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(Used in Japanese version of five elements)
空 is a single character that means empty, void, hollow, vacant, vacuum, blank, nonexistent, vacuity, voidness, emptiness, non-existence, immateriality, unreality, the false or illusory nature of all existence, and being unreal.
In the Buddhist context, this relates to the doctrine that all phenomena and the ego have no reality but are composed of a certain number of skandhas or elements, which disintegrate. The void, the sky, space. The universal, the absolute, complete abstraction without relativity. The doctrine further explains that all things are compounds, or unstable organisms, possessing no self-essence, i.e. are dependent, or caused, come into existence only to perish. The underlying reality, the principle of eternal relativity, or non-infinity, i.e. śūnya, permeates all phenomena making possible their evolution.
From Sanskrit and/or Pali, this is the translation to Chinese and Japanese of the title śūnya or śūnyatā.
In Japanese, when pronounced as “ron” (sounds like “roan”) this can be a given name. It should be noted that this Kanji has about 5 different possible pronunciations in Japanese: kuu, kara, sora, ron, and uro. 空 is also an element in the Japanese version of the five elements.
虛空 means empty space, empty sky, or void.
In the Buddhist context, it can mean “emptiness of the material world.” This can also be used as an adjective to modify other words with a meaning of unreal or insubstantial.
眞智 can mean the wisdom or knowledge of ultimate truth.
眞智 is also the absolute knowledge of the non-thing or that which is immaterial. This makes more sense when you consider that true wisdom includes the knowledge of both the real and unreal, or what is material and immaterial.
In Japan, 眞智 (Masatoshi) can also be a given name.
虚実 is a Japanese word that means “falsehood [and] truth” or “fiction [and] fact.”
This concept is used in warfare, gameplay, and martial arts strategies. 虚実 can be a strategy of real and/or deceptive moves. This gets to some Sun Tzu Art of War stuff where in warfare a strategic move is either a real and serious move or it is a deceptive blow.
Let's explore each character in more depth:
虚 was originally written 虛 (there is a very subtle difference in the strokes at the bottom of the character) and means unpreparedness, falsehood, emptiness, void, abstract theory, empty or unoccupied, diffident or timid, false, humble or modest, virtual, or in vain.
In the Buddhist context, 虛 represents the Pali/Sanskrit word “śūnya,” meaning empty, vacant, unreal, unsubstantial, untrue, space, humble, or in vain.
In ancient Eastern/Chinese astronomy, 虛 represents the “Emptiness” constellation (one of the 28 mansions in the sky).
実 was originally 實 in Chinese (they currently write it as 实 in Simplified Chinese) with the meaning, truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, fidelity, and substance.
The Buddhist context is similar, adding real, true, honest, really, solid, definitely, sincere, solid, fixed, full, to fill, fruit, kernel, verily, in fact, the supreme fact, or ultimate reality to the definition.
