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Cho Wa
調和 is one of the several ways to express harmony in Chinese and Japanese.
Note: The first character means harmony but also suggests a musical meaning. It can also describe warriors marching in perfect cadence (in step) or to regulate something.
The second character carries the meaning of harmony and peace by itself.
Together, these characters create a word that can be defined as harmonious, to mediate, to reconcile, to compromise; mediation, temper, to mix, blend, blended, season, seasoning (getting the flavors of the food in balance), to placate, or be in harmonious proportion.
The meaning varies depending on the context. However, when hanging as a wall scroll, this will refer to the person (you) being balanced and in harmony while rational and under control simultaneously.
生活信條 is a Chinese proverb that means “principles of life” or “The personal obligations and rules that you live by.”
For instance, if you were a vegetarian, the act of not eating meat fits into this category.
This could also be translated as a “Way of living.”
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).
Before enlightenment or after, chores remain.
頓悟之前砍柴挑水; 頓悟之後砍柴挑水 means “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
This is a Chinese proverb that is attributed to 吴力 (Wú Lì) who lived between 1632 and 1718 - living part of his life as a devout Buddhist, and many years as a Catholic Jesuit Priest in China - what an interesting life!
This has been explained many times in many ways. I am a Buddhist, and here is my brief take on this proverb...
Before enlightenment, one may find daily chores mundane, tedious, and boring. However, upon reaching enlightenment one is not relieved of the details of daily life. An enlightened person will, however, see such chores as a joy, and do them mindfully.
There is another version floating around, which is 在你領悟之前砍柴、運水。在你領悟之後,砍柴、運水。
If you want this other version, just contact me. The meaning is the same, just different phrasing.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your Tiao search...
| Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
調和 调和 see styles |
tiáo hé tiao2 he2 t`iao ho tiao ho chouwa / chowa ちょうわ |
More info & calligraphy: Harmony / Balance(n,vs,vi,adj-no) harmony; accord; reconciliation; agreement; (personal name) Chōwa to adjust |
佻 see styles |
tiāo tiao1 t`iao tiao |
frivolous; unsteady; delay |
宨 see styles |
tiǎo tiao3 t`iao tiao |
variant of 窕[tiao3] |
岧 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
lofty peak |
岹 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
variant of 岧[tiao2] |
恌 see styles |
tiāo tiao1 t`iao tiao |
frivolous |
挑 see styles |
tiǎo tiao3 t`iao tiao idomu いどむ |
to raise; to dig up; to poke; to prick; to incite; to stir up (female given name) Idomu |
朓 see styles |
tiǎo tiao3 t`iao tiao |
(literary) the appearance of the moon in the west at the end of a lunar month |
條 条 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao jouji / joji じょうじ |
strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) (personal name) Jōji A length (of anything); a law, order. |
眺 see styles |
tiào tiao4 t`iao tiao nagamu ながむ |
to gaze into the distance (female given name) Nagamu |
祧 see styles |
tiāo tiao1 t`iao tiao |
ancestral hall |
窕 see styles |
tiǎo tiao3 t`iao tiao utsuro うつろ |
quiet and secluded; gentle, graceful, and elegant (place-name) Utsuro |
笤 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
broom |
糶 粜 see styles |
tiào tiao4 t`iao tiao seri せり |
to sell (grain) (irregular okurigana usage) (1) competing; competition; (2) auction |
聎 see styles |
tiāo tiao1 t`iao tiao |
tinnitus |
芀 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
old variant of 苕[tiao2] |
苕 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
reed grass; Chinese trumpet vine (Campsis grandiflora) (old) |
蜩 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao higurashi ひぐらし |
cicada (kana only) evening cicada (Tanna japonensis) |
覜 see styles |
tiào tiao4 t`iao tiao |
have an audience |
誂 see styles |
tiǎo tiao3 t`iao tiao |
to tempt |
調 调 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao mitsugu みつぐ |
to harmonize; to reconcile; to blend; to suit well; to adjust; to regulate; to season (food); to provoke; to incite (n,n-suf) (1) {music} key; (n,n-suf) (2) {music} mode (in gagaku); (suffix noun) (3) time; tempo; rhythm; (suffix noun) (4) meter (of a poem); metre; (suffix noun) (5) style; form; mood; pattern; (6) (hist) tax in kind (paid with locally produced goods; under the ritsuryō system); (male given name) Mitsugu To harmonize, blend; regulate, control; to change about, exchange; a song, tune. |
趒 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
to jump; to climb over; to leap; to posture; a gangway |
跳 see styles |
tiào tiao4 t`iao tiao |
to jump; to hop; to skip over; to bounce; to palpitate |
迢 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao takashi たかし |
remote (given name) Takashi far |
鞗 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
reins of leather |
髫 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
(literary) hair hanging down in front (children's hairstyle) |
鰷 鲦 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
Korean sharpbelly (fish, Hemiculter leucisculus); chub |
齠 龆 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
shed the milk teeth; young |
䠷 see styles |
tiǎo tiao3 t`iao tiao |
used in 高䠷[gao1 tiao3] |
䩦 see styles |
tiáo tiao2 t`iao tiao |
variant of 鞗[tiao2] |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Harmony Balance | 調和 调和 | chou wa / chouwa / cho wa | tiáo hé / tiao2 he2 / tiao he / tiaohe | t`iao ho / tiaoho / tiao ho |
| Principles of Life | 生活信條 生活信条 | shēng huó xìn tiáo sheng1 huo2 xin4 tiao2 sheng huo xin tiao shenghuoxintiao | sheng huo hsin t`iao shenghuohsintiao sheng huo hsin tiao |
|
| Unconditional Love | 無條件的愛 无条件的爱 | wú tiáo jiàn de ài wu2 tiao2 jian4 de ai4 wu tiao jian de ai wutiaojiandeai | wu t`iao chien te ai wutiaochienteai wu tiao chien te ai |
|
| 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 |
|
| Chop Wood, Carry Water | 頓悟之前砍柴挑水頓悟之后砍柴挑水 顿悟之前砍柴挑水顿悟之后砍柴挑水 | dùn wù zhī qián kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dùn wù zhī hòu kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dun4 wu4 zhi1 qian2 kan3 chai2 tiao1 shui3 dun4 wu4 zhi1 hou4 kan3 chai2 tiao1 shui3 dun wu zhi qian kan chai tiao shui dun wu zhi hou kan chai tiao shui | tun wu chih ch`ien k`an ch`ai t`iao shui tun wu chih hou k`an ch`ai t`iao shui tun wu chih chien kan chai tiao shui tun wu chih hou kan chai tiao shui |
|
| 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. | ||||
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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.
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 Tiao Kanji, Tiao Characters, Tiao in Mandarin Chinese, Tiao Characters, Tiao in Chinese Writing, Tiao in Japanese Writing, Tiao in Asian Writing, Tiao Ideograms, Chinese Tiao symbols, Tiao Hieroglyphics, Tiao Glyphs, Tiao in Chinese Letters, Tiao Hanzi, Tiao in Japanese Kanji, Tiao Pictograms, Tiao in the Chinese Written-Language, or Tiao in the Japanese Written-Language.
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