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The Way of the Soul in Chinese / Japanese...

Buy a The Way of the Soul calligraphy wall scroll here!

Personalize your custom “The Way of the Soul” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “The Way of the Soul” title below...


  1. Soul Sisters

  2. Beautiful Soul

  3. Soul Mates

  4. Tao / Dao of the Heart / Soul

  5. Beautiful Soul

  6. Soul Mates

  7. Beautiful Spirit

  8. Independent Spirit / Independent Heart

  9. Mind Body Spirit

10. Lingering Mind

11. No Mind / Mushin

12. Mind of the Beginner

13. Spirit / Spiritual Essence

14. Shinto

15. Listen to Your Heart / Follow Your Heart

16. Impermanence

17. Purity

18. Seishin Budo

19. Goddess of Beauty / Beautiful Spirit

20. Open Your Heart

21. Strong Body, Strong Mind

22. Jin Shin Jyutsu

23. Immovable Mind


Soul Sisters

 jiě mèi huā
Soul Sisters Scroll

This literally means “sister flowers,” but it is really a way to say “soul sisters” like “soul mates.”

Beautiful Soul

 bi tamashi
Beautiful Soul Scroll

美魂 is a very short or abbreviated way to say “Beautiful Soul” in Japanese.

There is a more extended version that might be a little more natural and also closer to the intended meaning. This short title is often translated awkwardly as “Beauty Soul” in Japanese.

 líng hún bàn lǚ
 reikon hanryo
Soul Mates Scroll

靈魂伴侶 is the literal translation of “Soul Mates.”

This is kind of the western way to express “soul mates” but translated into Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
The first two characters mean “soul” or “spirit.”
The second two characters mean “mate,” “companion” or “partner.”

Although not the most common title, these characters have good meaning and will be received well in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. It's a universal title!

Tao / Dao of the Heart / Soul

 xīn dào
Tao / Dao of the Heart / Soul Scroll

心道 means “The Way of the Heart” or “The Way of the Soul.” The first character means “heart” but can also mean soul, spirit, mind, or your essence. In this case, it is most accurately translated with the heart or soul meaning.

The second character is Dao as in Daoism. Please note, this is the same thing as Tao as in Taoism (just Romanized differently - it's always been the same in Chinese for about 2300 years.

Beautiful Soul

 utsukushii tamashii
Beautiful Soul Scroll

美しい魂 is a common way to write “Beautiful Soul” in Japanese.


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

 tiān shēng yí duì
Soul Mates Scroll

It was tough to find the best way to say “soul mates” in Chinese. We settled on 天生一對 as an old way to say, “A couple selected by heaven.”

The first two characters together mean “natural” or “innate.” Separated, they mean “heaven” and “born.” The last two characters mean “couple.” So this can be translated as “A couple that is together by nature,” or “A couple brought together by heaven's decree.” With a slight stretch, you could say, “A couple born together from heaven.”

It's a struggle to find the best way to describe this idea in English but trust me, it is pretty cool, and it is a great way to say “soulmates.”

If you're in a happy relationship or marriage and think you have found your soul mate, this would be a wonderful wall scroll to hang in your home.

Beautiful Spirit

 utsukushi seishin
Beautiful Spirit Scroll

美しい精神 is a common way to write “Beautiful Spirit” in Japanese.


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

Independent Spirit / Independent Heart

 dokuritsushin
Independent Spirit / Independent Heart Scroll

獨立心 means independent spirit or independent heart in Japanese.

The first two characters mean independent or independence. The third character means spirit, heart, or mind.

獨立心 is a Japanese term, although Chinese people could guess the meaning (the characters make sense individually in Chinese but are not often used this way). Also, the first character would be written 獨 in Traditional Chinese versus 独 which is the Simplified Chinese and modern Japanese version.

Mind Body Spirit

 shēn xīn líng
 mi shin rei
Mind Body Spirit Scroll

身心靈 is probably the best way to express the idea of “Body, Mind, and Spirit” in Chinese and old Korean Hanja. We are actually using the word “heart” here because, for thousands of years, the heart was thought to be the place where your thoughts, feelings, and emotions came from. We do something similar in the west when we say “warm-hearted” or “I love you with all of my heart.” In this context, heart = mind in Asian language and culture.

The very literal translation of these three characters is “body, heart & spirit,” which could also be interpreted as “body, mind & soul.”

We have arranged these characters in this order because it simply “feels” like the proper order in the Chinese language. Word lists like this are not so common for calligraphy artwork, so we must be careful to put them in the most natural order. It should be noted that this is not a common title in Asia, nor is it considered an actual phrase (as it lacks a clear subject, verb, and object).


