Buy an 叩頭 calligraphy wall scroll here!
叩頭 is the term that seems to be known worldwide as kowtow.
In Japanese and Chinese, it simply means a deep bow, especially one so low that one's head touches the ground in submission. However, in western culture, it has sometimes come to mean “giving in” or “surrendering to someone else's will.” Sometimes even said of a person who stoops to flattery at the expense of their dignity.
I don't know if you would really want this on a wall scroll, but enough people have searched for this term on our website that I guess it was time to add it. It just feels strange to see such a word on a wall scroll, so please order with caution. 叩頭 is antiquated in both Japanese and Chinese. The act is seldom done anymore and is seen as an ancient ritual.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 叩頭 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
叩頭 叩头 see styles |
kòu tóu kou4 tou2 k`ou t`ou kou tou koutou / koto こうとう |
More info & calligraphy: Kowtow - The deepest bow(n,vs,vi) kowtow (bow made from a kneeling position wherein the forehead touches the ground) |
叩頭く see styles |
nukatsuku ぬかづく nukazuku ぬかつく |
(v5k,vi) to kowtow (to bow from a kneeling position such that the forehead touches the ground); to prostrate oneself; to give a deep, reverent bow |
叩頭虫 see styles |
nukatsukimushi ぬかつきむし nukazukimushi ぬかずきむし kometsukimushi こめつきむし |
(kana only) click beetle; skipjack (beetle of family Elateridae) |
Variations: |
kometsukimushi; nukazukimushi(叩頭虫, 額突虫); nukatsukimushi(叩頭虫, 額突虫); kometsukimushi こめつきむし; ぬかずきむし(叩頭虫, 額突虫); ぬかつきむし(叩頭虫, 額突虫); コメツキムシ |
(kana only) click beetle; skipjack (beetle of family Elateridae) |
Variations: |
nukazuku(額zuku, 額突ku, 叩頭ku, 額衝ku); nukazuku(額zuku, 額突ku, 叩頭ku, 額衝ku); nukatsuku(額突ku, 叩頭ku, 額衝ku)(ok) ぬかずく(額ずく, 額突く, 叩頭く, 額衝く); ぬかづく(額づく, 額突く, 叩頭く, 額衝く); ぬかつく(額突く, 叩頭く, 額衝く)(ok) |
(v5k,vi) to kowtow (to bow from a kneeling position such that the forehead touches the ground); to prostrate oneself; to give a deep, reverent bow |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Kowtow - The deepest bow | 叩頭 叩头 | koutou / koto | kòu tóu / kou4 tou2 / kou tou / koutou | k`ou t`ou / koutou / kou tou |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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.