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A 鲲 (Kun) is a famous sea monster, often associated or used interchangeably with a 鵬 (Peng).
鯤 is comparable to Leviathan or Jonah's whale.
In Chinese mythology, the Kun is a giant fish said to be able to turn into a bird.
鯤 and the mythological creature is also known in Japanese and Korean. However, in some context, this character can refer to fry (fish babies).
鵬程萬里 is an ancient Chinese proverb used in modern times to wish someone a long and successful career.
It's really about the 10,000 Flight of the Peng (Peng, also known as Roc is a mythical fish that can turn into a bird and take flight).
庄子 - Zhuangzi
Breaking down each character:
1. Peng or Roc (a kind of bird).
2. Journey (in this case, a flight).
3. 10,000 (Ten Thousand).
4. Li is a unit of distance often referred to as a "Chinese Mile", though the real distance is about half a kilometer.
Direct Translation: "Peng's Journey [of] 10,000 Li".
Literal meaning: "The 10,000-Li Flying Range Of The Roc".
Perceived meaning: "To have a bright future" or "To go far".
This proverb/idiom comes from the book of Zhuangzi. It tells the tale of a huge fish which could turn into a gigantic bird. This bird was called "peng" and was many miles long. This legendary size allowed the Peng to fly from the Northern Sea to the Southern Sea in a single bound.
Wishing someone "a Peng's Journey of 10,000 Li", will imply that they will be able to travel far without stopping, and will have great success, a long career, and a prosperous future.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Kun | 鯤 鲲 | kon | kūn / kun1 / kun | k`un / kun |
A Bright Future | 鵬程萬里 鹏程万里 | péng chéng wàn lǐ peng2 cheng2 wan4 li3 peng cheng wan li pengchengwanli | p`eng ch`eng wan li pengchengwanli peng cheng wan li |
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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. |
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your kun search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
鯤 鲲 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun kon / こん |
![]() More info & calligraphy: (archaism) (See 鵬) kun (in Chinese mythology, giant fish said to be able to turn into a bird) |
昆汀 see styles |
kūn tīng / kun1 ting1 k`un t`ing / kun ting |
![]() More info & calligraphy: |
困 see styles |
kùn / kun4 k`un / kun kon |
to trap; to surround; hard-pressed; stranded; destitute distress |
坤 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun kon / こん |
one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing earth; female principle; ☷; ancient Chinese compass point: 225° (southwest) kun (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: earth, southwest); (given name) Mamoru earth |
堃 坤 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
variant of 坤[kun1] See: 坤 |
壼 壸 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun tsubo / つぼ tsuho / つほ tsufu / つふ |
palace corridor; fig. women's quarters; women (irregular kanji usage) (1) jar; pot; vase; (2) dice cup; (3) depression (i.e. the basin of a waterfall); (4) (archaism) target (when aiming an arrow); (5) (kana only) (figurative) bull's-eye; (6) (kana only) key point (of a conversation, etc.); (7) (kana only) acupuncture point; moxibustion point; (8) (kana only) nodes on a fingerboard (of a shamisen, etc.); (irregular kanji usage) (out-dated or obsolete kana usage) (1) jar; pot; vase; (2) dice cup; (3) depression (i.e. the basin of a waterfall); (4) (archaism) target (when aiming an arrow); (5) (kana only) (figurative) bull's-eye; (6) (kana only) key point (of a conversation, etc.); (7) (kana only) acupuncture point; moxibustion point; (8) (kana only) nodes on a fingerboard (of a shamisen, etc.) |
崐 昆 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
variant of 崑|昆[kun1] See: 昆 |
崑 昆 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun kon / こん |
used in place names, notably Kunlun Mountains 崑崙|昆仑[Kun1 lun2]; (also used for transliteration) (given name) Kon |
悃 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun makoto / まこと |
sincere (given name) Makoto |
捆 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun |
a bunch; to tie together; bundle |
昆 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun kon / こん |
descendant; elder brother; a style of Chinese poetry (surname) Kon |
晜 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
descendant; elder brother |
梱 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun kori / こり |
movable door sill (n,n-suf,ctr) (1) wrapped package; bale; (2) (See 行李) portmanteau; wicker trunk; luggage; baggage |
棍 see styles |
gùn / gun4 kun |
stick; rod; truncheon |
滾 滚 see styles |
gǔn / gun3 kun |
to boil; to roll; to take a hike; Get lost! |
焜 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
brilliant |
熴 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
variant of 焜[kun1] |
琨 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
(jade) |
睏 困 see styles |
kùn / kun4 k`un / kun |
sleepy; tired See: 困 |
磙 see styles |
gǔn / gun3 kun |
roller; to level with a roller |
稛 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun |
full |
綑 捆 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun |
variant of 捆[kun3] |
緄 绲 see styles |
gǔn / gun3 kun |
cord; embroidered sash; to sew |
菎 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun |
beautiful jade; bamboo |
蔉 see styles |
gǔn / gun3 kun |
to bank up the roots of plants |
蜫 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun kon |
Insects, creeping things; insects |
袞 衮 see styles |
gǔn / gun3 kun |
imperial robe |
裍 see styles |
kǔn / kun3 k`un / kun |
a border or band on the edge of a dress |
褌 裈 see styles |
kūn / kun1 k`un / kun mitsu / みつ |
pants (old) (1) T-shaped section of a loincloth; (2) {sumo} (See 回し・まわし・1) mawashi |
輥 辊 see styles |
gǔn / gun3 kun |
to revolve; stone roller |
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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 Kun Kanji, Kun Characters, Kun in Mandarin Chinese, Kun Characters, Kun in Chinese Writing, Kun in Japanese Writing, Kun in Asian Writing, Kun Ideograms, Chinese Kun symbols, Kun Hieroglyphics, Kun Glyphs, Kun in Chinese Letters, Kun Hanzi, Kun in Japanese Kanji, Kun Pictograms, Kun in the Chinese Written-Language, or Kun in the Japanese Written-Language.
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