We have many options to create artwork with the Chinese characters / Asian symbols / Japanese Kanji for Moon on a wall scroll or portrait.
1. Moon
2. Yin Yang
3. Great Aspirations / Ambition
6. Goddess of Mercy and Compassion
月 is how to write the title for “moon” in Chinese, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.
月 is also used to refer to the month. This is because China traditionally uses a lunar calendar, so saying “next moon” is the same as saying “next month” etc.
In modern Chinese and Japanese and old Korean, the character for a number is put in front of this moon character to represent western months. So “one moon” is January “two moons” is February etc.
If you are wondering, in the east Asian way to write dates, the character for “sun” or “day” is used with a number in front of it to express the day of the month. So “ten moons, one sun” becomes “October 1st” or “10/1” (this date happens to be Chinese National Day - The equivalent of Independence Day in the USA, Canada Day, or the Queen's Birthday).
In Japanese, 月 can be a surname that romanizes as Tsuki, Tsukizaki, or Takagetsu.
陰陽 literally means yin and yang in written form (versus the common yin-yang symbol). The first character has the element of the moon, while the second character has the element of the sun so that you can see, even in written form, they suggest the balance of opposites (of night and day). You could also translate this title as “sun and moon.”
Note: This title is often misspelled as Ying Yang instead of Yin Yang.
See Also: Taoism
鴻鵠之誌 is a Chinese proverb that implies that having grand ambitions also means that others will not understand your great expectations and ideas.
Though the actual words come from a longer saying of Confucius, which goes, “The little swallows living under the eaves wouldn't understand the lofty ambitions of a swan (who flies far and wide).”
This Confucius quote has led to this idiomatic expression in China that means “think big.” What you'd be saying is “The lofty ambitions of a swan.”
Note that Chinese people sometimes refer to the little swallow as one who does not “think big” but is, instead, stuck in a rut or just leading a mundane life. Therefore, it's a compliment to be called a swan but not a good thing to be called a swallow.
熱望 is a Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja word that means, to aspire, longing for, or burning desire.
The first character means hot, heated, or burning.
The second character means hope, expectations, aspiration, or desire.
Quote from William S. Clark in Japan
少年よ大志を抱け was a sort of motto or proverb invoked by William Clark after being hired by the Emperor of Japan in 1876 to establish a university in Hokkaido, Japan.
This phrase has been famous across all generations of Japan since that time.
More about William S. Clark's adventures in Japan.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
觀音/観音 is the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion.
In Chinese, the proper name of this being is Guan Yin. There is some debate as to whether Guan Yin is female. The argument comes from some scripture that suggests Buddhist deities take on the male form. Others say that Guan Yin has no sex. And still, others are okay with the female representation of Guan Yin.
This bodhisattva is also known or Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guan Yin, Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin.
Japanese: Kannon, Kwannon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Âm.
Thai: Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.
Note: The first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.
See Also: Buddhism | Goddess | Namo Amitabha | Bodhisattva
望 holds the ideas of ambition, hope, desire, aspiring to, expectations, looking towards, to gaze (into the distance), and in some contexts, full moon rising.
望 is one of those single characters that is vague but in that vagueness, it also means many things.
望 is a whole word in Chinese and old Korean but is seldom seen alone in Japanese. Still, it holds the meanings noted above in all three languages.
This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Moon | 月 | tsuki | yuè / yue4 / yue | yüeh |
Yin Yang | 陰陽 阴阳 | in you / inyou / in yo | yīn yáng / yin1 yang2 / yin yang / yinyang | |
Great Aspirations Ambition | 鴻鵠之誌 鸿鹄之志 | hóng hú zhī zhì hong2 hu2 zhi1 zhi4 hong hu zhi zhi honghuzhizhi | hung hu chih chih hunghuchihchih |
|
Great Aspirations Ambition | 大志を抱 | tai shi wo idaku taishiwoidaku | ||
Aspire Burning Desire | 熱望 热望 | netsubou / netsubo | rè wàng / re4 wang4 / re wang / rewang | je wang / jewang |
Boys be Ambitious | 少年よ大志を抱け | shou nen yo tai shi o ida ke shounenyotaishioidake sho nen yo tai shi o ida ke | ||
Goddess of Mercy and Compassion | 觀音 / 観音 观音 | kan non / kannon | guān yīn / guan1 yin1 / guan yin / guanyin | kuan yin / kuanyin |
Guan Shi Yin: Protector Of Life | 觀世音 观世音 | kanzeon | guān shì yīn guan1 shi4 yin1 guan shi yin guanshiyin | kuan shih yin kuanshihyin |
Great Expectations | 望 | bou / nozomi bo / nozomi | wàng / wang4 / wang | |
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.
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.