These search terms might be related to Unreal:
Respect Out of Fear is Never Genuine; Reverence Out of Respect is Never False
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your unreal search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
法 see styles |
fǎ fa3 fa hou / ho ほう |
More info & calligraphy: Dharma / The Law(n,n-suf) (1) law; act; principle; (n,n-suf) (2) method; (n,n-suf) (3) {gramm} mood; (n,n-suf) (4) {Buddh} dharma; law; (female given name) Minori Dharma, 達磨; 曇無 (or 曇摩); 達摩 (or 達謨) Law, truth, religion, thing, anything Buddhist. Dharma is 'that which is held fast or kept, ordinance, statute, law, usage, practice, custom'; 'duty'; 'right'; 'proper'; 'morality'; 'character'. M. W. It is used in the sense of 一切 all things, or anything small or great, visible or invisible, real or unreal, affairs, truth, principle, method, concrete things, abstract ideas, etc. Dharma is described as that which has entity and bears its own attributes. It connotes Buddhism as the perfect religion; it also has the second place in the triratna 佛法僧, and in the sense of 法身 dharmakāya it approaches the Western idea of 'spiritual'. It is also one of the six media of sensation, i. e. the thing or object in relation to mind, v. 六塵. |
空 see styles |
kòng kong4 k`ung kung kuu / ku くう |
More info & calligraphy: Sky / Ether / Void / Emptiness / Unreality(1) empty air; sky; (2) {Buddh} shunyata (the lack of an immutable intrinsic nature within any phenomenon); emptiness; (3) (abbreviation) (See 空軍) air force; (noun or adjectival noun) (4) fruitlessness; meaninglessness; (noun or adjectival noun) (5) (See 五大・1) void (one of the five elements); (can be adjective with の) (6) {math} empty (e.g. set); (female given name) Ron śūnya, empty, void, hollow, vacant, nonexistent. śūnyatā, 舜若多, vacuity, voidness, emptiness, non-existence, immateriality, perhaps spirituality, unreality, the false or illusory nature of all existence, the seeming 假 being unreal. The doctrine that all phenomena and the ego have no reality, but are composed of a certain number of skandhas or elements, which disintegrate. The void, the sky, space. The universal, the absolute, complete abstraction without relativity. There are classifications into 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 16, and 18 categories. The doctrine is that all things are compounds, or unstable organisms, possessing no self-essence, i.e. are dependent, or caused, come into existence only to perish. The underlying reality, the principle of eternal relativity, or non-infinity, i.e. śūnya, permeates all phenomena making possible their evolution. From this doctrine the Yogācārya school developed the idea of the permanent reality, which is Essence of Mind, the unknowable noumenon behind all phenomena, the entity void of ideas and phenomena, neither matter nor mind, but the root of both. |
三諦 三谛 see styles |
sān dì san1 di4 san ti santai; sandai さんたい; さんだい |
More info & calligraphy: The Three TruthsThe three dogmas. The "middle" school of Tiantai says 卽空, 卽假. 卽中 i.e. 就是空, 假, 中; (a) by 空śūnya is meant that things causally produced are intheir essential nature unreal (or immaterial) 實空無; (b) 假, though thingsare unreal in their essential nature their derived forms are real; (c) 中;but both are one, being of the one 如 reality. These three dogmas arefounded on a verse of Nāgārjuna's— 因緣所生法, 我說卽是空 亦爲是假名, 亦是中道義 "All causally produced phenomena, I say, areunreal, Are but a passing name, and indicate the 'mean'." There are otherexplanations— the 圓教 interprets the 空 and 假 as 中; the 別教 makes 中 independent. 空 is the all, i.e. the totality of all things, and is spokenof as the 眞 or 實 true, or real; 假 is the differentiation of all thingsand is spoken of as 俗 common, i.e. things as commonly named; 中 is theconnecting idea which makes a unity of both, e.g. "all are but parts of onestupendous whole." The 中 makes all and the all into one whole, unifying thewhole and its parts. 