Unselfish Philosophy
Custom Chinese Calligraphy Wall Scrolls

We have many options to create artwork with your favorite ancient Chinese unselfish philosophy on a wall scroll or portrait.
If you want to create a cool Unselfish wall scroll, this is the place. Below you will find a few Asian symbols that express the idea of unselfishness.

See also our Selflessness Page.


  1. Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial

  2. Work Unselfishly for the Common Good

  3. Selflessness

  4. Courage to do what is right

  5. Impartial and Fair to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the World

  6. Integrity / Honesty

  7. Release of Desires


Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial

 dà gōng wú sī
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial Scroll

大公無私 is a Chinese proverb that comes from an old story from some time before 476 BC. About a man named Qi Huangyang, who was commissioned by the king to select the best person for a certain job in the Imperial Court.

Qi Huangyang selected his enemy for the job. The king was very confused by the selection, but Qi Huangyang explained that he was asked to find the best person for the job, not necessarily someone that he liked or had a friendship with.

Later, Confucius commented on how unselfish and impartial Qi Huangyang was by saying, “Da Gong Wu Si” which, if you look it up in a Chinese dictionary, is generally translated as “Unselfish” or “Just and Fair.”

If you translate each character, you'd have something like

“Big/Deep Justice Without Self.”

Direct translations like this leave out a lot of what the Chinese characters really say. Use your imagination, and suddenly you realize that “without self” means “without thinking about yourself in the decision” - together, these two words mean “unselfish.” The first two characters serve to drive the point home that we are talking about a concept that is similar to “blind justice.”

One of my Chinese-English dictionaries translates this simply as “just and fair.” So that is the short and simple version.

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly used term.


See Also:  Selflessness | Work Unselfishly for the Common Good | Altruism

Work Unselfishly for the Common Good

 kè jǐ fèng gōng
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good Scroll

克己奉公 is a Chinese proverb that is often used to express how one should act as a government official. Most of us wish our public officials would hold themselves to higher standards. I wish I could send this scroll, along with the meaning to every member of Congress, and the President (or if I was from the UK, all the members of Parliament, and the PM)

This can also mean: “Place Strict Standards on Oneself in Public Service.”
The story behind this ancient Chinese idiom:
Cai Zun was born in China a little over 2000 years ago. In 24 AD, he joined an uprising led by Liu Xiu, who later became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Later, the new emperor put Cai Zun in charge of the military court. Cai Zun exercised his power in strict accordance with military law, regardless of the offender's rank or background. He even ordered the execution of one of the emperor's close servants after the servant committed a serious crime.

Cai Zun led a simple life but put great demands on himself to do all things honorably. The emperor rewarded him for his honest character and honorable nature by promoting him to the rank of General and granting him the title of Marquis.

Whenever Cai Zun would receive an award, he would give credit to his men and share the reward with them.
Cai Zun was always praised by historians who found many examples of his selfless acts that served the public interest.
Sometime long ago in history, people began to refer to Cai Zun as “ke ji feng gong.”


See Also:   Selflessness | Altruism

Selflessness

 wú sī
 mushi
Selflessness Scroll

無私 would be literally translated as “none self” in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

It is used to express “selflessness” or “unselfish.”

無私 is a popular term for the idea of being selfless or unselfish in modern China and Japan.
This term is not as commonly used in Korea but still has good meaning.


See Also:   Altruism

Selflessness

 wú wǒ
 muga
Selflessness Scroll

無我 is a more common way to say selflessness in Japanese. This literally means “no self,” or a better translation might be “not thinking of oneself.” 無我 is also understood in Chinese and Korean. 無我 is a very old word in CJK languages.

無我 is the word a Buddhist would use to express the idea of selflessness or unselfishness. For Korean Buddhists, it can mean self-renunciation.


See Also:  Altruism

Courage to do what is right

 jiàn yì yǒng wéi
Courage to do what is right Scroll

見義勇為 means the courage to do what is right in Chinese.

This could also be translated as “Never hesitate to do what is right.”

This comes from Confucian thought:
Your courage should head in an honorable direction. For example, you should take action when the goal is to attain a just result as, without honorable intent, a person’s gutsy fervor can easily lead them astray.

One who flaunts courage but disregards justice is bound to do wrong; someone who possesses courage and morality is destined to become a hero.


