning: “The 10,000-Li Flying Range Of The Roc.”
Perceived meaning: “To have a bright future” or “To go far.”

This proverb/idiom comes from the book of Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu. It tells the tale of a huge fish that could turn into a gigantic bird. This bird was called a “peng” and was many miles long. This legendary size allowed the Peng to fly from the Northern Sea to the Southern Sea in a single bound.

Wishing someone “a Peng's Journey of 10,000 Li” will imply that they can travel far without stopping and will have great success, a long career, and a prosperous future.