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The name The Guts Theory in Chinese / Japanese...

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Personalize your custom “The Guts Theory” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “The Guts Theory” title below...


  1. The Guts Theory

  2. Theory of Evolution

  3. No Guts, No Glory

  4. Unwavering

  5. Idea / Concept

  6. Stay Strong / Iron Will

  7. Lao Tzu / Laozi

  8. Eternal Energy / Eternal Matter

  9. Gutsy / Daring / Bold

10. Bravery / Courage

11. Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth


The Guts Theory

The belief that where there's a will, there's a way.

 kon jou ron
The Guts Theory Scroll

根性論 is a Japanese title that refers to the belief that where there's a will, there's a way.

Another way to translate this is “The Guts Theory” or “The Doctrine of Will-Power.” Maybe breaking down the meaning of the characters will help clarify this:
根性 = will-power; guts; temper; nature; spirit; nature and character; the nature of the powers of any sense.
論 = theory; doctrine; treatises on dogma, philosophy, discipline, etc.

Theory of Evolution

 jìn huà lùn
 shinkaron
Theory of Evolution Scroll

進化論 can be translated as “Darwin's theory of evolution,” “evolutionary theory,” or “theory of evolution.”

Same translation for Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean. Therefore, this title is very universal.

No Guts, No Glory

 wú yǒng bù róng
No Guts, No Glory Scroll

While difficult to translate “No guts no glory,” into Mandarin Chinese, 無勇不榮 is kind of close.

The first two characters mean “without bravery,” or “without courage.” In this case, bravery/courage is a stand-in for “guts.”

The last two characters mean “no glory.”

The idea that guts (internal organs) are somehow equal to courage, does not crossover to Chinese. However, translating the phrase back from Chinese to English, you get, “No Courage, No Glory,” which is pretty close to the intended idea.

 haragasuwaru
Unwavering Scroll

腹が据わる is a Japanese proverb that means to have guts or to be unwavering in one's resolution.


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

Idea / Concept

 lǐ niàn
 ri nen
Idea / Concept Scroll

理念/理唸 means idea, notion, concept, principle, theory, philosophy*, or doctrine in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This word is OK for a wall scroll, although it's more commonly used as an oral/informal word in Asia.

* This is not the title for philosophy but rather is about having a certain philosophy or approach to something.

Stay Strong / Iron Will

 tesshin sekichou
Stay Strong / Iron Will Scroll

鉄心石腸 is a Japanese proverb that suggests you should have the inner-strength and will as hard and steadfast as iron.

It's the Japanese way of saying, “stay strong.” This is an especially uplifting thing to say to a person in distress or recovering from a disaster. It's kind of the survivor's creed.

If you literally translate this, it means “iron will, stone guts” or “iron heart, rock-hard bowels.”

Lao Tzu / Laozi

 lǎo zǐ
 roushi
Lao Tzu / Laozi Scroll

Depending on the romanization scheme you use, this man's name can be spelled Laozi, Lao Tzu, or Lao Tze. In older English usage, he was known as Laocius. He is believed to have lived around 500 B.C.

He was a Chinese philosopher, founder of Daoism/Taoism, credited with being the author of the sacred and wise book of Daoism/Taoism.

There is a theory that Lao Tzu's soul traveled to India and was reborn as the Buddha.

Eternal Energy / Eternal Matter

 bù lái bú qù
 furai fuko
Eternal Energy /  Eternal Matter Scroll

不來不去 is a Buddhist term, originally anāgamana-nirgama from Sanskrit.

This implies that things are neither coming into nor going out of existence.

This can also mean “all things are eternal,” or others will call this the Buddhist concept of the eternal conservation of energy.

This theory predates Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton.

Note: 不來不去 is not a well-known word for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, so not all will recognize it.

Gutsy / Daring / Bold

 pò lì
 hakuryoku
Gutsy / Daring / Bold Scroll

迫力 is a Chinese word that is a form of personal strength.

It is a word that describes a person who is willing to take a risk. In English, we might say, “Someone with guts.”

An example might be a person that is not rich but invests a lot of money into something (knowing they could double their money or lose it all). Win or lose, this is a person that knows or pushes their potential.

Tearing this word apart, the first character means “to compel,” urgent, urge, force, imminent, or “spur on.” The second means power, strong, bear, or exert.

