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慾 means desire, longing, appetite, wish, covetousness, greed, passion, desire, avarice, and craving.
慾 is universal in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.
The context in which this character is used determines whether the meaning is good or bad. As a single character on a wall scroll, you get to decide what the definition is to you (hopefully more toward desire than greed).
Please note that Japanese use a simplified version of this character - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version of desire.
無 is the simple way to express “nothing.”
However, this single character leaves a bit of mystery as to what you might really mean if you hang it as a wall scroll. I'm not saying that's a bad thing; as you can decide what it means to you, and you won't be wrong if you stay within the general context.
More info: 無 is usually used as a suffix or prefix for Chinese and Japanese words (also old Korean). It can be compared to “un-” or “-less” in English. It can also mean “not to have,” no, none, not, “to lack,” or nothingness.
涅槃/涅盤 are the Chinese characters that mean Nirvāṇa. I will let you decide what Nirvana means to you.
This can also be translated as “Buddha's death and salvation” or “death of a Buddhist monk,” depending on the context. However, this is not seen with any bad meaning. You could replace “death” with “moving on,” as that is how it's seen in a Buddhist context.
More info from our dictionary: Nirvana
參禪 is a title that speaks of reaching an understanding (of Zen or the world). It also means “to practice meditation.” The two concepts lead you to the idea that meditation leads to understanding. 參禪 is pretty deep, so you can do your research or decide what this means for you.
This can also be defined in a more complex way as “thoroughly penetrating with meditative insight.”
友 is the simplest way to express the idea of friends or friendship in Chinese.
It can mean friend, companion, or pal in Japanese. In Korean, it can mean friend, companion, or associate.
This single character is open to interpretation, so it can mean different things to different people (not necessarily a bad thing, as you can decide what it means to you). If you want a more concisely-defined word, you should probably pick one of our multi-character friendship-related words.
See Also: Best Friends | Friendly | Friendship
平 is a single character that means balance in Chinese but it's not too direct or too specific about what kind of balance.
Chinese people often like calligraphy art that is a little vague or mysterious. In this way, you can decide what it means to you, and you'll be right.
平 is also part of a word that means peace in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.
Some alternate translations of this single character include: balanced, peaceful, calm, equal, even, level, smooth, or flat.
Note that in Japanese, this just means “level” or “flat” by itself (not the best choice for balance if your audience is Japanese).
ache / sorrow
痛 means pain in Chinese and old Korean Hanja. It also means pain/hurt/bruise in Japanese but is seldom seen as a single Kanji (usually, at least a Hiragana is added to make the word “itai” which is what a Japanese person will scream when they are in pain).
Depending on the context, this word can mean hurt, ache, sorrow, or refer to damage to a human body. As a single character, the possible meanings are very open - so you can decide what it means to you, as long as the general meaning is still “painful.”
See Also: Hurt
忍 contains the ideas of patience, equanimity, perseverance, forbearance, and endurance. Alone, this single character can be a bit ambiguous or flexible. It can also mean to endure, to bear, to put up with, or to conceal. If you want to simply decide what this character means to you within the general meaning but keep it a mystery to others, this is a good choice.
If you want to be more direct, you may want to choose one of our other selections that mean perseverance or patience (you will see this character within those larger words/phrases).
There is a secondary meaning in Japanese since this is the first character of the word ninja.
Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write it in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this Kanji form (yes, it's just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in the Japanese Kanji form).
See Also: Perseverance | Patience | Tenacious
專心 makes a word that means “paying attention with your heart.”
It's often translated as “dedication,” as in “be absorbed in” or “concentrate one's efforts.” It's also used to mean “with the single mind,” “whole-heartedly,” “paying attention,” “undivided attention,” “concentration (-ed),” “engrossed,” “devotionally (listening/watching),” and/or “attentive.”
The first character means “for a particular person, occasion, or purpose,” “focused on one single thing,” “concentrated,” and sometimes, “special.”
The second character means “heart” or “mind” by itself.
My favorite translation, which comes from the Oxford Advanced Chinese/English Dictionary, is, “wholehearted devotion.”
If it seems like the meaning of this word is quite open, you are correct. The context in which the word is used matters a lot. It can mean different things depending on how you use it. This makes it kind of nice as you can decide what this means to you (within some limits). This is always positive in meaning, so even if a Chinese person reads it differently than you, it will still have a good meaning.
In Japanese, they tend to use a variation of the second character which has one less stroke. If you want your calligraphy written this Japanese form, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note: Japanese and Chinese people will recognize either form.
迷 is one of those characters that can mean a lot of different things depending on context. When written alone, as a single character on a wall scroll, it opens up the possibilities and allows you to decide what it means to you.
The key definition is “to be lost.” This could be physically or mentally lost. It can be someone lost in their thoughts, lost in an ocean, or just confused about where they are. The reason for the confused state may be due to internal or external reasons.
Here are some entries from various Asian dictionaries...
Chinese: lost, confused, bewilder, crazy about, fan, enthusiast, mystery.
Japanese: lost, astray, perplexed, in doubt, err, illusion.
Korean: lost, bewildered, fascinated, deluded.
靈氣 is the title of a healing practice now found globally but with origins in Japan.
Special note: Outside of the context of the healing practice of Reiki, this means “aura” or “spiritual essence that surrounds all living things.” A Japanese person unfamiliar with the practice will take the “aura” meaning.
Reiki is a technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also heals. It can be compared to massage but is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If your life force energy is low, you'll be more likely to get sick or feel stressed. If your life force energy is abundant and flowing well, you become more capable of being happy and healthy.
There is a lot of information available if you want to Google this term - my job is to offer the calligraphy while you can decide if it is right for you.
Note: We are showing the ancient (traditional) form of the Reiki Kanji. I have seen Reiki written with the slightly simplified version and this more classic form. If you want the form of Reiki with the two strokes in the shape of an X on the second character and the modern first character, simply click on the Kanji characters to the right.
Note: 靈氣 is also a Chinese word, but in Chinese, these characters create a word that refers to a smart person or someone with high aspirations. It is not read as a healing method in Chinese.
In Korean Hanja, this can be read as a “mysterious atmosphere” by a Korean who is not familiar with the practice of Reiki (still has a cool meaning in Korean).
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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 | |
Desire Longing Craving | 慾 欲 | yoku | yù / yu4 / yu | yü |
Nothing Nothingness | 無 无 | mu | wú / wu2 / wu | |
Nirvana | 涅槃 / 涅盤 涅盘 | ne han / nehan | niè pán / nie4 pan2 / nie pan / niepan | nieh p`an / niehpan / nieh pan |
Zen Understanding | 參禪 参禅 | cān chán / can1 chan2 / can chan / canchan | ts`an ch`an / tsanchan / tsan chan | |
Friend Friendship | 友 | tomo | yǒu / you3 / you | yu |
Balance Peace | 平 | hira | píng / ping2 / ping | p`ing / ping |
Pain | 痛 | tsuu / ita / tsu / ita | tòng / tong4 / tong | t`ung / tung |
Patience Perseverance | 忍 | nin | rěn / ren3 / ren | jen |
Devotion Dedication Attentive Focused | 專心 / 専心 / 耑心 专心 | sen shin / senshin | zhuān xīn zhuan1 xin1 zhuan xin zhuanxin | chuan hsin chuanhsin |
Lost Dazed and Confused | 迷 | mei | mí / mi2 / mi | |
Reiki | 靈氣 灵气 霊気 | reiki | líng qì / ling2 qi4 / ling qi / lingqi | ling ch`i / lingchi / ling chi |
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.
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