We have many options to create artwork with Vitality characters on a wall scroll or portrait.
If you want to create a cool Vitality Asian character tattoo, just email us and we'll help you select from many forms of ancient Asian symbols that express the idea of vitality.
Quick links to words on this page...


This is how they write acupuncture in Chinese. The first character means "needle" or "pin". The second character means "technique" or "method".
This is theoretically a Japanese word as well, but not commonly used (select our other word for acupuncture if your audience is Japanese).
See Also... Health



This is one of two ways to write acupuncture in Chinese and Japanese. The first character means "needle" or "pin". The second character means "to treat" or "to cure". The last character means "method" or "way".
This is the only reasonable selection if your audience is Japanese. This is the formal way to express acupuncture in Chinese, so this version is universal in most of Asia (the best all around choice in most cases).

This Chinese word means "to be born" and "to give birth". Also it's often used to refer to life itself, and sometimes "to grow".
This character is used in a lot of compound words such as "yi sheng", which means "doctor" (literally "healer of life"), "sheng ri" which means "birthday" (literally "birth day") and "xue sheng" which means student (literally "studying life" or "learner [about] life"). Few Chinese people will think of the literal meaning when this use words like doctor and student - but it is interesting to note.
This character has the same root meaning in Korean Hanja and Japanese. However, in Japanese, there are many possible pronunciations, and this can be used to mean "raw" or "unprocessed" (as in draft beer). Therefore, not be the best if your audience is Japanese.
See Also... Life Force


This is the best way to express good health in Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
These characters also suggest the ideas of being solid, strong, sound, wholesome and at peace.
Can also be used to express "healthy" or "well-being".




If you are into healthy living, this might be a great selection for a wall scroll to hang in your home. The first two characters speak of health, vitality, vigor and being of sound body. The second two mean living or life (daily existence).

Qi which is also Romanized as Chi in Chinese or Ki in Japanese, is a fundamental concept of traditional Asian culture. Qi is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in “life force” or “spiritual energy”. It is most often translated as “energy flow,” or literally as “air” or “breath”.
The character itself is a representation of steam (or breath) rising from rice.
This was apparently seen as the release of energy from the rice when this concept was first developed. To clarify, the character for rice is shown to the right. The Qi / Chi / Ki character is still used in compound words to mean steam or vapor.
The idea of Qi / Chi / Ki is really a philosophical concept. It's often used to refer to the “flow” of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings. Yet there is much debate that has continued for thousands of years as to whether Qi / Chi / Ki is pure energy, or consists partially, or fully of matter.
You can also see the character for Qi / Chi / Ki in common compound words such as Tai Chi / Tai Qi, Aikido, Reiki and Qi Gong / Chi Kung.
In the modern Japanese Kanji, the rice radical has been changed into two strokes that form an X.
The original and traditional Chinese form is still understood in Japanese, but we can also offer that modern Kanji form in our custom calligraphy. If you want this Japanese Kanji, please click on the character to the right, instead of the “Select and Customize” button above.
More language notes: This is pronounced like “chee” in Mandarin Chinese, and like “key” in Japanese.
This is also the same way to write this in Korean Hanja where it is Romanized as “gi” and pronounced like “gee”, but with a real G-sound, not a J-sound.
Though Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters in their daily language, this character is still widely known in Vietnam.
See Also... Life Force | Life | Birth


This Chinese, Korean and Japanese word means "life force" or simply "life". The first character means "life" or "birth". The second means "life" or "fate". Together they create the meaning of "life force", though some will translate this as "existence" and sometimes "vitality".
See Also... Birth




While hard to translate directly, this is the best way to write "Live Strong" in Chinese. If you are a cancer survivor, or simply support Lance Armstrong's ideas, this is a nice selection for a wall scroll.
The first two characters mean strong or staunch. The last two mean living or life (daily existence). While the Chinese version is the reverse order of "Live Strong" it is the only way to write it in a natural form that is also grammatically correct.
Note that we are in no way affiliated or connected to Lance, nor his foundation. This translation is offered because of multiple requests from customers whose philosophies or ideas match those of the Live Strong idea.
See Also... Strength | Health | Determination | Discipline


This is an adjective that means powerful or strong. It can also be translated as able-bodied, robust, or sturdy.
Note that the second character was simplified in Japan after WWII (also simplified in mainland China, but not for calligraphy). If you want the modern Japanese/simplified version, please click on the Kanji shown to the right.



