The name Bolt of Lightning Lightning Attack in Chinese / Japanese...

突貫 is a Japanese word that can be translated as lightning attack, charge, or rush.

It's about a fast run or attack at the speed of lightning.

閃電 is the title for lightning in Chinese.

The first character means flash, dodge, or get out of the way. In this case, it's the “flash” meaning. Sometimes this character can be used to mean lightning by itself.

The second character means electricity.

See Also:  Thunder | Rain | Storm

電氣 is the title for electricity in Japanese Kanji.

This can also be used to mean lightning in Japanese.

See Also:  Thunder | Power | Energy | Rain

電 is the title for electricity in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

While this character means electric or electricity, it can also be used to mean lightning.

Note: This Kanji is not usually used alone like this in Japanese.

See Also:  Thunder | Power | Energy | Rain

螢火蟲 is a very verbose Chinese title for a firefly, glowworm, or lightning bug.

The first character, 螢, means firefly or glow-worm by itself. This title adds the character for fire (火) and bug (蟲).

避其鋭氣擊其惰歸 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Avoid [your enemy's] fighting spirit [and] attack [when] his [morale is] declining.

Figuratively, this means: Avoid the enemy when his morale is high and strike him when his morale is flagging.

雷 can mean thunder, lightning, thunderbolt, mine (weapon), or slang for something terrifying or a fit of anger.

Some will say it is the symbol of the god of thunder or the god of lightning.

雷 is also a Chinese surname that romanizes as Lei.

雷神 is how to write the Japanese “Thunder God.” They don't really have separate words for thunder and lightning in Japanese, so this is also the “Lightning God.”

雷神 makes sense in Chinese (though not a common title).

This is also the origin of the English name Raiden.

螢 is the Chinese, older Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja way to write firefly, lightning bug, or glow worm (Luciola cruciata).

Note: After post WWII language reforms in Japan, they started using a more simple version of this Kanji. This version is shown to the right. If you want this modern Japanese version, please click on the Kanji to the right instead of the button above.

戳腳 is the title for Choujiao, Chuōjiǎo, or Chou Jiao.

This means poking or stabbing foot. This is a Chinese martial art that falls under the Northern School.

There are many jumps, kicks, and lightning-fist actions in this style.

You'll find Chou Jiao practiced in Liaoning Province, Hebei Province, and Beijing.

This Chinese military proverb means, counter soldiers with arms and counter water with an earthen dam.

兵來將擋水來土掩 is about how different situations call for different actions. You must adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation.

To explain the actual proverb, one would not attack a flood of water with gunfire, nor would you counter-attack soldiers by building an earth weir. You must be adaptable and counter whatever threatens with relevant action.

應戰 is a Chinese word that means “to take up a challenge” or “to face an attack and meet it.”

進撃の巨人 is the Shingeki no Kyojin or “Attack on Titan” in Japanese.

This literally means “Advancing Giants.”

長城 is the Chinese name for the Great Wall.

Built at the northern border of China to protect from Mongol attack.

Notes:
In Japanese, this can be a surname Nagaki. Japanese often use a longer title for the Great Wall of China.
In Korean, this refers to Changsŏng (a city in Changsŏng-kun county, Chŏllanam-to province).

風林火山 is the battle strategy and proverb of Japanese feudal lord Takeda Shingen (1521-1573 AD).

This came from the Art of War by Chinese strategist and tactician Sun Tzu (Sunzi).

You can think of this as an abbreviation to remind officers and troops how to conduct battle.

風林火山 is a word list: Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain.

The more expanded meaning is supposed to be...

“Swift as the wind, quiet as the forest, fierce as fire, and immovable as a mountain”

“As fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain”

“Move as swift as the wind, stay as silent as a forest, attack as fierce as fire, undefeatable defense like a mountain”

“Move swiftly like the wind, stay silent like the forest, attack fiercely like fire, take a tactical position on the mountain”

See Also:  Art of War

空手に先手なし means there is no first attack in Karate, or there is no first strike in Karate.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

怪獣 is a Japanese word for monster or “strange creature.”

This usually refers to a genre of tokusatsu films. These films feature monsters that often attack Tokyo or fight with other monsters. The most internationally famous of these is the Godzilla franchise of movies.