Note: 迫力 is also a word in Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja but with a meaning more like force, intensity, appeal, strength, impact, force, or simply power.

Bravery / Courage

Courageous Energy

 yǒng qì
 yuuki
Bravery / Courage Scroll

勇氣 is one of several ways to express bravery and courage in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

This version is the most spiritual. This is the essence of bravery from deep within your being. This is the mental state of being brave versus actual brave behavior. You'd more likely use this to say, “He is very courageous,” rather than “He fought courageously in the battle.”

The first character also means bravery or courage when it's seen alone. With the second character added, an element of energy or spirit is added. The second character is the same “chi” or “qi” energy that Kung Fu masters focus on when they strike. For this reason, you could say this means “spirit of courage” or “brave spirit.”

This is certainly a stronger word than just the first character alone.

Beyond bravery or courage, dictionaries also translate this word as valor/valour, nerve, audacity, daring, pluck, plucky, gallantry, guts, gutsy, and boldness.

This is also one of the 8 key concepts of tang soo do.


Japanese 気 While the version shown to the left is commonly used in Chinese and Korean Hanja (and ancient Japanese Kanji), please note that the second character is written with slightly fewer strokes in modern Japanese. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the character to the right. Both styles would be understood by native Chinese, Japanese, and many (but not all) Korean people. You should make your selection based on the intended audience for your calligraphy artwork. Or pick the single-character form of bravery/courage which is universal.

Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth

 kyo jitsu
Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth Scroll

虚実 is a Japanese word that means “falsehood [and] truth” or “fiction [and] fact.”

This concept is used in warfare, gameplay, and martial arts strategies. 虚実 can be a strategy of real and/or deceptive moves. This gets to some Sun Tzu Art of War stuff where in warfare a strategic move is either a real and serious move or it is a deceptive blow.

Let's explore each character in more depth:

was originally written (there is a very subtle difference in the strokes at the bottom of the character) and means unpreparedness, falsehood, emptiness, void, abstract theory, empty or unoccupied, diffident or timid, false, humble or modest, virtual, or in vain.
In the Buddhist context, 虛 represents the Pali/Sanskrit word “śūnya,” meaning empty, vacant, unreal, unsubstantial, untrue, space, humble, or in vain.
In ancient Eastern/Chinese astronomy, 虛 represents the “Emptiness” constellation (one of the 28 mansions in the sky).

was originally in Chinese (they currently write it as in Simplified Chinese) with the meaning, truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, fidelity, and substance.
The Buddhist context is similar, adding real, true, honest, really, solid, definitely, sincere, solid, fixed, full, to fill, fruit, kernel, verily, in fact, the supreme fact, or ultimate reality to the definition.


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
The Guts Theory根性論kon jou ron
konjouron
kon jo ron
Theory of Evolution進化論
进化论
shinkaronjìn huà lùn
jin4 hua4 lun4
jin hua lun
jinhualun
chin hua lun
chinhualun
No Guts, No Glory無勇不榮
无勇不荣
wú yǒng bù róng
wu2 yong3 bu4 rong2
wu yong bu rong
wuyongburong
wu yung pu jung
wuyungpujung
Unwavering腹が据わるharagasuwaru
Idea
Concept
理念 / 理唸
理念
ri nen / rinenlǐ niàn / li3 nian4 / li nian / linianli nien / linien
Stay Strong
Iron Will
鉄心石腸tesshin sekichou
tesshinsekichou
teshin sekicho
Lao Tzu
Laozi
老子roushi / roshilǎo zǐ / lao3 zi3 / lao zi / laozilao tzu / laotzu
Eternal Energy
Eternal Matter
不來不去
不来不去
furai fuko / furaifukobù lái bú qù
bu4 lai2 bu2 qu4
bu lai bu qu
bulaibuqu
pu lai pu ch`ü
pulaipuchü
pu lai pu chü
Gutsy
Daring
Bold
迫力hakuryokupò lì / po4 li4 / po li / polip`o li / poli / po li
Bravery
Courage
勇氣
勇气 / 勇気
yuuki / yukiyǒng qì / yong3 qi4 / yong qi / yongqiyung ch`i / yungchi / yung chi
Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth虚実kyo jitsu / kyojitsu
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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A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

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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.


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