Some text above paraphrased from The World of Chinese - The Character of 勇


See Also:  Work Unselfishly for the Common Good | Justice | Bravery

Impartial and Fair to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the World

 yí shì tóng rén
 isshidoujin
Impartial and Fair to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the World Scroll

一視同仁 is how to write “universal benevolence.” This is also how to express the idea that you see all people the same.

If you are kind and charitable to everyone, this is the best way to state that virtue. It is the essence of being impartial to all mankind, regardless of social standing, background, race, sex, etc. You do not judge others, but instead, you see them eye to eye on the same level as you.


See Also:  Benevolence | Compassion | Equality | Justice | Right Decision | Selflessness | Work Unselfishly for the Common

Integrity / Honesty

 qīng lián
 sei ren
Integrity / Honesty Scroll

清廉 means honest, uncorrupted, honesty, integrity, purity, and unselfishness.

In Japanese, this can also be the given name Kiyoyuki.

Release of Desires

 guǎ yù
 keyoku
Release of Desires Scroll

寡欲 is a Buddhist word meaning unselfishness, wanting little, giving up desires, or achieving a reduction of desires in one's life.

When one achieves this, one has a more content and happy life.


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial大公無私
大公无私
dà gōng wú sī
da4 gong1 wu2 si1
da gong wu si
dagongwusi
ta kung wu ssu
takungwussu
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good克己奉公kè jǐ fèng gōng
ke4 ji3 feng4 gong1
ke ji feng gong
kejifenggong
k`o chi feng kung
kochifengkung
ko chi feng kung
Selflessness無私
无私
mushiwú sī / wu2 si1 / wu si / wusiwu ssu / wussu
Selflessness無我
无我
mugawú wǒ / wu2 wo3 / wu wo / wuwo
Courage to do what is right見義勇為
见义勇为
jiàn yì yǒng wéi
jian4 yi4 yong3 wei2
jian yi yong wei
jianyiyongwei
chien i yung wei
chieniyungwei
Impartial and Fair to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the World一視同仁
一视同仁
isshidoujin
ishidojin
yí shì tóng rén
yi2 shi4 tong2 ren2
yi shi tong ren
yishitongren
i shih t`ung jen
ishihtungjen
i shih tung jen
Integrity
Honesty
清廉sei ren / seirenqīng lián
qing1 lian2
qing lian
qinglian
ch`ing lien
chinglien
ching lien
Release of Desires寡欲keyokuguǎ yù / gua3 yu4 / gua yu / guayukua yü / kuayü
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.



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...to the issue, they usually can do little more than appeal for good will and ... assault and harassment is not the work of persons belonging to ideologically...

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...of an inherently finite good, such as a common pasture or a timeshared residence.
... contribution to the team's success"; "they all did their share of the work"...

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...will be used for the mutual good of all I can not permit myself to doubt.
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cannot live unselfishly, because it is impossible to have the inherent ... The common or general people are not the good people going...

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We wouldn't start the project until we had a good plan and felt comfortable beginning.
... How can we work with the media well with such a speaking style?...

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...an opportunity for the Congress and the President to work for the good of the people.
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But of good leaders who talk little, when their work is ... There is no substitute for common sense in effective leadershipthe coupling of...

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...production of another good for which the demand of the public is less intense.
... to increase output than the comparatively simple routine work assigned to him.

The Imperial Japanese Mission to the United States, 1917. Section VII.
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... This is a common location for the headquarters of good sects devoted to art,...

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Why Schools Fail: Reclaiming the Moral Dimension in Education
...good schools, whether they be public or private, have in common what good ... accounting for the unparalleled success of Japanese education.

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...of an inherently finite good, such as a common pasture or a timeshared residence.
... contribution to the team's success"; "they all did their share of the work"...

Archive(2005/5) " Choice America Network Online
...Administration (SAMHSA) - - perhaps as a reward for his good work on PennMap.
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...large variances in the above distances (+/- 50% is very common - but mostly on the lower side! ... wrote in the original post, it is not a good idea to run...

The Swamp - Chicago Tribune - Blogs.
...how people can reconcile and move beyond past difficulties for the common good.
... It's good! Get behind your elected leaders and work for change. Ride...

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Japanese real estate tycoon Toshiaki Tsutsumi was number one on the first list ... {14} Money can do a lot of good for other people if it is used unselfishly.

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One of the strongest characteristics of Christ was His love for work.
... authority and power over the simple missionary who always went about doing good.

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