Buy a Snake / Serpent Chinese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options to create artwork with the character/symbol for Snake / Serpent on a wall scroll or portrait.

See also: Chinese Zodiac and Animal Signs


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  1. Snake / Serpent

  2. The Five Animals

  3. Fire Snake

  4. Viper

  5. Wu Xing Fist

  6. Ophiuchus

  7. Celestial Dragon / Tian Long

  8. Earth Snake

  9. Golden/Metal Snake

10. Water Snake

11. Wood Snake

12. Fire Snake


Snake / Serpent

Year of the Snake / Zodiac Sign

 shé
 hebi
 
Snake  /  Serpent Scroll

蛇 is the character for snake or serpent in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.

If you were born in the year of the snake, you . . .


Are calm.
Are an inspiration to others.
Have a stubborn nature like a mule (you do not like to concede).


See also our Chinese Zodiac page.

The Five Animals

Dragon Snake Tiger Leopard Crane

 lóng shé hǔ bào hè
 ryuu hebi tora hyou tsuru
The Five Animals Scroll

龍蛇虎豹鶴 is a list of the Chinese characters for the five animals of Shaolin Kung Fu in a comfortable order (meaning that they are in the proper order and will “feel right” to a Chinese person who views this arrangement).

 huǒ shé
 hi hebi
Fire Snake Scroll

火蛇 is the Chinese and Japanese title for “fire snake” or “blazing serpent.”

Viper

Poisonous Snake

 dú shé
 doku hebi
Viper Scroll

毒蛇 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for viper.

While 毒蛇 usually means viper, it may be used by some to refer to any poisonous snake or poisonous serpent.

Wu Xing Fist

Five Forms Fist of Kung Fu

 wǔ xíng quán
 gokeiken
Wu Xing Fist Scroll

五形拳 is “Wu Xing Fist” or “Five Form Fist.”

The forms refer to Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Crane, and Leopard.

This term is used in Kung Fu, and is recognized by both Chinese and Japanese practitioners of martial arts.

Ophiuchus Zodiac Symbol / Sign

 shé fū zuò
Ophiuchus Zodiac Symbol / Sign Scroll

蛇夫座 is the Chinese way to write Ophiuchus (the serpent bearer) of western astrology.

Please note this version is only used in Chinese (not Japanese).


See Also:  Chinese Zodiac

Celestial Dragon / Tian Long

 tiān lóng
 tenryuu
Celestial Dragon / Tian Long Scroll

天龍 can mean Heavenly Dragon (Dragon of Heaven), Sky Dragon, Holy Dragon, Celestial Dragon, or Divine Dragon.

This can be a given name in both China and Japan (天龍 is pronounced Tenryū and sometimes written 天竜 in Japanese).

In an older Buddhist context, this can refer to Brahma, Indra, and the devas, together with the nāgas. It can also refer to celestials and snake spirits.

Earth Snake

The Year of the Earth Snake

 tǔ shé
Earth Snake Scroll

土蛇 is Earth Snake in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1869, 1929, 1989, and 2049.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 己巳.

Golden/Metal Snake

The Year of the Golden/Metal Snake

 jīn shé
Golden/Metal Snake Scroll

金蛇 is Golden/Metal Snake in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1881, 1941, 2001, and 2061.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 辛巳.

Water Snake

The Year of the Water Snake

 shuǐ shé
Water Snake Scroll

水蛇 is Water Snake in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1893, 1953, 2013, and 2073.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 癸巳.

Wood Snake

The Year of the Wood Snake

 mù shé
Wood Snake Scroll

木蛇 is Wood Snake in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1905, 1965, 2025, and 2085.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 乙巳.

Fire Snake

The Year of the Fire Snake

 huǒ shé
Fire Snake Scroll

火蛇 is Fire Snake in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1917, 1977, 2037, and 2097.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 丁巳.


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Snake
Serpent
hebishé / she2 / she
The Five Animals龍蛇虎豹鶴
龙蛇虎豹鹤
ryuu hebi tora hyou tsuru
ryuuhebitorahyoutsuru
ryu hebi tora hyo tsuru
lóng shé hǔ bào hè
long2 she2 hu3 bao4 he4
long she hu bao he
longshehubaohe
lung she hu pao ho
lungshehupaoho
Fire Snake火蛇hi hebi / hihebihuǒ shé / huo3 she2 / huo she / huoshe
Viper毒蛇doku hebi / dokuhebidú shé / du2 she2 / du she / dushetu she / tushe
Wu Xing Fist五形拳gokeikenwǔ xíng quán
wu3 xing2 quan2
wu xing quan
wuxingquan
wu hsing ch`üan
wuhsingchüan
wu hsing chüan
Ophiuchus Zodiac Symbol
Sign
蛇夫座shé fū zuò
she2 fu1 zuo4
she fu zuo
shefuzuo
she fu tso
shefutso
Celestial Dragon
Tian Long
天龍
天龙
tenryuu / tenryutiān lóng
tian1 long2
tian long
tianlong
t`ien lung
tienlung
tien lung
Earth Snake土蛇tǔ shé / tu3 she2 / tu she / tushet`u she / tushe / tu she
Golden/Metal Snake金蛇jīn shé / jin1 she2 / jin she / jinshechin she / chinshe
Water Snake水蛇shuǐ shé / shui3 she2 / shui she / shuishe
Wood Snake木蛇mù shé / mu4 she2 / mu she / mushe
Fire Snake火蛇huǒ shé / huo3 she2 / huo she / huoshe
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.


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.