Many custom options...

Tan Paper and Copper Silk Love Wall Scroll
Red Paper and Ivory Silk Love Wall Scroll
Orange Paper Love Scroll
Crazy Blue and Gold Silk Love Scroll


And formats...

Love Vertical Portrait
Love Horizontal Wall Scroll
Love Vertical Portrait

Not what you want?

Try other similar-meaning words, fewer words, or just one word.

White is to Black in Chinese / Japanese...

Buy a White is to Black calligraphy wall scroll here!

Personalize your custom “White is to Black” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “White is to Black” title below...


  1. Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice

  2. Black Belt

  3. Just as Liquor Turns a Face Red, Gold Turns a Heart Black

  4. Gray Color

  5. Equality

  6. Giant Panda

  7. Goldfish

  8. Panda Bear

  9. Rank Holder


Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice

Ability is more important than looks

 bù guǎn hēi māo bái māo néng zhuō zhe lǎo shǔ de jiù shì hǎo mǎo
Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice Scroll

不管黑猫白猫能捉着老鼠的就是好猫 literally translates as: It doesn't matter [if a] cat [is] black [or] white, [as long as it] can catch mice, it's a good cat.

This proverb was either composed or made famous by Deng XiaoPing in 1961 when he exclaimed, “I don't care if it's a white cat or a black cat. It's a good cat so long as it catches mice” when his critics pointed out that his ideas were Capitalistic (free market). The response was meant to say, “It does not matter if it's Communist or Capitalist, as long as it works.”

This is a Chinese proverb that can be used to suggest one should disregard looks or a person's race, as long as they can do the job. It can also be used as a metaphor for many other situations.


Deng XiaoPing probably saved China from collapse (as the Soviet Union experienced). He changed China’s economy from pure Communism to a hybrid where the free market (Capitalism) is encouraged. More about Deng XiaoPing

 hēi dài
Black Belt Scroll

黑帶 is “black belt” in Chinese.

Many will argue whether rank systems that include a “black belt” are used in pure Chinese martial arts systems. The argument goes that it's more a Japanese idea merged into the western versions of Chinese martial arts. However, in Wushu (often referred to as Kung Fu), it's said that all students started with white belts. Over the years of training, the white belt would get dirty until finally appearing black with filth. Thus, more advanced students had darker belts.

If you want this title in Chinese, this would be the form.


带 Often, the second character is written like the image to the right. If you like this version, click on this character instead of the button above.

Just as Liquor Turns a Face Red, Gold Turns a Heart Black

 bái jiǔ hóng rén miàn huáng jīn hēi shì xīn
Just as Liquor Turns a Face Red, Gold Turns a Heart Black Scroll

白酒紅人面黃金黑世心 literally says: [Just as] white liquor makes people's faces turn red, [So] yellow gold makes people's hearts turn black.

This is a warning about the nature of greed. The suggestion is that one who lusts for gold and riches will eventually have a black heart (or become a heartless greedy bastard). As a wall scroll, this is a reminder and warning to keep yourself from following the greedy path.

 huī sè
 haiiro
Gray Color Scroll

灰色 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for the color gray.

This can also mean ash gray, grizzly, pessimistic, gloomy, dispirited, ambiguous (not black and white), and the alternate spelling grey.

 píng děng
 byou dou
Equality Scroll

In Chinese, 平等 is the word that describes equality among all humans.

Yes, this is equality that means equality no matter of religion, whether you are rich or poor, gay or straight, black white or yellow.

In Japanese and Korean, this can be defined as equality, impartiality, and evenness (basically the same as the Chinese meaning).

 dà xióng māo
Giant Panda Scroll

大熊貓 is how to write “giant panda” in Chinese.

大熊貓 is specific to the “giant panda,” which has black and white fur. Not to be confused with other types of smaller pandas in China.

The literal meaning of these characters is “great/big bear cat.” Chinese do think of pandas as “cat-like bears.”