This is Kaiōken in Japanese.

界 = Community, circles, world, border, or boundary.
王 = King
拳 = Fist

Often translated as World Lord Fist, Fist of the World King, Kamajamaja (Norwegian), and Leptonski Udarac (Slovenian).

Associated with Goku's attack technique in Dragon Ball Z.

闇打狐狸明打狼 is a Chinese proverb that translates as: Hunt foxes stealthily, [and] hunt wolves openly [just as they do].

Figuratively, this means:
Different opponents require different appropriate strategies.

This is a suggestion that you should know your enemy and know that each enemy is different, therefore requires a specialized approach (attack).

See Also:  Art of War Military

提防律師 is a kind of Chinese joke about lawyers.

The first two characters mean “guard yourself against (an attack)” or “beware.”
The last two characters can be translated as lawyer, attorney, or solicitor.

Separately, those characters mean law/regulation/control and master/expert/teacher. Here, you can see the attorney meaning is pretty clear in the individual characters.

Please note this is Chinese only (it won't make sense in Japanese, and the last two characters are sometimes translated together as “Buddhist Priest” in Japanese).

虎 is the character for tiger in Chinese, old Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

Since you already know what a tiger is, here's some trivia: If you look at the Japanese pronunciation, you might remember a movie called “Tora Tora Tora” which was the code word used to initiate the attack on Pearl Harbor. It simply means “Tiger Tiger Tiger.”

In Chinese culture, the tiger is considered to be the king of all animals (in much the way we see the lion in western culture).

From the Chinese Zodiac, if you were born in the year of the tiger, you . . .

Have a strong personality.
Are full of self-confidence.
Love adventure
Don't like to obey others.

See also our Chinese Zodiac or Tiger Calligraphy pages.

擊氣道 is the title of the Kyuki-Do form of Korean martial arts.

In Korean Hangul, it's 격기도.

While “Kyuki-Do” is the most common romanized form of this title, the official Korean romanization is actually “Gyeog Gi Do” or “Gyeoggi-Do.”

The first character means to hit, strike, attack, rout, or break.
The second means “life energy” or “atmosphere.”
The last means “the way” or “method.”

FYI: The last two characters are the same as the last two in the titles Hapkido and Aikido.

I have included Mandarin Chinese pronunciation above; However, this term would only be known by Chinese people familiar with this style of martial arts. Consider this to be a Korean-only title.

The most literal translation to English of this ancient 前事不忘后事之师 Chinese proverb is:
“Past events not forgotten serve as teachers for later events.”

However, it's been translated several ways:
Don't forget past events, they can guide you in the future.
Benefit from past experience.
Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.
Past calamity is my teacher.
A good memory for the past is a teacher for the future.
The remembrance of the past is the teacher of the future.
If one remembers the lessons of the past; They will serve as a guide to avoid mistakes in the future.

The origin:
This proverb comes from the 5th century B.C., just before the Warring States Period in the territory now known as China.
The head of the State of Jin, Zhi Bo, seized power in a coup. He did this with help from the armies of the State of Han and Wei. Instead of being grateful for the help from Han and Wei, he treacherously took the land of Han and Wei. Never satisfied, Zhi Bo employed the armies of Han and Wei to attack and seize the State of Zhao.

The king of Zhao took advice from his minister Zhang Mengtan and secretly contacted the Han and Wei armies to reverse their plans and attack the army of Zhi Bo instead. The plan was successful, and the State of Zhao was not only saved but was set to become a powerful kingdom in the region.

Zhang Mengtan immediately submitted his resignation to a confused king of Zhao. When asked why, Zhang Mengtan said, “I've done my duty to save my kingdom, but looking back at past experience, I know sovereign kings are never satisfied with the power or land at hand. They will join others and fight for more power and more land. I must learn from past experiences, as those experiences are the teachers of future events.”
The king could not dispute the logic in that statement and accepted Zhang Mengtan's resignation.

For generations, the State of Zhao continued to fight for power and land until finally defeated and decimated by the State of Qin (which led to the birth of the Qin Dynasty in 221 B.C.).

不動心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo) and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet.

