Spirit
Chinese / Korean / Japanese Characters Wall Scroll

Spirit

Chinese Calligraphy Scroll

This says "spirit" in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.

This is the kind of spirit that you have if you perform well in sports or competition. It is the idea of having a good attitude and putting your all into something - so much so that others can see or feel your spirit. It is the essence of your being that can only be subjectively described because there are no words that can fully explain what "spirit" really is.

My Japanese dictionary further tries to explain this word by comparing it to mind, soul, heart, or intention. My Chinese dictionary compares these characters to meanings like vigor, vitality, drive, and mentality. My Korean dictionary defines this as mind, spirit, and soul.

More info about this Chinese spirit calligraphy

Chinese Calligraphy is only practiced by those with a keen and agile hand. It is an art that dates back thousands of years, and great artists, writers, and poets are often admired for their calligraphy ability and style.

This piece was done by Master Calligrapher Cao Bin.

To create this art, Cao Bin used special Chinese ink on xuan paper (rice paper). The raw calligraphy was then taken to our mounting shop in Beijing where some of the best mounters in China created this silk scroll.

This hanging scroll is really nice since it doesn't require framing. Just hang it on your wall as Chinese people have done for centuries.

---

About the calligrapher:

I met Cao Bin years ago, and long before his fame. At that time, his wife was running a small house cleaning business. One day she was tidying up my mother-in-law's home in Beijing and overheard that I am in the business of selling Chinese calligraphy and artwork. She asked if I'd like to meet her husband who was a pretty good calligrapher as she described him with modesty.

The next evening, I visited his modest studio and saw some really nice calligraphy and great black ink bamboo paintings that he'd just finished. After a lot of tea drinking and chatting, I asked if I could commission a few pieces.

Through the years, I would occasionally buy a few more pieces, not realizing how famous he had become. I might pop by his studio, only to hear from his wife that he was down in Anhui receiving an award for his calligraphy (calligraphy competitions are comparable to the fervor that sports championships have in the rest of the world). It finally dawned on me that this man I had known for about 7 years was a premier calligrapher for whom books had been published featuring his work, and the recipient of numerous awards.

The best part is that I have guanxi (a word that kind of means "special relationship" in Chinese), he gives me better prices than anyone else. This really fits well with my philosophy to offer high quality Asian artwork that everyone can afford.

---

More about the artwork:

This is painted on xuan paper (often incorrectly called "rice paper"). The raw artwork was then taken to my workshop in east Beijing where the master mounter built it into a handmade wall scroll.