Not what you want?
Try other similar-meaning words, fewer words, or just one word.
Enter your email below, and get an automatic notice when results for Koan are added or updated...
Buy a Koan calligraphy wall scroll here!
In Buddhist context, this is a Zen question for meditation.
From the Buddhist dictionary this is:
Problems set by Zen masters, upon which thought is concentrated as a means to attain inner unity and illumination.
The secular meaning of this word can mean a judge's desk, complex legal case, contentious issue, a dossier, case record, public laws, regulations, or case-law.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Koan | 公案 | kouan / koan | gōng àn / gong1 an4 / gong an / gongan | kung an / kungan |
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your Koan search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
公安 see styles |
gōng ān / gong1 an1 kung an kouan / koan / こうあん |
![]() More info & calligraphy: public safety; public welfare; (female given name) Kouan |
公案 see styles |
gōng àn / gong1 an4 kung an kouan / koan / こうあん |
![]() More info & calligraphy: {Buddh} koan; kōan; Zen question for meditation (e.g. the sound of one hand clapping) J. kōan; 因緣 A dossier, or case-record; a cause; public laws, regulations; case-law. Problems set by Zen masters, upon which thought is concentrated as a means to attain inner unity and illumination; public case |
光庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (personal name) Kouan |
孝庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (personal name) Kouan |
小杏 see styles |
koan / こあん | (female given name) Koan |
巷庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (surname) Kouan |
幸庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (given name) Kouan |
康安 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | Kōan era (of the Northern Court) (1361.3.29-1362.9.23); (given name) Kouan |
弘安 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | Kōan era (1278.2.29-1288.4.28); (female given name) Hiroyasu |
弘庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (personal name) Kouan |
昴庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (given name) Kouan |
洪庵 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (personal name) Kouan |
畊安 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (given name) Kouan |
考案 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (noun/participle) plan; device; idea; invention |
苟安 see styles |
gǒu ān / gou3 an1 kou an kouan / koan / こうあん |
see 苟且偷安[gou3 qie3 tou1 an1] (noun/participle) (obsolete) (See 偸安) snatching a moment of rest; seeking temporary ease |
乾屎橛 干屎橛 see styles |
gān shǐ jué / gan1 shi3 jue2 kan shih chüeh kanshiketsu / かんしけつ |
(derogatory term) {Buddh} (ref. to the Buddha in a famous koan; trad. translated as "dried shit stick" (now considered a mistranslation of the orig. Chinese)) something worthless; something impure; something unimportant; dried excrement in the shape of a stick A stick used in India as 'toilet paper', in China paper, straw, or bamboo; shit-stick |
狗子仏性 see styles |
kushibusshou / kushibussho / くしぶっしょう | (Buddhist term) "Does a dog have Buddha nature?" (classic Zen koan) |
狗子佛性 see styles |
gǒu zǐ fó xìng / gou3 zi3 fo2 xing4 kou tzu fo hsing kushi busshō / くしぶっしょう |
(out-dated kanji) (Buddhist term) "Does a dog have Buddha nature?" (classic Zen koan) dog, buddha-nature |
見性公案 见性公案 see styles |
jiàn xìng gon gàn / jian4 xing4 gon1 gan4 chien hsing gon kan kenshō kōan |
gong-an (kōan) of seeing the true nature |
隻手の音声 see styles |
sekishunoonjou / sekishunoonjo / せきしゅのおんじょう | (See 公案) the sound of one hand clapping (a classic Zen koan) |
考案(P);考按 see styles |
kouan / koan / こうあん | (noun/participle) plan; device; idea; design; contrivance; conception; invention |
狗子仏性;狗子佛性(oK) see styles |
kushibusshou / kushibussho / くしぶっしょう | {Buddh} (See 公案) the Mu koan ("does a dog have Buddha nature?") |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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.
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 Koan Kanji, Koan Characters, Koan in Mandarin Chinese, Koan Characters, Koan in Chinese Writing, Koan in Japanese Writing, Koan in Asian Writing, Koan Ideograms, Chinese Koan symbols, Koan Hieroglyphics, Koan Glyphs, Koan in Chinese Letters, Koan Hanzi, Koan in Japanese Kanji, Koan Pictograms, Koan in the Chinese Written-Language, or Koan in the Japanese Written-Language.
0 people have searched for Koan in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Koan was last searched for by someone else on Dec 26th, 2020