空 may be taken as the immaterial, the undifferentiatedall, the sum of existences, by some as the tathāgatagarbha 如來藏; 假as theunreal, or impermanent, the material or transient form, the temporal thatcan be named, the relative or discrete; 中 as the unifier, which places eachin the other and all in all. The "shallower" 山外 school associated 空 and 中 with the noumenal universe as opposed to the phenomenal and illusoryexistence represented by 假. The "profounder" 山内 school teaches that allthree are aspects of the same. |
伋 see styles |
jí ji2 chi |
unreal |
假 see styles |
jià jia4 chia ke |
vacation To borrow, pretend, assume, suppose; unreal, false, fallacious. In Buddhism it means empirical; nothing is real and permanent, all is temporal and merely phenomenal, fallacious, and unreal; hence the term is used in the sense of empirical, phenomenal, temporal, relative, unreal, seeming, fallacious, etc. The three fundamental propositions or 三諦 are 空假中 the void, or noumenon; the empirical, or phenomenal; and the mean. |
虛 虚 see styles |
xū xu1 hsü kyo |
emptiness; void; abstract theory or guiding principles; empty or unoccupied; diffident or timid; false; humble or modest; (of health) weak; virtual; in vain śūnya. Empty, vacant; unreal, unsubstantial, untrue; space; humble; in vain. |
三假 see styles |
sān jiǎ san1 jia3 san chia sanke |
prajñāpti. The word 假 q.v. in Buddhist terminology means that everything is merely phenomenal, and consists of derived elements; nothing therefore has real existeme, but all is empty and unreal, 虛妄不實. The three 假 are 法 things, 受 sensations, and 名 names. |
三智 see styles |
sān zhì san1 zhi4 san chih michi みち |
(female given name) Michi The three kinds of wisdom: (1) (a) 一切智 śrāvaka and pratyeka-buddha knowledge that all the dharma or laws are 空 void and unreal; (b) 道種智 bodhisattva-knowledge. of all things in their proper discrimination; (c) 一切種智 Buddha-knowledge, or perfect knowledge of all things in their every aspect and relationship past, present, and future. Tiantai associates the above with 室, 候, 中. (2) (a) 世間智 earthly or ordinary wisdom; (b) 出世間智 supra-mundane, or spiritual (śrāvaka and pratyeka-buddha) wisdom; (c) 出世間上上智 supreme wisdom of bodhisattvas and Buddhas. v. 智度論 27, 止觀 3, and 概伽經 3. Cf. — 心三智. |
三觀 三观 see styles |
sān guān san1 guan1 san kuan sangan |
The three studies, meditations, or insights. The most general group is that of Tiantai: (a) 空觀 study of all as void, or immaterial; (b) 假觀 of all as unreal, transient, or temporal; (c) 中觀 as the via media inclusive of both. The Huayan group is 眞空觀, 理事無礙觀 and 周遍含容觀, see 華嚴經:法界觀. The 南山 group is 性空觀, 相空觀, and 唯識觀. The 慈恩 group is 有觀, 空觀 and 中觀. |
不實 不实 see styles |
bù shí bu4 shi2 pu shih fujitsu |
untruthful; untrue unreal |
二空 see styles |
èr kōng er4 kong1 erh k`ung erh kung nikū |
The two voids, unrealities, or immaterialities; v. 空. There are several antitheses: (1) (a) 人空; 我空 The non-reality of the atman, the soul, the person; (6) 法空 the non-reality of things. (2) (a) 性空 The Tiantai division that nothing has a nature of its own; (b) 相空 therefore its form is unreal, i.e. forms are temporary names. (3) (a) 但空 Tiantai says the 藏 and 通 know only the 空; (b) 不但空 the 別 and 圓 have 空, 假, and 中 q.v. (4) (a) 如實空 The division of the 起信論 that the 眞如 is devoid of all impurity; (b) 如實不空 and full of all merit, or achievement. |
信忍 see styles |
xìn rěn xin4 ren3 hsin jen shinnin |
Faith-patience, faith-endurance: (1) To abide patiently in the faith and repeat the name of Amitābha. (2) To believe in the Truth and attain the nature of patient faith. (3) According to Tiantai the 別教 meaning is the unperturbed faith of the Bodhisattva (that all dharma is unreal). |
倶空 see styles |
jù kōng ju4 kong1 chü k`ung chü kung kukū |
Both or all empty, or unreal, i.e. both ego and things have no reality. |