霊In Japanese Kanji, they use an alternate form of the character for soul or spirit. If you want this using the Japanese alternate, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above.

Japanese disclaimer: This is not a natural phrase/list in Japanese. While not totally-natural in Chinese, this word list is best if your audience is Chinese.

Lingering Mind

Zanshin

 cán xīn
 zan shin
Lingering Mind Scroll

First off, 殘心 should only be used in the context of Japanese martial arts. In Chinese, it's a rather sad title (like a broken heart). In Chinese, the first character alone means destroyed, spoiled, ruined, injured, cruel, oppressive, savage, incomplete, or disabled. However, in Japanese, it's remainder, leftover, balance, or lingering.
The second character means heart, mind, soul, or essence in both languages.

殘心 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: The spirit of zanshin is the state of the remaining or lingering spirit. It is often described as a sustained and heightened state of awareness and mental follow-through. However, true zanshin is a state of focus or concentration before, during, and after the execution of a technique, where a link or connection between uke and nage is preserved. Zanshin is the state of mind that allows us to stay spiritually connected, not only to a single attacker but to multiple attackers and even an entire context; a space, a time, an event.


残In modern Japan (and Simplified Chinese), they use a different version of the first character, as seen to the right. Click on this character to the right instead of the button above if you want this modern Japanese version of lingering mind / zanshin.

No Mind / Mushin

 wú xīn
 mu shin
No Mind / Mushin Scroll

In Japanese, 無心 means innocent or without knowledge of good and evil. It literally means “without mind.”

無心 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: “No mind, a mind without ego. A mind like a mirror which reflects and dos not judge.” The original term was “mushin no shin,” meaning “mind of no mind.” It is a state of mind without fear, anger, or anxiety. Mushin is often described by the phrase “Mizu no Kokoro,” which means “mind like water.” The phrase is a metaphor describing the pond that clearly reflects its surroundings when calm but whose images are obscured once a pebble is dropped into its waters.

This has a good meaning in conjunction with Chan / Zen Buddhism in Japan. However, out of that context, it means mindlessness or absent-mindedness. To non-Buddhists in China, this is associated with doing something without thinking.
In Korean, this usually means indifference.

Use caution and know your audience before ordering this selection.


More info: Wikipedia: Mushin

Mind of the Beginner

Shoshin

 chū xīn
 sho shin
Mind of the Beginner Scroll

初心 is often translated in Japanese as “beginner's mind” or “beginner's spirit.”

In Chinese, the dictionary definition is “one's original intention.”

The first character means first, initial, primary, junior, beginning, or basic.

The second character means heart, mind, soul, or essence.

初心 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: The state of shoshin is that of a beginners mind. It is a state of awareness that always remains fully conscious, aware, and prepared to see things for the first time. The attitude of shoshin is essential to continued learning.

Spirit / Spiritual Essence

 shén
 shin / kami
 
Spirit / Spiritual Essence Scroll

神 is the simplest way to write spirit in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean.

This single character alone will conjure up ideas of the spiritual world. 神 can also be translated as “vital awareness” as in the fact that one must know they exist to exist (I think, therefore, I am).

Other translations include:
God, deity, mysterious, divine essence, lively, spiritual being, divinity, supernatural, soul, mind, nerves, and energy. In some extended context, it can mean genius or unusual.

Japanese romanizations vary a lot when this character is combined into other words. However, shin is the original pronunciation taken from Chinese into Japanese. You'll also see it romanized as kami, gami, jin, and a few others, depending on context.

 shén dào
 shin tou / shin dou
Shinto Scroll

神道 is how to write Shinto, a Japanese national religion.

The meaning is “Way of the Gods.”

This term also has meaning for Chinese Buddhists, where it means the spirit world of devas, asuras, and pretas. It can also be understood as doctrines concerning the soul.

Listen to Your Heart / Follow Your Heart

 suí xīn ér xíng
Listen to Your Heart / Follow Your Heart Scroll

隨心而行 is the closest way to express this idea in Chinese. Literally translated, this phrase means “Allow your heart to dictate your behavior” or “Let your heart guide your conduct” in Chinese. You could also translate this as “follow your heart.” Or, with a bit of imagination, it could mean: “let your spirit be your guide.”

Note that in some cases, “heart” can mean “mind,” “soul” or even “spirit” in Chinese. In ancient China, it was thought that the big pumping organ in your chest was where your thoughts came from, or where your soul resides.
Ancient western thought followed a similar belief. Thus phrases like “I love you with all my heart” and “I give you my whole heart.”

