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The name Chinese Proverb Living in Chinese...

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Personalize your custom “Chinese Proverb Living” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Chinese Proverb Living” title below...

See also: Old Chinese Proverbs, Philosophies and Idioms


  1. Great Aspirations / Ambition

  2. Enjoy Life

  3. Life of Love

  4. Live in Peace and Contentment

  5. Principles of Life

  6. Chop Wood, Carry Water

  7. Live Well


Great Aspirations / Ambition

 hóng hú zhī zhì
Great Aspirations / Ambition Scroll

鴻鵠之誌 is a Chinese proverb that implies that having grand ambitions also means that others will not understand your great expectations and ideas.

Though the actual words come from a longer saying of Confucius, which goes, “The little swallows living under the eaves wouldn't understand the lofty ambitions of a swan (who flies far and wide).”

This Confucius quote has led to this idiomatic expression in China that means “think big.” What you'd be saying is “The lofty ambitions of a swan.”

Note that Chinese people sometimes refer to the little swallow as one who does not “think big” but is, instead, stuck in a rut or just leading a mundane life. Therefore, it's a compliment to be called a swan but not a good thing to be called a swallow.

 xiǎng shòu shēng huó
Enjoy Life Scroll

享受生活 is a Chinese proverb that means “Enjoy Life.”

The first two characters mean “to enjoy” and the last two mean “life” or “living.”

Life of Love

 ài qíng shēng huó
 aijyou seikatsu
Life of Love Scroll

愛情生活 is the Chinese proverb for “Loving Life.” Some also translate this as “[your] Loving Life” or “Life full of Love.”

This is about being a loving person (to your spouse and/or family) during your life. This is not the same as loving the state of being alive - not “love of living” but rather “being a loving person during your life.”


Note: Korean pronunciation is included above, though use of this proverb in Korean has not been verified.

This proverb can be understood in Japanese but it’s primarily a Chinese proverb (it will "feel" Chinese to a Japanese person).

Live in Peace and Contentment

 ān jū lè yè
 an kyo raku gyou
Live in Peace and Contentment Scroll

安居樂業 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja proverb for “living in peace and working happily,” or “to live in peace and be content with one's occupation.”

Principles of Life

 shēng huó xìn tiáo
Principles of Life Scroll

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.”

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Before enlightenment or after, chores remain.

 dùn wù zhī qián kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dùn wù zhī hòu kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ
Chop Wood, Carry Water Scroll

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.

 chī xiāng hē là
Live Well Scroll

This Chinese proverb means “to eat delicious food and drink liquor.”

It is taken or understood to suggest living well.




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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
Great Aspirations
Ambition
鴻鵠之誌
鸿鹄之志
hóng hú zhī zhì
hong2 hu2 zhi1 zhi4
hong hu zhi zhi
honghuzhizhi
hung hu chih chih
hunghuchihchih
Enjoy Life享受生活xiǎng shòu shēng huó
xiang3 shou4 sheng1 huo2
xiang shou sheng huo
xiangshoushenghuo
hsiang shou sheng huo
hsiangshoushenghuo
Life of Love愛情生活
爱情生活
aijyou seikatsu
aijyouseikatsu
aijyo seikatsu
ài qíng shēng huó
ai4 qing2 sheng1 huo2
ai qing sheng huo
aiqingshenghuo
ai ch`ing sheng huo
aichingshenghuo
ai ching sheng huo
Live in Peace and Contentment安居樂業
安居乐业
an kyo raku gyou
ankyorakugyou
an kyo raku gyo
ān jū lè yè
an1 ju1 le4 ye4
an ju le ye
anjuleye
an chü le yeh
anchüleyeh
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
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
Live Well吃香喝辣chī xiāng hē là
chi1 xiang1 he1 la4
chi xiang he la
chixianghela
ch`ih hsiang ho la
chihhsianghola
chih hsiang ho la
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 Chinese Proverb Living 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!

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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.

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