假名 see styles |
jiǎ míng jia3 ming2 chia ming karina かりな |
false name; pseudonym; alias; pen name; the Japanese kana scripts; hiragana 平假名[ping2 jia3 ming2] and katakana 片假名[pian4 jia3 ming2] (out-dated kanji) kana; Japanese syllabary (i.e. hiragana, katakana); (surname) Karina Unreal names, i. e. nothing has a name of itself, for all names are mere human appellations. |
假實 假实 see styles |
jiǎ shí jia3 shi2 chia shih ke jitsu |
False and true, unreal and real, empirical and real, etc. |
兎角 see styles |
tù jiǎo tu4 jiao3 t`u chiao tu chiao tokaku とかく |
(adv,adj-no,n,vs) (1) (kana only) (doing) various things; (doing) this and that; (2) (kana only) being apt to; being prone to; tending to become; (3) (kana only) somehow or other; anyhow; anyway; (4) (Buddhist term) rabbit horns (used as a metaphor for things that do not exist) śaśa-viṣāṇa; śaśa-śṛṅga; a rabbit's horns, i.e. the non-existent; all phenomena are as unreal as a rabbit's horns. |
八迷 see styles |
bā mí ba1 mi2 pa mi hachimei |
The eight misleading terms, which form the basis of the logic of the 中論, i.e. 生 birth, 滅 death, 去 past, 來 future, 一 identity, 異 difference, 斷 annihilation, 常 perpetuity (or eternity). The 三論宗 regards these as unreal; v. 八不中道. |
六麤 六粗 see styles |
liù cū liu4 cu1 liu ts`u liu tsu rokuso |
The six 'coarser' stages arising from the 三細 or three finer stages which in turn are produced by original 無明, the unenlightened condition of ignorance; v. Awakening of Faith 起信論. They are the states of (1) 智相 knowledge or consciousness of like and dislike arising from mental conditions; (2) 相續相 consciousness of pain and pleasure resulting from the first, causing continuous responsive memory; (3) 執取相 attachment or clinging, arising from the last; (4) 計名字相 assigning names according to the seeming and unreal with fixation of ideas); (5) 起業 the consequent activity with all the variety of deeds; (6) 業繋苦相 the suffering resulting from being tied to deeds and their karma consequences. |
十宗 see styles |
shí zōng shi2 zong1 shih tsung jūshū |
The ten schools of Chinese Buddhism: I. The (1) 律宗 Vinaya-discipline, or 南山|; (2) 倶舍 Kośa, Abhidharma, or Reality (Sarvāstivādin) 有宗; (3) 成實宗 Satyasiddhi sect founded on this śāstra by Harivarman; (4) 三論宗 Mādhyamika or 性空宗; (5) 法華宗 Lotus, "Law-flower" or Tiantai 天台宗; (6) 華嚴Huayan or法性 or賢首宗; ( 7) 法相宗 Dharmalakṣana or 慈恩宗 founded on the唯識論 (8) 心宗 Ch'an or Zen, mind-only or intuitive, v. 禪宗 ; (9) 眞言宗 (Jap. Shingon) or esoteric 密宗 ; (10) 蓮宗 Amitābha-lotus or Pure Land (Jap. Jōdo) 淨士宗. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 9th are found in Japan rather than in China, where they have ceased to be of importance. II. The Hua-yen has also ten divisions into ten schools of thought: (1) 我法倶有 the reality of self (or soul) and things, e.g. mind and matter; (2) 法有我無 the reality of things but not of soul; (3) 法無去來 things have neither creation nor destruction; (4) 現通假實 present things are both apparent and real; (5) 俗妄眞實 common or phenomenal ideas are wrong, fundamental reality is the only truth; (6) things are merely names; (7) all things are unreal 空; (8) the bhūtatathatā is not unreal; (9) phenomena and their perception are to be got rid of; (10) the perfect, all-inclusive, and complete teaching of the One Vehicle. III. There are two old Japanese divisions: 大乘律宗, 倶舎宗 , 成實 宗 , 法和宗 , 三論宗 , 天台宗 , 華嚴宗 , 眞言宗 , 小乘律宗 , and 淨土宗 ; the second list adds 禪宗 and omits 大乘律宗. They are the Ritsu, Kusha, Jōjitsu, Hossō, Sanron, Tendai, Kegon, Shingon, (Hīnayāna) Ritsu, and Jōdo; the addition being Zen. |
十門 十门 see styles |
shí mén shi2 men2 shih men jūmon |