Under that context, places such as the Budo Dojo define it this way: An unshakable mind and an immovable spirit is the state of fudoshin. It is courage and stability displayed both mentally and physically. Rather than indicating rigidity and inflexibility, fudoshin describes a condition that is not easily upset by internal thoughts or external forces. It is capable of receiving a strong attack while retaining composure and balance. It receives and yields lightly, grounds to the earth, and reflects aggression back to the source.

Other translations of this title include imperturbability, steadfastness, keeping a cool head in an emergency, or keeping one's calm (during a fight).

The first two Kanji alone mean immobility, firmness, fixed, steadfastness, motionless, and idle.

The last Kanji means heart, mind, soul, or essence.

Together, these three Kanji create a title defined as “immovable mind” within the context of Japanese martial arts. However, in Chinese, it would mean “motionless heart,” and in Korean Hanja, “wafting heart” or “floating heart.”

五十步笑百步 is a Chinese proverb that means the one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one who retreats 100 paces.

During the Warring States Period of what is now China (475 - 221 B.C.), the King of Wei was in love with war. He often fought with other kingdoms just for spite or fun.

One day, the King of Wei asked the philosopher Mencius, “I love my people, and all say I do the best for them. I move the people from famine-stricken areas to places of plenty and transport grains from rich areas to the poor. Nobody goes hungry in my kingdom, and I treat my people far better than other kings. But why does the population of my kingdom not increase, and why does the population of other kingdoms not decrease?”

Mencius answered, “Since you love war, I will make this example: When going to war, and the drums beat to start the attack, some soldiers flee for their lives in fear. Some run 100 paces in retreat, and others run 50 steps. Then the ones who retreated 50 paces laugh and taunt those who retreated 100 paces, calling them cowards mortally afraid of death. Do you think this is reasonable?

The King of Wei answered, “Of course not! Those who run 50 paces are just as timid as those who run 100 paces.”

Mencius then said, “You are a king who treats his subjects better than other kings treat their people, but you are so fond of war that your people suffer from great losses in battle. Therefore, your population does not grow. While other kings allow their people to starve to death, you send your people to die in war. Is there any difference?”

This famous conversation led to the six-character proverb shown here. It serves as a warning to avoid hypocrisy. It goes hand-in-hand with the western phrase, “The pot calls the kettle black,” or the Biblical phrase, “Before trying to remove a splinter from your neighbor's eye, first remove the plank from your own eye.”

破鏡重圓 is about a husband and wife who were separated and reunited.

About 1500 years ago in China, there lived a beautiful princess named Le Chang. She and her husband Xu De Yan loved each other very much. But when the army of the Sui Dynasty was about to attack their kingdom, disposed of all of their worldly possessions and prepared to flee into exile.

They knew that in the chaos, they might lose track of each other, so the one possession they kept was a bronze mirror which is a symbol of unity for a husband and wife. They broke the mirror into two pieces, and each of them kept half of the mirror. They decided that if separated, they would try to meet at the fair during the 15th day of the first lunar month (which is the lantern festival). Unfortunately, the occupation was brutal, and the princess was forced to become the mistress of the new commissioner of the territory, Yang Su.

At the Lantern Festival the next year, the husband came to the fair to search for his wife. He carried with him his half of the mirror. As he walked through the fair, he saw the other half of the mirror for sale at a junk market by a servant of the commissioner. The husband recognized his wife's half of the mirror immediately, and tears rolled down his face as he was told by the servant about the bitter and loveless life that the princess had endured.

As his tears dripped onto the mirror, the husband scratched a poem into his wife's half of the mirror:

You left me with the severed mirror,
The mirror has returned, but absent are you,
As I gaze in the mirror, I seek your face,
I see the moon, but as for you, I see not a trace.

The servant brought the inscribed half of the mirror back to the princess. For many days, the princess could not stop crying when she found that her husband was alive and still loved her.

Commissioner Yang Su, becoming aware of this saga, realized that he could never obtain the princess's love. He sent for the husband and allowed them to reunite.

This proverb, 破鏡重圓, is now used to describe a couple who has been torn apart for some reason (usually divorce) but have come back together (or remarried).
It seems to be more common these days in America for divorced couples to reconcile and get married to each other again. This will be a great gift if you know someone who is about to remarry their ex.