Not what you want?
Try other similar-meaning words, fewer words, or just one word.
Buy an On Top Of calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “On Top Of” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “On Top Of” title below...
2. Highest Quality / Top Notch
3. Forgiveness
8. Forgiveness
9. Clarity
一流 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for top quality, front-ranking, first-class, top grade, foremost, top-notch, or unique.
上等 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for the highest quality, top-notch, superiority, first-class, or very good.
容赦 is the kind of forgiveness that a king might give to his subjects for crimes or wrong-doings.
容赦 is a rather high-level forgiveness. Meaning that it goes from a higher level to a lower (not the reverse).
Alone, the first character can mean “to bear,” “to allow,” and/or “to tolerate,” and the second can mean “to forgive,” “to pardon,” and/or “to excuse.”
When you put both characters together, you get forgiveness, pardon, mercy, leniency, or going easy (on someone).
See Also: Benevolence
Supreme / Highest
最高 means the highest level, supreme, top, the most, or the best.
Depending on the context, it can mean the most expensive or highest quality.
天地 is “Heaven and Earth” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
This title is used in many different contexts. It can be a general term but is also used by Buddhists and in other religions.
This can also be used to refer to all of nature, the universe, the top and bottom, the realm of life, or the sphere of existence.
You can die or kill, but never dishonor or disgrace yourself
可殺不可辱 almost directly matches the idea of “Death Before Dishonor” while also being an ancient Chinese proverb.
The direct meaning is, “[you] can die/kill [but you] cannot [allow] dishonor/disgrace [upon yourself].” Chinese grammar, and especially ancient grammar, is a little different than English. Not nearly as many articles are needed, and a lot is implied.
There are many ways to express ideas similar to “Death Before Dishonor” in Chinese, and I would rate this one in the top two.
強固 means firmness, stability, security, and strength in Japanese.
It's not used commonly in China, but it means “powerful,” “firm,” “solid,” “strong,” or “better than others” in Chinese. There is a slight variation in the top of the first character between Chinese and Japanese. Because this is more of a Japanese word, we are showing the Japanese form here.
強固 is also a Korean word, but Korean Hanja uses the Chinese form of the first character (one tiny stroke is a little different), so just let me know if your audience is Korean when you place your order, and we'll have it written in the Chinese/Korean version.
恕 means to forgive, show mercy, absolve, or excuse in Chinese and Korean Hanja (though mostly used in compound words in Korean).
恕 incorporates the pictogram of a heart at the bottom, and a woman and a mouth at the top. The heart portion has the most significance, as it is suggested that it is the heart's nature to forgive.
In Asian culture, as with most other cultures, forgiveness is an act of benevolence and altruism. In forgiving, you put yourself in someone else's shoes and show them the kindness that you would want them to show you. Confucius referred to this quality as “human-heartedness.”
清 is a word that means clarity or clear in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Looking at the parts of this character, you have three splashes of water on the left, “life” on the top right, and the moon on the lower right.
Because of something Confucius said about 2500 years ago, you can imagine that this character means “live life with clarity like bright moonlight piercing pure water.” The Confucian idea is something like “Keep clear what is pure in yourself, and let your pure nature show through.” Kind of like saying, “Don't pollute your mind or body, so that they remain clear.”
This might be stretching the definition of this single Chinese character but the elements are there, and “clarity” is a powerful idea.
Korean note: Korean pronunciation is given above but this character is written with a slight difference in the "moon radical" in Korean. However, anyone who can read Korean Hanja, will understand this character with no problem (this is considered an alternate form in Korean). If you want the more standard Korean Hanja form (which is an alternate form in Chinese), just let me know.
Japanese note: When reading in Japanese, this Kanji has additional meanings of pure, purify, or cleanse (sometimes to remove demons or "exorcise"). Used more in compound words in Japanese than as a stand-alone Kanji.
A soldier can die or kill, but never dishonor or disgrace himself
士可殺不可辱 almost directly matches the military idea of “Death Before Dishonor,” while also being an ancient Chinese proverb.
The direct meaning is, “[A] soldier/warrior can die/kill [but he/she] cannot [allow] dishonor/disgrace [upon himself/herself].” Chinese grammar, and especially ancient grammar, is a little different than English. Not nearly as many articles are needed, and a lot is implied.
There are a lot of ways to express ideas similar to “Death Before Dishonor” in Chinese, and I would rate this one in the top two.
This is the original form of this proverb with the character for “soldier/warrior” at the beginning. Most of the time, this character is dropped, becoming a five-character proverb (the soldier/warrior part is implied, even without the character being present in the proverb). We also offer a shorter version.
淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.
This is a Chinese proverb that means “Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world).”
