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The name Hardships and Joys in Chinese / Japanese...

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Personalize your custom “Hardships and Joys” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Hardships and Joys” title below...


  1. Hardships and Joys

  2. Through the Ups and Downs of Life

  3. Wind and Rain

  4. Use Hard Work to Overcome Adversity

  5. One who is drenched in rain does not fear drops of dew

  6. Overcome

  7. Kama - Desire Wish Longing

  8. Strong bones come from hard knocks

  9. Shit Happens


Hardships and Joys

 shinsankanku
Hardships and Joys Scroll

辛酸甘苦 is a Japanese proverb that speaks of the “hardships and joys” of life.

Some other translations include:
Tasting the sweets and bitters of life.
Being well-versed in the ways of the world (having seen much of life).

This is the Japanese “for better or worse” when speaking of life.

Through the Ups and Downs of Life

 tóng gān gòng kǔ
Through the Ups and Downs of Life Scroll

同甘共苦 is a Chinese proverb that talks of “shared delights and common hardships.”

This can be translated and understood in a few different ways, including...
To share life's joys and sorrows.
For better or for worse.
Through joys and sorrows of life.
Through all life's ups and downs.
To go through thick and thin.
To stick together through thick and thin.
To share the joys and sorrows of life.
To share pleasures and pains.
To partake in each other's joys and sorrows.
To take “for better or for worse.”

Wind and Rain

 fēng yǔ
 fuu-u
Wind and Rain Scroll

風雨 is wind and rain in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This can also refer to the elements of trials and hardships (in life).

Use Hard Work to Overcome Adversity

 kè kǔ nài láo
Use Hard Work to Overcome Adversity Scroll

刻苦耐勞 is a Chinese proverb that suggests that you should always bear hardships and work hard.

Some will translate it as a suggestion to be assiduous and long-suffering.

My favorite is to use this to remind myself to be hard-working and capable of overcoming adversity.

One who is drenched in rain does not fear drops of dew

 bèi yǔ lín guò de rén bù pà lù shuǐ
One who is drenched in rain does not fear drops of dew Scroll

被雨淋過的人不怕露水 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as “One who has been drenched by the rain is not afraid of dew drops.”

Figuratively, this means:
One who has gone through hardships is not afraid of (minor)setbacks.

Overcome

Overcoming Hardships

 kè fú
 koku fuku
Overcome Scroll

In Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja, 克服 means “overcome” (as in overcoming hardships, etc.). It can also mean to conquer, to put up with, or to endure.
This can be a conquest over a problem, disease, handicap, poverty, or illness. Other definitions include overcoming, bringing under control, subjugation, or victory over something.

This can be used as an inspirational wall scroll to remind someone to try to overcome difficulties that may arise in life.

Kama - Desire Wish Longing

 yù lè
 yokuraku
Kama - Desire Wish Longing Scroll

欲樂 is the Chinese and Japanese title representing the Buddhist and Jainist joys of the five desires.

Kama comes from the Pali/Sanskrit काम. The meaning is “desire, wish, longing.”

In Jainism, it can include sensual pleasure, sexual desire, and longing.

However, the Buddhist context refers more to any desire, wish, passion, longing, the pleasure of the senses, desire for, longing to and after, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, enjoyment of love is particularly with or without the enjoyment of sexual, sensual and erotic desire, and is often used without sexual connotations.

Strong bones come from hard knocks

 bù kē bù pèng gǔ tóu bù yìng
Strong bones come from hard knocks Scroll

不磕不碰骨頭不硬 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Without being knocked around a bit, [one's] bones won't become hard.

Figuratively, this means: One can't become strong without first being tempered by “hard knocks.”

While true for everyone, this sounds like the “Iron Body” form of Kung Fu, where practitioners' bodies are beaten (and often bone fractured) in order to become stronger.
For the rest of us, this is just about how we can be tempered and build character through the hardships in our lives.

This is not a common title for a wall scroll in China.

Shit Happens

 shì shì nán liào
Shit Happens Scroll

世事難料 is a polite Chinese version of “shit happens.” This phrase suggests that things happen (for no reason, and for which we have no control).

The first two characters mean the affairs of life, things of the world, worldly affairs, or ways of the world.

The third character means disaster, distress, problem, difficulty, difficult, hardships, troubles, or defect.

The last character in this context means: to expect, to anticipate, or to guess.

If you put this back together, you have something like, “In life, troubles [should be] expected.”


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Hardships and Joys辛酸甘苦shinsankanku
Through the Ups and Downs of Life同甘共苦tóng gān gòng kǔ
tong2 gan1 gong4 ku3
tong gan gong ku
tonggangongku
t`ung kan kung k`u
tungkankungku
tung kan kung ku
Wind and Rain風雨
风雨
fuu-u / fu-ufēng yǔ / feng1 yu3 / feng yu / fengyufeng yü / fengyü
Use Hard Work to Overcome Adversity刻苦耐勞
刻苦耐劳
kè kǔ nài láo
ke4 ku3 nai4 lao2
ke ku nai lao
kekunailao
k`o k`u nai lao
kokunailao
ko ku nai lao
One who is drenched in rain does not fear drops of dew被雨淋過的人不怕露水
被雨淋过的人不怕露水
bèi yǔ lín guò de rén bù pà lù shuǐ
bei4 yu3 lin2 guo4 de ren2 bu4 pa4 lu4 shui3
bei yu lin guo de ren bu pa lu shui
pei yü lin kuo te jen pu p`a lu shui
pei yü lin kuo te jen pu pa lu shui
Overcome克服 / 剋服
克服
koku fuku / kokufukukè fú / ke4 fu2 / ke fu / kefuk`o fu / kofu / ko fu
Kama - Desire Wish Longing欲樂
欲乐
yokurakuyù lè / yu4 le4 / yu le / yuleyü le / yüle
Strong bones come from hard knocks不磕不碰骨頭不硬
不磕不碰骨头不硬
bù kē bù pèng gǔ tóu bù yìng
bu4 ke1 bu4 peng4 gu3 tou2 bu4 ying4
bu ke bu peng gu tou bu ying
bukebupenggutoubuying
pu k`o pu p`eng ku t`ou pu ying
pukopupengkutoupuying
pu ko pu peng ku tou pu ying
Shit Happens世事難料
世事难料
shì shì nán liào
shi4 shi4 nan2 liao4
shi shi nan liao
shishinanliao
shih shih nan liao
shihshihnanliao
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

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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!

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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.

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