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奮鬥 means strive (as in to put great effort into something or a cause).
It can also be translated as a struggle.
The second character of this word can also be written as shown to the right. Yes.
it’s
very different. If you want this alternate version, just let us know when you place your order (in the special instructions).
努力 means great effort; to strive; to try hard; great effort; great exertion; great endeavor (endeavour); great effort; to strive.
This “striving endeavor” word is valid in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
爭 is the way to express the idea of fighting for a goal.
This can also mean struggling or arguing. 爭 is okay for a Chinese audience, and while it is a word in Korean, this character is seldom seen alone in Korean grammar.
自強不息 is a proverb or idiom that suggests that the pursuit of self-improvement is eternal. It can also be a suggestion to strive unremittingly in life.
The first two characters mean inner strength with the idea of self-improvement. The last two characters mean “never rest” or “striving without giving up.”
Some will translate these four characters as “Exert and strive hard without any let-up.”
求道 means seeking for truth, or to seek (practice for, strive for) enlightenment.
求道 is used mostly in a Buddhist context, so some non-Buddhists may not recognize it.
Daoist / Taoist Tenet
無為 or “Wu Wei” is a Daoist (Taoist) tenet that speaks to the idea of letting nature take its course.
Some will say it's about knowing when to take action and when not to. In reality, it's more about not going against the flow. What will happen is controlled by the Dao (Tao), for which one who follows the Dao will not resist or struggle against.
You can think of 無為 as the Chinese way to express “laissez-faire.”
There is a lot more to this concept, but if you are looking for this entry, you already know the expanded concept.
Warning: Outside of the Daoist context, this means idleness or inactivity (especially in Japanese, where not everyone knows this as a Daoist concept, though it does pair well with the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi).
It was tough to find the best way to say “soul mates” in Chinese. We settled on 天生一對 as an old way to say, “A couple selected by heaven.”
The first two characters together mean “natural” or “innate.” Separated, they mean “heaven” and “born.” The last two characters mean “couple.” So this can be translated as “A couple that is together by nature,” or “A couple brought together by heaven's decree.” With a slight stretch, you could say, “A couple born together from heaven.”
It's a struggle to find the best way to describe this idea in English but trust me, it is pretty cool, and it is a great way to say “soulmates.”
If you're in a happy relationship or marriage and think you have found your soul mate, this would be a wonderful wall scroll to hang in your home.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Strive Struggle | 奮鬥 / 奮斗 奋斗 / 奋鬥 | fèn dòu / fen4 dou4 / fen dou / fendou | fen tou / fentou | |
| Strive Struggle | 奮闘 / 奮鬥 奋斗 / 奋鬥 | fun tou / funtou / fun to | ||
| Great Endeavor To Strive | 努力 | doryoku / doryoku | nǔ lì / nu3 li4 / nu li / nuli | |
| Fight for a Goal | 爭 争 | zhēng / zheng1 / zheng | cheng | |
| Always Striving for Inner Strength | 自強不息 自强不息 | zì qiáng bú xī zi4 qiang2 bu2 xi1 zi qiang bu xi ziqiangbuxi | tzu ch`iang pu hsi tzuchiangpuhsi tzu chiang pu hsi |
|
| Seeking Truth | 求道 | gu dou / gudou / gu do | qiú dào / qiu2 dao4 / qiu dao / qiudao | ch`iu tao / chiutao / chiu tao |
| Mixed Martial Arts | 綜合格鬥 综合格斗 | zōng hé gé dòu zong1 he2 ge2 dou4 zong he ge dou zonghegedou | tsung ho ko tou tsunghokotou |
|
| Wu Wei Without Action | 無為 无为 | mui | wú wéi / wu2 wei2 / wu wei / wuwei | |
| Soul Mates | 天生一對 天生一对 | tiān shēng yí duì tian1 sheng1 yi2 dui4 tian sheng yi dui tianshengyidui | t`ien sheng i tui tienshengitui tien sheng i tui |
|
| 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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