What I have translated as “simple life” means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.
The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.
See Also: Serenity
...as in Zen Buddhism
First, let's correct something: The Japanese romanization for this character, “Zen” has penetrated the English language. In English, it's almost always incorrectly used for phrases like “That's so zen.” Nobody says, “That's so meditation” - right? As the title of a sect, this would be like saying, “That's so Baptist!"
禪 by itself just means “meditation.” In that context, it should not be confined to use by any one religion or sect.
Regardless of the dictionary definition, more often than not, this character is associated with Buddhism. And here is one of the main reasons:
Zen is used as the title of a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, which strongly emphasizes meditation practice.
However, it should be noted that Buddhism came from India, and “Chan Buddhism” evolved and developed in medieval China. The Chinese character “Chan” was eventually pronounced as “Zen” in Japanese. Chan Buddhists in China have much in common with Zen Buddhists in Japan.
More about the history of Zen Buddhism here.
Please also note that the Japanese Kanji character for Zen has evolved a little in Japan, and the two boxes (kou) that you see at the top of the right side of the character have been replaced by three dots with tails.
The original character would still be generally understood and recognized in Japanese (it's considered an ancient version in Japan) but if you want the specifically modern Japanese version, please click on the zen Kanji to the right. Technically, there is no difference between the Tensho and Reisho versions of Zen since they are ancient character styles that existed long before Japan had a written language.
There is also an alternate/shorthand/simplified Chinese version, which has two dots or tails above the right-side radical. This version is also popular for calligraphy in China. If you want this version, just click the character to the right.
Further notes: Zen is just one of seven sects of Buddhism practiced in Japan. The others are 律 Ritsu (or Risshū), 法相 Hossō, 論 Sanron 華嚴 Kegon, 天台 Tendai, and 眞言 Shingon.
This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...
Gallery Price: $108.00
Your Price: $59.88
Gallery Price: $108.00
Your Price: $59.88
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Top Quality First Class | 一流 | ichiryuu / ichiryu | yī liú / yi1 liu2 / yi liu / yiliu | i liu / iliu |
Highest Quality Top Notch | 上等 | joutou / joto | shàng děng shang4 deng3 shang deng shangdeng | shang teng shangteng |
Forgiveness (from the top down) | 容赦 | you sha / yousha / yo sha | róng shè / rong2 she4 / rong she / rongshe | jung she / jungshe |
Simply the Best | 最高 | sai kou / saikou / sai ko | zuì gāo / zui4 gao1 / zui gao / zuigao | tsui kao / tsuikao |
Heaven and Earth | 天地 | tenchi | tiān dì / tian1 di4 / tian di / tiandi | t`ien ti / tienti / tien ti |
Death Before Dishonor | 可殺不可辱 可杀不可辱 | kě shā bù kě rǔ ke3 sha1 bu4 ke3 ru3 ke sha bu ke ru keshabukeru | k`o sha pu k`o ju koshapukoju ko sha pu ko ju |
|
Strength: Strong and Solid | 強固 强固 | kyouko / kyoko | qiáng gù / qiang2 gu4 / qiang gu / qianggu | ch`iang ku / chiangku / chiang ku |
Forgiveness | 恕 | shù / shu4 / shu | ||
Clarity | 清 | sei | qīng / qing1 / qing | ch`ing / ching |
Death Before Dishonor | 士可殺不可辱 士可杀不可辱 | shì kě shā bù kě rǔ shi4 ke3 sha1 bu4 ke3 ru3 shi ke sha bu ke ru shikeshabukeru | shih k`o sha pu k`o ju shihkoshapukoju shih ko sha pu ko ju |
|
A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding | 淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 淡泊以明志宁静而致远 | dàn bó yǐ míng zhì, níng jìng ér zhì yuǎn dan4 bo2 yi3 ming2 zhi4, ning2 jing4 er2 zhi4 yuan3 dan bo yi ming zhi, ning jing er zhi yuan | tan po i ming chih, ning ching erh chih yüan | |
Zen Chan Meditation | 禪 禅 | zen | chán / chan2 / chan | ch`an / chan |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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 On Top Of Kanji, On Top Of Characters, On Top Of in Mandarin Chinese, On Top Of Characters, On Top Of in Chinese Writing, On Top Of in Japanese Writing, On Top Of in Asian Writing, On Top Of Ideograms, Chinese On Top Of symbols, On Top Of Hieroglyphics, On Top Of Glyphs, On Top Of in Chinese Letters, On Top Of Hanzi, On Top Of in Japanese Kanji, On Top Of Pictograms, On Top Of in the Chinese Written-Language, or On Top Of in the Japanese Written-Language.