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  1. 1000 good moves ruined by 1 bad

  2. You must endure a harsh winter to appreciate the warmth of springtime

  3. Tranquility Yields Transcendence

  4. Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea

  5. Death Before Dishonor

  6. Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight

  7. Comparison Leads to Truth and Enlightenment


1000 good moves ruined by 1 bad

 bú pà qiān zhāo huì zhǐ pà yī zhāo shú
1000 good moves ruined by 1 bad Scroll

不怕千招会只怕一招熟 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Do not worry about making a thousand clever moves; what [one has to] fear is one bad move.

Figuratively, this means: Even if you have made many clever moves before, one wrong move will ruin the whole game.

I compare this to the English saying, “It takes only one Aw-shit to wipe out a thousand Attaboys.”

You must endure a harsh winter to appreciate the warmth of springtime

You must know hardship to appreciate happiness

 bù jīng dōng hán bù zhī chūn nuǎn
You must endure a harsh winter to appreciate the warmth of springtime Scroll

This literally translates as: Without having experienced the cold of winter, one cannot appreciate the warmth of spring.

Figuratively, this means: One cannot truly appreciate happiness without having gone through hardship.

There are many contrasts in life. One simply cannot fully know what joy is without having experienced misery, difficulty, and pain. How could you explain “light” if you did not have “darkness” to compare it to?

Embrace hardship, as it makes the good times seem even better.

Tranquility Yields Transcendence

 níng jìng zhì yuǎn
Tranquility Yields Transcendence Scroll

寧靜致遠 is an ancient Chinese idiom that means “tranquility yields transcendence.”

This suggests pursuing a quiet life of profound study.

The first two characters mean tranquility. The last two characters mean “go far,” which suggests achieving much in your life or expanding beyond normal limits. The direct translation would read something like, “[With] tranquility [in your life, you'll] go far.”

Compare this to the English idiom: Still waters run deep.

Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea

 qiān lǜ yī dé
 senryonoittoku
Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea Scroll

千慮一得 means “1000 tries, one success,” or “[a] thousand tries [leads to] one success.”

This proverb is a humble way to express your success, ideas, or accomplishments. As if you are a fool who just got lucky in inventing or creating something.

Translations for this proverb include:
Even without any notable ability on my part, I may still get it right sometimes by good luck.
Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea.

Compare this to the English idiom, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

Death Before Dishonor

Better to be broken jade than unbroken pottery

 níng wéi yù suì bù wéi wǎ quán
Death Before Dishonor Scroll

寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is the long version of a Chinese proverb that means “rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery.”

A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the “broken” meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case, is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of, it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor, or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means “better to die with honor than to live in shame” or words to that effect.

寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is often translated in English as “Death Before Dishonor,” the famous military slogan.

I would also compare this to the English proverb, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”


This is an idiom. It therefore doesn’t directly say exactly what it means. If you think about the English idiom, "The grass is always greener," it does not directly say "jealousy" or "envy" but everyone knows that it is implied.

Death Before Dishonor

Better to be broken jade than unbroken pottery

 níng wéi yù suì
Death Before Dishonor Scroll

寧為玉碎 is the short version of a longer Chinese proverb which means “rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery.”

寧為玉碎 says the “rather be a broken piece of jade” part (the second half is implied - everyone in China knows this idiom).

A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the “broken” meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case, is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of; it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means “better to die with honor than to live in shame” or words to that effect.

This is often translated in English as “Death Before Dishonor,” the famous military slogan.

I would also compare this to the English proverb, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight

Always rising after a fall or repeated failures

 shichi ten hakki / nana korobi ya oki
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight Scroll

七転八起 is a Japanese proverb that relays the vicissitudes of life, with the meaning “seven times down eight times up.”

Some would more naturally translate it into English as “Always rising after a fall or repeated failures” or compare it to the English, “If at first, you don't succeed, try, try again.”

The first Kanji is literally “7.” The second means “fall down” (sometimes this Kanji means “turn around,” “revolve” or “turn over” but in this case, it holds the meaning of “fall”). The third is “8.” And the last is “get up,” “rouse,” or “rise.”

Basically, if you fail 7 times, you should recover from those events and be prepared to rise an 8th time. This also applies if it is the world or circumstances that knock you down seven times...
...just remember that you have the ability to bounce back from any kind of adversity.

