Many custom options...

Tan Paper and Copper Silk Love Wall Scroll
Red Paper and Ivory Silk Love Wall Scroll
Orange Paper Love Scroll
Crazy Blue and Gold Silk Love Scroll


And formats...

Love Vertical Portrait
Love Horizontal Wall Scroll
Love Vertical Portrait

Gate in Chinese / Japanese...

Buy a Gate calligraphy wall scroll here!

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


  1. Gate

  2. Dharma Gate

  3. Dharma Gate of Bliss

  4. Monshu / Gate Keeper

  5. The Great Path has No Gate

  6. The Gateless Gate

  7. Mumonkan / The Gateless Gate

  8. Black Flag Gate / Hek Ki Boen

  9. Door of Great Wisdom

10. Open Door

11. Return From Death’s Door

12. One Who Does Not Do Bad Things, Worries Not of Knocks at His Door


 mén
 mon
 
Gate Scroll

門 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for gate, door, gateway, doorway, opening, entrance, valve, or switch.

Most commonly, this is simply a gate or door.

門 is also a Chinese surname that romanizes as Men.

In Japanese, this can be surnames romanizing as Yuki, Mon, To, or Kado.

In the Buddhist context, beyond meaning a door or gate, this can be a counter for a Buddhist sect, teaching, or school (we might say “slice” of bread, this would be a “gate” of teaching). In this way, it kind of refers to one of several doors that lead to salvation or nirvana.

 fǎ mén
 hou mon
Dharma Gate Scroll

This is the Dharma Gate, The Gate to Enlightenment, or Dharmaparyāya.

The doctrines, or wisdom of Buddha is regarded as the door to enlightenment.

Dharma Gate of Bliss

 an raku no hou mon
Dharma Gate of Bliss Scroll

安樂の法門 represents that the Dharma Gate or the Door to Enlightenment leads to peace and happiness.

The Dharma Gate is the method of attaining or actualizing peace and happiness in Zen and other Buddhist traditions.

Monshu / Gate Keeper

 mén zhǔ
 monshu
Monshu / Gate Keeper Scroll

In modern Japanese, 門主 is the title of a head priest of a temple or monastery.

This can also refer to the spiritual leader of the sect and/or direct descendant of its founder.
In the past, this could refer to the founder of a Buddhist sect.

The literal meaning of 門主 is gatekeeper or keeper of the gate.

In the Chinese Buddhist dictionary, this entry comes up as the controller of a gate or sect. However, this term is not commonly used in Chinese.

The Great Path has No Gate

 dà dào wú mén
 dai dou mu mon
The Great Path has No Gate Scroll

大道無門 is a Buddhist proverb that means “The Great Way has no entrance,” “The Great Way is gateless,” or “The Great Path lacks a gate.”

This can be translated in many other ways.

This concept was authored within a long sacred text by 無門慧開 (known as Wúmén Huìkāi in Chinese or Mumon Ekai in Japanese). He was a Chinese Chan Master (in Japanese, a Zen Master) who lived between 1183 and 1260 AD. His most famous work was a 48-koan collection titled “The Gateless Barrier” or “The Gateless Gate” (無門關 Wú Mén Guān in Chinese, or 無門関 Mu Mon Kan in Japanese). This calligraphy title is a notable line from this collection.


I like this reference to the source of this proverb: The Gateless Gate 無門關

The Gateless Gate

 wú mén guān
 mu mon kan
The Gateless Gate Scroll

無門關 is the ancient title for “The Gateless Barrier.” This has both direct meaning and is the title of a 13th-century collection of koans, compiled by a Chinese Chan Master known as Wumen in China (known in Japan as Zen Master Mumon).

While this is the original title, you may see this written as 無門関 in Japan, where the last character, 關, was simplified to 関 after 1945.

Mumonkan / The Gateless Gate

 mu mon kan
Mumonkan / The Gateless Gate Scroll

無門関 is the specifically Japanese title for “The Gateless Barrier.” This has both direct meaning and is the title of a 13th-century collection of koans, compiled by Zen Master Mumon (actually a Chinese Chan Master known as Wumen in China).

The original title is 無門關, but the last Kanji was simplified to 関 in modern Japan.

Black Flag Gate / Hek Ki Boen

 hēi qí mén
 hak ki mun
Black Flag Gate / Hek Ki Boen Scroll

黑旗門 is often romanized as “Hek Ki Boen” in Cantonese, this is the title for a certain branch school of Wing Chun or Eng Chun martial arts.

Door of Great Wisdom

 dà zhì huì mén
 dai chi e mon
Door of Great Wisdom Scroll

大智慧門 is the title for “The Great Wisdom Door,” or “The Gate to Great Wisdom.”

This refers to a portal to all wisdom and knowledge in Buddhism.

 kāi mén
 kai mon
Open Door Scroll

開門 means “to open a door,” “opening gate” or figuratively, “to open for business.”

Return From Death’s Door

 jué chǔ féng shēng
Return From Death’s Door Scroll

絕處逢生 is a Chinese proverb/idiom that talks of coming back from death's door or an unexpected rescue from danger.

Figuratively, this can be to recover from a seemingly impossible situation or to find a way out of a predicament.

If you have survived a near-death experience or severe illness, this might be an appropriate wall scroll for you.