This word can mean "vitality" or "libido". The first two characters mean "life" or "life force". The last character is a common word that means "strength". So together you get the meaning "life strength" which is the essence of vitality. Some will also translate this word as "good health".
See Also... Life Force | Health




This is how to express "wellness" in Chinese. The meaning is not much different than the idea of "good health". In fact, the first two characters alone are often translated as "health".
If you want to fill your room with a feeling of wellness, this is the wall scroll for you.
This is also the ancient way to express wellness in Japanese and Korean. The modern Japanese form is only different on the second Kanji, but Koreans have completely changed their common writing system in the last 100 years.
See Also... Health
Wall scroll artwork shown on this page is priced as follows:
1 character $28.88 each
2-3 characters $39.88 each
4 characters $49.88 each
After you select your calligraphy, our website will take you through the process of customizing your artwork.
Options for other mounting such as portraits are available for $12 less.
We also offer the services of a famous master calligrapher for a $40 fee on any scroll if you are looking for investment-quality calligraphy.
If you chose our famous master-calligrapher, you also get more choices for silk and paper colors and the option for larger artwork.
All of our calligraphy is completely done by hand in the ancient way.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to our 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.
Therefore, allow at least 3 weeks for delivery from the time you place your order.
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The scroll that I am holding in this picture is a "regular size"
4-character wall scroll.
As you can see, it is a great size to hang on your wall.
(We also offer custom wall scrolls in larger sizes)
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.
The following table is only helpful for those studying Chinese (or Japanese), and perhaps helps search engines to find this page when someone enters Romanized Chinese or Japanese
| Title | Characters Simplified Traditional |
Japanese Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Hanyu-Pinyin (Romanized Chinese) | |||
| Acupuncture | 针术 針術 | shinjutsu | zhēn shù | zhen1 shu4 | ||
| Acupuncture | 针疗法 針療法 | hari ryou hou | zhēn liáo fǎ | zhen1 liao2 fa3 | ||
| Birth / Life | 生 生 | n/a | shēng | sheng1 | ||
| Good Health | 健康 健康 | kenkou | jiàn kāng | jian4 kang1 | ||
| Healthy Living | 健康生活 健康生活 | kenkou seikatsu | jiàn kāng shēng huó | jian4 kang1 sheng1 huo2 | ||
| Life Energy / Spiritual Energy | 气 氣 | ki | qì | qi4 | ||
| Life Force | 生命 生命 | seimei / inochi | shēng mìng | sheng1 ming4 | ||
| Live Strong | 坚强生活 堅強生活 | n/a | jiān qiáng shēng huó | jian1 qiang2 sheng1 huo2 | ||
| Powerful / Strong | 强壮 強壯 | kyousou | qiáng zhuàng | qiang2 zhuang4 | ||
| Vitality | 生命力 生命力 | seimeiryoku | shēng mìng lì | sheng1 ming4 li4 | ||
| Wellness | 身体健康 身體健康 | shin tai ken kou | shēn tǐ jiàn kāng | shen1 ti3 jian4 kang1 | ||
| If you have not set up your computer to display Chinese, the characters in this table probably look like empty boxes or random text garbage.
This is why we spent hundreds of hours making images so that you could view the characters in the "Vitality" listings above. If you want your Windows computer to be able to display Chinese characters you can either head to your Regional and Language options in your Win XP control panel, select the [Languages] tab and click on [Install files for East Asian Languages]. This task will ask for your Win XP CD to complete in most cases. If you don't have your Windows XP CD, or are running Windows 98, you can also download/run the simplified Chinese font package installer from Microsoft which works independently with Win 98, ME, 2000, and XP. It's a 2.5MB download, so if you are on dial up, start the download and go make a sandwich. | ||||||
All custom calligraphy items are made-to-order in our little Beijing artwork-mounting workshop.
Normal delivery isjust over 3 weeksfor these handmade items.
Key / Important Pages |
Information Pages |
"How To" Pages |
Search Engine Stuff |
|
| Home | About Us | Asian Art Questions & Answers | How We Make Our Wall Scrolls & Portraits | Site Map |
| Asian Art Gallery | About China | How Chinese Paintings are Mounted | How To Care For Wall Scrolls | Links |
| New Asian Art Arrivals | F.A.Q. | Asian Art Adventures | Framing Suggestions for Chinese Art | Characters |
| Contact Us | Gary's Stories | Japanese & Chinese Calligraphy Search | How To Frame Asian Art | Asian Art Index |
Copyright Oriental Outpost 2002-2007 - All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy