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身 is how to write “body” as in your human body, in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.
Depending on the context and certain language issues, this character can also mean: main part, hull, oneself, somebody, person, I, me, sword, lifetime, one's station in life, etc.
While this written word is universal in three languages, it still makes a rather odd selection for a wall scroll. Also, they tend to use 体 (karada) in Japanese for the body (depending on context).
See Also: Karada
身心 means “body and mind” or “mental and physical” in Chinese and Japanese.
In the Buddhist context, body and mind encompass the five elements (skandha) of a sentient being.
The body is the physical material (rūpa) of life. The mind embraces the other four skandhas, which are consciousness, perception, action, and knowledge.
身心霊 means “body mind spirit” in Japanese.
This refers to your physical, mental, and spiritual presence.
This can also be translated as “body heart spirit” as 心 can mean mind or heart.
Note that this is a "word list" and not a proper phrase (with a subject, verb, and object) nor a typical title in Japanese. So it's not too commonly seen in Japan. However, the term 身心霊整合性医療 that refers to holistic medicine is gaining popularity.
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).
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.
体 is used in Japanese to mean “body.”
体 can also refer to the form, style, corporeal existence, appearance, identity, or state of something or someone. 體 is also used in Buddhism in regard to the corporeal existence of someone (their earthy vessel). It's kind of a broad term that can be used in a lot of different ways.
As a single character, it's usually pronounced “karada” but it can also be pronounced “tai” or “te” (Japanese pronunciation borrowed from the original Chinese).
體 is not a common Kanji to use for a wall scroll. Only select this if you have a personal and meaningful reason to do so. Also, consider this version to be “Japanese only” - see below...
In Chinese and old Korean Hanja, this character is written in the traditional form shown to the right. If you want this version, click on the character to the right instead of the button above.
身土不二 (Shindofuni) is originally a Buddhist concept or proverb referring to the inseparability of body-mind and geographical circumstances.
This reads, “Body [and] earth [are] not two.”
Other translations or matching ideas include:
Body and land are one.
Body and earth can not be separated.
Body earth sensory curation.
You are what you eat.
Indivisibility of the body and the land (because the body is made from food and food is made from the land).
Going further, this speaks of our human bodies and the land from which we get our food being closely connected. This phrase is often used when talking about natural and organic vegetables coming directly from the farm to provide the healthiest foods in Japan.
Character notes: 身(shin) in this context does not just mean your physical body but a concept including both body and mind.
土 (do) refers to the soil, earth, clay, land, or in some cases, locality. It's not the proper name of Earth, the planet. However, it can refer to the land or realm we live in.
Japanese note: This has been used in Japan, on and off, since 1907 as a slogan for a governmental healthy eating campaign (usually pronounced as shindofuji instead of the original shindofuni in this context). It may have been hijacked from Buddhism for this propaganda purpose, but at least this is “healthy propaganda.”
Korean note: The phrase 身土不二 was in use by 1610 A.D. in Korea, where it can be found in an early medical journal.
In modern South Korea, it's written in Hangul as 신토불이. Korea used Chinese characters (same source as Japanese Kanji) as their only written standard form of the language until about a hundred years ago. Therefore, many Koreans will recognize this as a native phrase and concept.
See Also: Strength and Love in Unity
Spirit, Sword & Body as One
气剑体一致 often gets translated as “Mind Sword Body,” or “Spirit, Sword, and Body as One.” But I think these translations don't tell you enough about what this is really saying.
In this context, 気, which is the modern Japanese version of 氣, means spiritual and unseen energy or “life energy.” In some cases, 気 can be translated as spirit, feeling, or nature. If defined as the mind, it's more about the invisible or intangible parts of one's mind (or soul).
剣 is the Japanese version of 劍 meaning sword.
体 is the modern Japanese version of 體 meaning body.
The Kanji 一 means one, and in this case, suggests “all in one.”
The Kanji 到 means to send, deliver, or convey. But together, 一到 suggests all these things in agreement, union cooperation, or in concert.