One Who Does Not Do Bad Things, Worries Not of Knocks at His Door

 bái tiān bú zuò kuī xīn shì yè bàn qiāo mén bù chī jīng
One Who Does Not Do Bad Things, Worries Not of Knocks at His Door Scroll

白天不做亏心事夜半敲门不吃惊 literally translates as: [If one does] not do bad things in the daytime, one need not be alarmed at knocks on the door in the middle of the night.

The meaning is something like, “A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.” Basically, the message is, “don't commit crimes and you won't be jumpy every time the doorbell rings (so don't do anything wrong and your life will have fewer worries and you can sleep at night).”


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Gate
monmén / men2 / men
Dharma Gate法門
法门
hou mon / houmon / ho monfǎ mén / fa3 men2 / fa men / famen
Dharma Gate of Bliss安樂の法門an raku no hou mon
anrakunohoumon
an raku no ho mon
Monshu
Gate Keeper
門主
门主
monshumén zhǔ / men2 zhu3 / men zhu / menzhumen chu / menchu
The Great Path has No Gate大道無門
大道无门
dai dou mu mon
daidoumumon
dai do mu mon
dà dào wú mén
da4 dao4 wu2 men2
da dao wu men
dadaowumen
ta tao wu men
tataowumen
The Gateless Gate無門關
无门关
mu mon kan / mumonkanwú mén guān
wu2 men2 guan1
wu men guan
wumenguan
wu men kuan
wumenkuan
Mumonkan
The Gateless Gate
無門関mu mon kan / mumonkan
Black Flag Gate
Hek Ki Boen
黑旗門
黑旗门
hēi qí mén
hei1 qi2 men2
hei qi men
heiqimen
hei ch`i men
heichimen
hei chi men
Door of Great Wisdom大智慧門
大智慧门
dai chi e mon
daichiemon
dà zhì huì mén
da4 zhi4 hui4 men2
da zhi hui men
dazhihuimen
ta chih hui men
tachihhuimen
Open Door開門
开门
kai mon / kaimonkāi mén / kai1 men2 / kai men / kaimenk`ai men / kaimen / kai men
Return From Death’s Door絕處逢生
绝处逢生
jué chǔ féng shēng
jue2 chu3 feng2 sheng1
jue chu feng sheng
juechufengsheng
chüeh ch`u feng sheng
chüehchufengsheng
chüeh chu feng sheng
One Who Does Not Do Bad Things, Worries Not of Knocks at His Door白天不做虧心事夜半敲門不吃驚
白天不做亏心事夜半敲门不吃惊
bái tiān bú zuò kuī xīn shì yè bàn qiāo mén bù chī jīng
bai2 tian1 bu2 zuo4 kui1 xin1 shi4 ye4 ban4 qiao1 men2 bu4 chi1 jing1
bai tian bu zuo kui xin shi ye ban qiao men bu chi jing
pai t`ien pu tso k`uei hsin shih yeh pan ch`iao men pu ch`ih ching
pai tien pu tso kuei hsin shih yeh pan chiao men pu chih ching
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 Gate in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...

A Journey of a Thousand MilesAadhyaAadilahAaliyahAartiAbdullahAbility to AdaptAbiolaAdairAdamAdelAdraAdrianaAeriAhmadAhriAiki BudoAileeAimanAimieAineAinsleyAiraAishaAishuAjayAkashAkhilAkiraAkramAlanAlayaAleeshaAlesiaAlexaAlexanderAlexandraAlfieAlfordAliaAliciaAlieAlinAlinaAlisaAlishaAlizaAllahAllanaAllieAllysonAltheaAlvaAmaanAmanAmandineAmaniAmbreAmedeoAminaAmiraAmmarAmnaAmraAnalynAnastasiaAndersonAndreaAndreasAng PaoAngelAngelicAngeloAnitaAnjuAnkerAnkitAnkitaAnkoAnnaAnneAnoukAnupAnushkaAnyaArabellaAranyaArchangelArcherArelyAriaArielArjunArlettArloArmaArmanArmandoArroyoArt of WarArunArvinAshokAshrafAshtonAudiAudrianaAuraAuriAveryAyakaAylaAyoubAyraAyushAzariAzraBangladeshBarraganBartekBartholomewBastidaBe Like WaterBe True to YourselfBe Water My FriendBeatriceBeautiful PrincessBelaBenaBergBernBernadetteBethanyBhargavBhavyaBibiBible VerseBlessingBlessingsBodhicittaBogdanBohaiBoschBoxingBoys Be AmbitiousBradBradyBrandonBraydenBreaBreeBrettBrodyBroken SoulBrotherhoodBrotherly LoveBruce LeeBrysonBurenBurkeBushido CodeCabreraCadeCaidenCailinCaitlynCallieCallistaCalmCalm and Open MindCamdenCamilaCamillaCamrynCantrellCapucineCarlCarliCarmellaCarolineCarollCarsonCarstenCaseyCassieCassiusCecilyChanceChantaleCharismaCharisseCharleenChastityChaudharyCheyenneChiaraChoiChristaChristianityChristina

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 Gate Kanji, Gate Characters, Gate in Mandarin Chinese, Gate Characters, Gate in Chinese Writing, Gate in Japanese Writing, Gate in Asian Writing, Gate Ideograms, Chinese Gate symbols, Gate Hieroglyphics, Gate Glyphs, Gate in Chinese Letters, Gate Hanzi, Gate in Japanese Kanji, Gate Pictograms, Gate in the Chinese Written-Language, or Gate in the Japanese Written-Language.

70 people have searched for Gate in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Gate was last searched for by someone else on Dec 8th, 2024