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1. Changing Oneself / Self Reformation
2. Mark the boat to find the lost sword / Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world
4. Change
5. Flexibility
6. Dynamic
7. Move On / Change Way of Thinking
8. Impermanence
9. Dynamic
刻舟求劍 is an originally-Chinese proverb that serves as a warning to people that things are always in a state of change.
Thus, you must consider that and not depend on the old ways or a way that may have worked in the past but is no longer valid.
This idiom/proverb comes from the following story:
A man was traveling in a ferry boat across a river. With him, he carried a treasured sword. Along the way, the man became overwhelmed and intoxicated by the beautiful view and accidentally dropped his prized sword into the river. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a knife and marked on the rail of the boat where exactly he had lost his sword.
When the boat arrived on the other side of the river, the man jumped out of the boat and searched for his sword right under where he'd made the mark. Of course, the boat had moved a great distance since he made the mark, and thus, he could not find the sword.
While this man may seem foolhardy, we must take a great lesson from this parable: Circumstances change, so one should use methods to handle the change. In modern China, this is used in business to mean that one should not depend on old business models for a changing market.
This proverb dates back to the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) of the territory now known as China. It has spread and is somewhat known in Japan and Korea.
改變 can mean to change, become different, or transform.
This can refer to the changing world or a person who changes their attitude or something about themselves.
Note: An alternate version of the second character is used in Japanese. This is actually an old alternate Chinese form which is seldom seen in China anymore. If you want this version, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the "Select and Customize" button.
靈活性 is a Chinese and Korean word that means flexibility or being open to change.
You consider others' ideas and feelings and don't insist on your own way. Flexibility gives you creative new ways to get things done. Flexibility helps you to keep changing for the better. 靈活性 could also be defined as having a “flexible nature.”
See Also: Cooperation
動態 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for a word that means “dynamic state.”
This word can also mean:
movement; motion; development; trend; dynamic (science); the state of being dynamic.
This word can be used to describe someone or an organization that keeps up with cutting-edge trends. Always flexible, always changing, always moving.
乗り換える is the Japanese way to say “move on.” This can also be translated as “to change one's mind,” “to change methods,” or “to change one's way of thinking.” For instance, if you changed your love interest or political ideology, you might describe the act of that change with this title.
Colloquially in Japan, this is also used to describe the act of transferring trains or changing from one bus or train to another.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
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.
Moving / Motion / Ever-Changing
動 is the only Chinese/Japanese/Korean word that can encompass the idea of “dynamic” into one character.
動 can also mean:
to use; to act; to move; to change; motion; stir.
In the Buddhist context, it means: Movement arises from the nature of wind which is the cause of motion.
The key point of this word is that it represents motion or always moving. Some might say “lively” or certainly the opposite of something that is stagnant or dead.
Note: In Japanese, this can also be a female given name, Yurugi.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Changing Oneself Self Reformation | 自己改革 | ji ko kai kaku jikokaikaku | ||
Mark the boat to find the lost sword Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world | 刻舟求劍 刻舟求剑 | kokushuukyuuken kokushukyuken | kè zhōu qiú jiàn ke4 zhou1 qiu2 jian4 ke zhou qiu jian kezhouqiujian | k`o chou ch`iu chien kochouchiuchien ko chou chiu chien |
Red Leaves of Autumn | 紅葉 红叶 | moyo | hóng yè / hong2 ye4 / hong ye / hongye | hung yeh / hungyeh |
Change | 改變 / 改変 改变 | kaihen | gǎi biàn / gai3 bian4 / gai bian / gaibian | kai pien / kaipien |
Flexibility | 靈活性 灵活性 | líng huó xìng ling2 huo2 xing4 ling huo xing linghuoxing | ling huo hsing linghuohsing |
|
Dynamic | 動態 动态 | dou tai / doutai / do tai | dòng tài / dong4 tai4 / dong tai / dongtai | tung t`ai / tungtai / tung tai |
Move On Change Way of Thinking | 乗り換える | norikaeru | ||
Impermanence | 無常 无常 | mujou / mujo | wú cháng / wu2 chang2 / wu chang / wuchang | wu ch`ang / wuchang / wu chang |
Dynamic | 動 动 | dou / do | dòng / dong4 / dong | tung |
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.
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