Impermanence

 wú cháng
 mujou
Impermanence Scroll

無常 is the state of being “not permanent,” “not enduring,” transitory, or evolving.

It can also mean variable or changeable. In some contexts, it can refer to a ghost that is supposed to take a soul upon death. Following that, this term can also mean to pass away or die.

In the Buddhist context, this is a reminder that everything in this world is ever-changing, and all circumstances of your life are temporary.
If you take the Buddhist philosophy further, none of these circumstances are real, and your existence is an illusion. Thus, the idea of the eternal soul is perhaps just your attachment to your ego. Once you release your attachment to all impermanent things, you will be on your way to enlightenment and Buddhahood.

Language notes for this word when used outside the context of Buddhism:
In Korean Hanja, this means uncertainty, transiency, mutability, or evanescent.
In Japanese, the definition orbits closer to the state of being uncertain.

Purity

Clean and Pure

 jìng
 jou
 
Purity Scroll

淨 is the most simple way to express purity or cleanliness in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

As a single character, the concept is broad: This can be a verb (the act of cleaning, purifying, or cleansing) but it can also be the state of being clean, pure, and chaste. In some contexts, it can be a place to clean (like a bathing room for the soul in a Buddhist context). In Japanese, this can be a female given name “Jou” or “jō” (the Japanese equivalent of the English girl's name “Chastity”).

Seishin Budo

 seishin budou
Seishin Budo Scroll

精神武道 is the Japanese martial arts title, Seishin Budo.

The first two characters, 精神, can mean vigor, vitality, drive, spiritual, mind, spirit, soul, heart, ethos, attitude, mentality, will, intention, essence, and fundamental significance.

The last two characters, 武道, are the Japanese word for martial arts (literally the Martial Way). This title can also be romanized as Seshin Budou or Seishin Budō.

Goddess of Beauty / Beautiful Spirit

 měi shén
 mikami
Goddess of Beauty / Beautiful Spirit Scroll

In Chinese, 美神 means Goddess of Beauty.

The first character means beauty or beautiful.
The second character means spirit (can also mean god, goddess, or soul).
Some will use this as a short way to say, “Beautiful Spirit.”

This has a similar meaning in Japanese but is used more often as a female given name in Japan. As a Japanese given name, it can be pronounced Mikami, Mikan, or Binasu.

Open Your Heart

 chǎng kāi xīn fēi
Open Your Heart Scroll

敞開心扉 is the most common way to express the idea of “Opening your heart” in Chinese.

This phrase is made up or two words:
敞开 = To open wide, to be unrestricted.
心扉 = Inner heart or soul.

If you want it brokend down further into individual characters:
敞 = Open to the view of all people, spacious, to open wide, or to disclose.
开 = Open, to start, or the beginning.
心 = Heart/Mind
扉 = Door, gate, opening, or the title page.

So maybe you can say, “To open wide the door of your heart and mind to all.”


Other variations of “open your heart” also exist such as 打開心扉, 敞開你的心扉, 打開你的心, and Simplified Chinese 敞开心扉, 打开心扉, 敞开你的心扉, or 打开你的心. These are also correct, but not as commonly used as 敞開心扉.

Strong Body, Strong Mind

 tsuyo i karada tsuyo i kokoro
Strong Body, Strong Mind Scroll

強い体強い心 is a way to write “strong mind, strong body” in Japanese.

Each of the two lines starts with 強い (tsuyoi) which means: strong; powerful; mighty; potent; resistant; resilient; durable; tough; stiff; hard; inflexible.

The body is represented with 体 (the ancient version is 體, romanized as karada), which means: body; build; physique; posture; torso; trunk; health.

Mind is represented with 心 (kokoro), which can mean heart, mind, or soul, depending on context.

強い體強い心 is not a common phrase in Japanese, so it's not the most natural title for calligraphy. In English, you might want to write it, “strong mind, strong body” but, “strong mind, strong body,” is more natural in Japanese.


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

Jin Shin Jyutsu

 rén shén shù
 jin shin jutsu
Jin Shin Jyutsu Scroll

仁神術 is Jin Shin Jyutsu or Jin Shin Jutsu.

This is a practice of calming the mind and clearing the flow of Qi energy in the body. Jin Shin Jyutsu has some commonality with the practice of Reiki.

A good translation of 仁神術 would be “Benevolent Spirit Method.”

We can break that down into all of the possible meanings:

仁 = benevolence (esp. as a virtue of Confucianism), consideration, compassion, humanity, charity, kindness, or virtue.