Note: In Japanese, they only express Giant Panda in Katakana, which is ジャイアント パンダ” (Jaianto Panda). So we have not included that for wall scroll orders.

 jīn yú
 kin gyo
Goldfish Scroll

金魚 is the title for goldfish in Chinese and Japanese.

There was a time in ancient China when only the Emperor could possess the actual yellow-gold colored fish. This is why alternate coloration such as orange, black, red, and white was bred. Many believe this is why colors other than yellow-gold are more common for “goldfish” in pet shops today.

 xióng māo
Panda Bear Scroll

熊貓 is how to write “panda” in Chinese.

熊貓 is kind of a generic term that is applied to all pandas. When most people think of panda bears, they are really thinking of the “giant panda,” which has black and white fur.

The literal meaning of these characters is “bear cat.” Chinese do think of pandas as “cat-like bears.”

Rank Holder

The one who has achieved rank in martial arts

 yǒu duàn zhě
 yuu dan sha
Rank Holder Scroll

有段者 is a Japanese term for someone who holds rank in karate, judo, etc.
This term theoretically applies to anyone with rank (above a white belt). However, some schools or dojos may reserve this title for a holder of a black belt.

I'd suggest that you only order this phrase if you have honestly reached this level.

This title does kind of make sense in Chinese but only to those Chinese who practice “kong shou dao” (karate) or when used in the context of martial arts.




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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice不管黑貓白貓能捉著老鼠的就是好貓
不管黑猫白猫能捉着老鼠的就是好猫
bù guǎn hēi māo bái māo néng zhuō zhe lǎo shǔ de jiù shì hǎo mǎo
bu4 guan3 hei1 mao1 bai2 mao1 neng2 zhuo1 zhe lao3 shu3 de jiu4 shi4 hao3 mao3
bu guan hei mao bai mao neng zhuo zhe lao shu de jiu shi hao mao
pu kuan hei mao pai mao neng cho che lao shu te chiu shih hao mao
Black Belt黑帶
黑带
hēi dài / hei1 dai4 / hei dai / heidaihei tai / heitai
Just as Liquor Turns a Face Red, Gold Turns a Heart Black白酒紅人面黃金黑世心
白酒红人面黄金黑世心
bái jiǔ hóng rén miàn huáng jīn hēi shì xīn
bai2 jiu3 hong2 ren2 mian4 huang2 jin1 hei1 shi4 xin1
bai jiu hong ren mian huang jin hei shi xin
pai chiu hung jen mien huang chin hei shih hsin
Gray Color灰色haiiro / hairohuī sè / hui1 se4 / hui se / huise
Equality平等byou dou / byoudou / byo dopíng děng
ping2 deng3
ping deng
pingdeng
p`ing teng
pingteng
ping teng
Giant Panda大熊貓
大熊猫
dà xióng māo
da4 xiong2 mao1
da xiong mao
daxiongmao
ta hsiung mao
tahsiungmao
Goldfish金魚
金鱼
kin gyo / kingyojīn yú / jin1 yu2 / jin yu / jinyuchin yü / chinyü
Panda Bear熊貓
熊猫
xióng māo
xiong2 mao1
xiong mao
xiongmao
hsiung mao
hsiungmao
Rank Holder有段者yuu dan sha
yuudansha
yu dan sha
yǒu duàn zhě
you3 duan4 zhe3
you duan zhe
youduanzhe
yu tuan che
yutuanche
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.


Dictionary

Lookup White is to Black in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


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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.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

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.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

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.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

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.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

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 White is to Black Kanji, White is to Black Characters, White is to Black in Mandarin Chinese, White is to Black Characters, White is to Black in Chinese Writing, White is to Black in Japanese Writing, White is to Black in Asian Writing, White is to Black Ideograms, Chinese White is to Black symbols, White is to Black Hieroglyphics, White is to Black Glyphs, White is to Black in Chinese Letters, White is to Black Hanzi, White is to Black in Japanese Kanji, White is to Black Pictograms, White is to Black in the Chinese Written-Language, or White is to Black in the Japanese Written-Language.