The ten "doors" or connections between事 and 理; 事 is defined as 現象 form and 理 as 本體 substance; the common illustration of wave and water indicates the idea thus expressed. The 理事無礎十門 means that in ten ways form and substance are not separate, unconnected entities. (1) li the substance is always present with shih the phenomena; (2) shih is always present with li; (3) shih depends on li for its existence; (4) the shih can reveal the li; (5) the shih (mere form, which is unreal) can disappear in the li;(6) the shih can conceal the li; (7) the true li is the shih; (8) the shih is li; (9) the true li (or reality) is not the shih; (10) the shih is not the (whole) li; v. 華嚴大疏 2. 周遍含容觀十門 The fifth of the five 觀 meditations of the 華嚴宗, i.e. on li and shih, e.g. (1) the li is as the shih; (2) the shih is as the li; 理如事, 事如理 and so on. The 止觀十門 in the 宗鏡録35, also deals with li and shih chiefly for purposes of meditation. Another group, the 華嚴釋經十門, treats of the Canon and the schools. |
名假 see styles |
míng jiǎ ming2 jia3 ming chia myōke |
Name unreal; one of the 三假; names are not in themselves realities. |
名相 see styles |
míng xiàng ming2 xiang4 ming hsiang myōsō |
famous prime minister (in ancient China); names and appearances (Buddhism) Name and appearance; everything has a name, e. g. sound, or has appearance, i. e. the visible, v. 名色; both are unreal and give rise to delusion. The name under which Subhūti will be reborn as Buddha. |
四門 四门 see styles |
sì mén si4 men2 ssu men yotsukado よつかど |
(surname) Yotsukado The four doors, schools of thought, or theories: 有 is the phenomenal world real, or 空 unreal, or both, or neither ? According to the Tiantai school each of the four schools 四教 in discussing these four questions emphasizes one of them, i. e. 三藏教 that it is real 通教 unreal, 別通 both, 圓通 neither; v. 有 and 空, and each of the four schools. In esoteric symbolism the 四門 are four stages of initiation, development, enlightenment, and nirvana, and are associated with E., S., W., and N.; with the four seasons; with warmth, heat, coolness and cold, etc. |
執情 执情 see styles |
zhí qíng zhi2 qing2 chih ch`ing chih ching shūjō |
The foolish passion of clinging to the unreal. |
妄塵 妄尘 see styles |
wàng chén wang4 chen2 wang ch`en wang chen mōjin |
the unreal and unclean world. |
實空 实空 see styles |
shí kōng shi2 kong1 shih k`ung shih kung jikkū |
Absolute śūnya, or vacuity; all things being produced by cause and environment are unreal. |
幻心 see styles |
huàn xīn huan4 xin1 huan hsin genshin |
The illusion mind, or mind is unreal. |
慧眼 see styles |
huì yǎn hui4 yan3 hui yen keigan / kegan けいがん |
an all-seeing mind; mental perception; insight; acumen (noun or adjectival noun) keen eye; quick eye; sharp eye; keen insight; keen perception The wisdom-eye that sees all things as unreal. |
戲論 戏论 see styles |
xì lùn xi4 lun4 hsi lun keron |
prapañca. Sophistry; meaningless argument; frivolous or unreal discourse. |
於諦 于谛 see styles |
yú dì yu2 di4 yü ti otai |
All Buddha's teaching is 'based upon the dogmas' that all things are unreal, and that the world is illusion; a 三論 phrase. |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Sky Ether Void Emptiness Unreality | 空 | kuu / kara / sora / ron ku / kara / sora / ron | kōng / kong1 / kong | k`ung / kung |
Nothingness Empty Void | 虛空 虚空 | kokuu / koku | xū kōng / xu1 kong1 / xu kong / xukong | hsü k`ung / hsükung / hsü kung |
Knowledge of Ultimate Truth | 眞智 | masatoshi | zhēn zhì / zhen1 zhi4 / zhen zhi / zhenzhi | chen chih / chenchih |
Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth | 虚実 | kyo jitsu / kyojitsu | ||
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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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 Unreal Kanji, Unreal Characters, Unreal in Mandarin Chinese, Unreal Characters, Unreal in Chinese Writing, Unreal in Japanese Writing, Unreal in Asian Writing, Unreal Ideograms, Chinese Unreal symbols, Unreal Hieroglyphics, Unreal Glyphs, Unreal in Chinese Letters, Unreal Hanzi, Unreal in Japanese Kanji, Unreal Pictograms, Unreal in the Chinese Written-Language, or Unreal in the Japanese Written-Language.