Note: This can be pronounced in two ways. One is “shichi ten hakki” or “shichitenhakki.” The other is “nana korobi ya oki” also written, “nanakorobi-yaoki.”

Special Note: The second character is a Kanji that is not used in China. Therefore, please select a Japanese calligrapher for this title.

Comparison Leads to Truth and Enlightenment

 bù bǐ bù zhī dào yī bǐ xià yì tiào
Comparison Leads to Truth and Enlightenment Scroll

不比不知道一比吓一跳 is a Chinese proverb that literally means: [If one not does] not make comparisons, [one will] not know [the truth] when [one] compares, [one will be] greatly surprised.

This goes to the idea that if you do not know bad times, you cannot know what good times are.
...And...
You can not know light without experiencing darkness.

Another way to translate this would be: If you wish to be enlightened, you need to make comparisons and analyze every aspect (of a situation, issue, or problem).


These search terms might be related to Compare:

Balance / Equilibrium

Balance / Peace

Harmony / Balance

Life in Balance / Balancing Life

Link

Nature in Balance / Balanced Nature

The Universe in Balance / Balanced Universe

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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
1000 good moves ruined by 1 bad不怕千招會隻怕一招熟
不怕千招会只怕一招熟
bú pà qiān zhāo huì zhǐ pà yī zhāo shú
bu2 pa4 qian1 zhao1 hui4 zhi3 pa4 yi1 zhao1 shu2
bu pa qian zhao hui zhi pa yi zhao shu
pu p`a ch`ien chao hui chih p`a i chao shu
pu pa chien chao hui chih pa i chao shu
You must endure a harsh winter to appreciate the warmth of springtime不經冬寒不知春暖
不经冬寒不知春暖
bù jīng dōng hán bù zhī chūn nuǎn
bu4 jing1 dong1 han2 bu4 zhi1 chun1 nuan3
bu jing dong han bu zhi chun nuan
pu ching tung han pu chih ch`un nuan
pu ching tung han pu chih chun nuan
Tranquility Yields Transcendence寧靜致遠
宁静致远
níng jìng zhì yuǎn
ning2 jing4 zhi4 yuan3
ning jing zhi yuan
ningjingzhiyuan
ning ching chih yüan
ningchingchihyüan
Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea千慮一得
千虑一得
senryonoittokuqiān lǜ yī dé
qian1 lv4 yi1 de2
qian lv yi de
qianlvyide
ch`ien lü i te
chienlüite
chien lü i te
Death Before Dishonor寧為玉碎不為瓦全
宁为玉碎不为瓦全
níng wéi yù suì bù wéi wǎ quán
ning2 wei2 yu4 sui4 bu4 wei2 wa3 quan2
ning wei yu sui bu wei wa quan
ningweiyusuibuweiwaquan
ning wei yü sui pu wei wa ch`üan
ning wei yü sui pu wei wa chüan
Death Before Dishonor寧為玉碎
宁为玉碎
níng wéi yù suì
ning2 wei2 yu4 sui4
ning wei yu sui
ningweiyusui
ning wei yü sui
ningweiyüsui
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight七転八起shichi ten hakki / nana korobi ya oki
shichi ten haki / nana korobi ya oki
Comparison Leads to Truth and Enlightenment不比不知道一比嚇一跳
不比不知道一比吓一跳
bù bǐ bù zhī dào yī bǐ xià yì tiào
bu4 bi3 bu4 zhi1 dao4 yi1 bi3 xia4 yi4 tiao4
bu bi bu zhi dao yi bi xia yi tiao
pu pi pu chih tao i pi hsia i t`iao
pu pi pu chih tao i pi hsia i tiao
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.


Dictionary

Lookup Compare in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


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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.


Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.

Some people may refer to this entry as Compare Kanji, Compare Characters, Compare in Mandarin Chinese, Compare Characters, Compare in Chinese Writing, Compare in Japanese Writing, Compare in Asian Writing, Compare Ideograms, Chinese Compare symbols, Compare Hieroglyphics, Compare Glyphs, Compare in Chinese Letters, Compare Hanzi, Compare in Japanese Kanji, Compare Pictograms, Compare in the Chinese Written-Language, or Compare in the Japanese Written-Language.