神 = deity, soul, spirit, mysterious, psyche, god, divinity, spiritual powers, deva, divine, spiritual, or supernatural.

術 = way, method, means, art, trick, or plan. The correct romaji for this 術 Kanji should be “jutsu.” However, in martial arts, this is often written “jitsu” but in this case, “jyutsu” became common.

Immovable Mind

fudoshin

 fu dou shin
Immovable Mind Scroll

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 unwavering mind, immovable mind, unwavering composure, 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.”




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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Soul Sisters姊妹花jiě mèi huā
jie3 mei4 hua1
jie mei hua
jiemeihua
chieh mei hua
chiehmeihua
Beautiful Soul美魂bi tamashi / bitamashi
Soul Mates靈魂伴侶
灵魂伴侣
reikon hanryo
reikonhanryo
líng hún bàn lǚ
ling2 hun2 ban4 lv3
ling hun ban lv
linghunbanlv
ling hun pan lü
linghunpanlü
Tao
Dao of the Heart
Soul
心道xīn dào / xin1 dao4 / xin dao / xindaohsin tao / hsintao
Beautiful Soul美しい魂utsukushii tamashii
utsukushiitamashii
utsukushi tamashi
Soul Mates天生一對
天生一对
tiān shēng yí duì
tian1 sheng1 yi2 dui4
tian sheng yi dui
tianshengyidui
t`ien sheng i tui
tienshengitui
tien sheng i tui
Beautiful Spirit美しい精神utsukushi seishin
utsukushiseishin
Independent Spirit
Independent Heart
獨立心
独立心
dokuritsushin
Mind Body Spirit身心靈 / 身心霊
身心灵
mi shin rei
mishinrei
shēn xīn líng
shen1 xin1 ling2
shen xin ling
shenxinling
shen hsin ling
shenhsinling
Lingering Mind殘心
残心
zan shin / zanshincán xīn / can2 xin1 / can xin / canxints`an hsin / tsanhsin / tsan hsin
No Mind
Mushin
無心
无心
mu shin / mushinwú xīn / wu2 xin1 / wu xin / wuxinwu hsin / wuhsin
Mind of the Beginner初心sho shin / shoshinchū xīn / chu1 xin1 / chu xin / chuxinch`u hsin / chuhsin / chu hsin
Spirit
Spiritual Essence
shin / kamishén / shen2 / shen
Shinto神道shin tou / shin dou
shintou / shindou
shin to / shin do
shén dào / shen2 dao4 / shen dao / shendaoshen tao / shentao
Listen to Your Heart
Follow Your Heart
隨心而行
随心而行
suí xīn ér xíng
sui2 xin1 er2 xing2
sui xin er xing
suixinerxing
sui hsin erh hsing
suihsinerhhsing
Impermanence無常
无常
mujou / mujowú cháng / wu2 chang2 / wu chang / wuchangwu ch`ang / wuchang / wu chang
Purityjou / jojìng / jing4 / jingching
Seishin Budo精神武道seishin budou
seishinbudou
seishin budo
Goddess of Beauty
Beautiful Spirit
美神mikamiměi shén / mei3 shen2 / mei shen / meishen
Open Your Heart敞開心扉
敞开心扉
chǎng kāi xīn fēi
chang3 kai1 xin1 fei1
chang kai xin fei
changkaixinfei
ch`ang k`ai hsin fei
changkaihsinfei
chang kai hsin fei
Strong Body, Strong Mind強い體強い心
強い体強い心
tsuyo i karada tsuyo i kokoro
tsuyoikaradatsuyoikokoro
Jin Shin Jyutsu仁神術jin shin jutsu
jinshinjutsu
rén shén shù
ren2 shen2 shu4
ren shen shu
renshenshu
jen shen shu
jenshenshu
Immovable Mind不動心fu dou shin
fudoushin
fu do shin
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 The Way of the Soul 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 The Way of the Soul Kanji, The Way of the Soul Characters, The Way of the Soul in Mandarin Chinese, The Way of the Soul Characters, The Way of the Soul in Chinese Writing, The Way of the Soul in Japanese Writing, The Way of the Soul in Asian Writing, The Way of the Soul Ideograms, Chinese The Way of the Soul symbols, The Way of the Soul Hieroglyphics, The Way of the Soul Glyphs, The Way of the Soul in Chinese Letters, The Way of the Soul Hanzi, The Way of the Soul in Japanese Kanji, The Way of the Soul Pictograms, The Way of the Soul in the Chinese Written-Language, or The Way of the Soul in the Japanese Written-Language.