Note: Arguments exist as to whether this should be romanized as Kikentaiitchi, Kikentaiicchi, or kikentaiichi. Technically, if you drop the last character, you get 気剣体一 and kikentaiichi (ki ken tai ichi), which is also a valid phrase.
痛みは体から抜ける弱さ is how to write “pain is weakness leaving the body” in Japanese.
I remember this being shouted a lot during U.S. Marine Corps boot camp.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
I remember this being shouted a lot during U.S. Marine Corps boot camp. 疼痛就是衰弱離你而去的時候 is how to write that phrase in Chinese. At least, this is as close as we could compose/translate it, and hold the full original meaning and connotations.
The version shown here is really, “Pain is weakness leaving your body.” Although it's said in English both ways (the or your), it works better in Chinese with “your.”
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.
(for body or mind)
鍛煉/鍛鍊 means to exercise in much the same way we use the word exercise in English.
This can be exercising your body at the gym or exercising your mind in studies. Most of the time, this refers to physical exercise.
This can also be translated as to temper, to toughen, to train, to drill, to forge, or simply discipline.
You're only old if you think you're old
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Body | 身 | mi | shēn / shen1 / shen | |
Body and Mind | 身心 | shin jin / shinjin | shēn xīn / shen1 xin1 / shen xin / shenxin | shen hsin / shenhsin |
Body Mind Spirit | 身心霊 | mi shin rei mishinrei | ||
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 |
Body Karada | 體 体 | karada / tai / te | tǐ / ti3 / ti | t`i / ti |
Body and Earth in Unity | 身土不二 | shindofuni / shindofuji | ||
Energy Sword Body in Concert | 気剣体一致 / 氣劍體一致 气剑体一致 | ki ken tai icchi kikentaiicchi ki ken tai ichi | ||
Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body | 痛みは體から抜ける弱さ 痛みは体から抜ける弱さ | itami wa karada kara nukeru yowasa | ||
Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body | 疼痛就是衰弱離你而去的時候 疼痛就是衰弱离你而去的时候 | téng tòng jiù shì shuāi ruò lí nǐ ér qù de shí hòu teng2 tong4 jiu4 shi4 shuai1 ruo4 li2 ni3 er2 qu4 de shi2 hou4 teng tong jiu shi shuai ruo li ni er qu de shi hou | t`eng t`ung chiu shih shuai jo li ni erh ch`ü te shih hou teng tung chiu shih shuai jo li ni erh chü te shih hou |
|
Strong Body, Strong Mind | 強い體強い心 強い体強い心 | tsuyo i karada tsuyo i kokoro tsuyoikaradatsuyoikokoro | ||
Strong Mind Strong Body | 強壯的身體堅強的心態 强壮的身体坚强的心态 | qiáng zhuàng de shēn tǐ jiān qiáng de xīn tài qiang2 zhuang4 de shen1 ti3 jian1 qiang2 de xin1 tai4 qiang zhuang de shen ti jian qiang de xin tai | ch`iang chuang te shen t`i chien ch`iang te hsin t`ai chiang chuang te shen ti chien chiang te hsin tai |
|
Exercise | 鍛煉 / 鍛鍊 锻炼 | duàn liàn duan4 lian4 duan lian duanlian | tuan lien tuanlien |
|
You are only as old as you feel | 不怕人老隻怕心老 不怕人老只怕心老 | bú pà rén lǎo zhǐ pà xīn lǎo bu2 pa4 ren2 lao3 zhi3 pa4 xin1 lao3 bu pa ren lao zhi pa xin lao buparenlaozhipaxinlao | pu p`a jen lao chih p`a hsin lao pupajenlaochihpahsinlao pu pa jen lao chih pa hsin lao |
|
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 Body Kanji, Body Characters, Body in Mandarin Chinese, Body Characters, Body in Chinese Writing, Body in Japanese Writing, Body in Asian Writing, Body Ideograms, Chinese Body symbols, Body Hieroglyphics, Body Glyphs, Body in Chinese Letters, Body Hanzi, Body in Japanese Kanji, Body Pictograms, Body in the Chinese Written-Language, or Body in the Japanese Written-Language.
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