Text in Chinese / Japanese...

This text is the ninth chapter of the Daodejing / Tao Te Ching.

The text reads:
持而盈之、不如其已。揣而梲之、不可長保。 金玉滿堂、莫之能守。 富貴而驕、自遺其咎。 功遂身退、天之道。

This classical Chinese passage comes from the Mawangdui (馬王堆帛書) text.

This text is the first chapter of the Daodejing / Tao Te Ching.

The text reads:
道可道、非常道。名可名、非常名。 無名天地之始 有名萬物之母。故常無欲以觀其妙、常有欲以觀其徼。此兩者同出而異名。同謂之玄。玄之又玄、衆妙之門。

This classical Chinese passage comes from the Mawangdui (馬王堆帛書) text.

閱讀 is a Chinese word that refers to the act of reading or a suggestion to read (presumably books but could refer to any reading materials or text).

This is the title for the poem, Sandōkai as used in the Soto school of Zen Buddhism.

If you need the full text of the poem on a scroll or more info, please contact me.

於是又彎著腰用指頭在地上畫字 is John 8:8 in Chinese.

This text is from the 1919 Chinese Union Bible.

You may know it from the KJV as:
And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Here is 1 Peter 3:13 in Chinese.

The text with punctuation:
你们若是热心行善，有谁害你们呢？

Hand-painted calligraphy does not retain punctuation.

This translation is from the Chinese Union Bible.

You may know it from the KJV as:
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

Here is 1 Corinthians 13:5 in Chinese.

The text with punctuation:
不作害羞的事。不求自己的益处。不轻易发怒。不计算人的恶。

Hand-painted calligraphy does not retain punctuation.

This translation is from the Chinese Union Bible.

You may know it from the KJV as:
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.

Here is Galatians 5:22 and a bit of 23 in Chinese.

The text with punctuation:
圣灵所结的果子，就是仁爱，喜乐，和平，忍耐，恩慈，良善，信实，温柔，节制。
Hand-painted calligraphy does not retain punctuation.
This translation is from the Chinese Union Bible.

You may know it from the KJV as:
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
5:23 Meekness, temperance...

Here is the full translation of Joshua 1:9 into Chinese.

The text with punctuation:
我岂没有吩咐你吗？你当刚强壮胆。不要惧怕，也不要惊惶。因为你无论往哪里去，耶和华你的神必与你同在。 Hand-painted calligraphy does not retain punctuation.

This translation comes from the 1919 Chinese Union Bible.

For reference, from the KJV, this reads, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

Here is 1 Corinthians 14:22 in Chinese.

The text with punctuation:
这样看来，说方言，不是为信的人作证据，乃是为不信的人。作先知讲道，不是为不信的人作证据，乃是为信的人。

Hand-painted calligraphy does not retain punctuation.

This translation is from the Chinese Union Bible.

You may know it from the KJV as:
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

This text is the chant or poem of Wing Chun.

I call it a “chant” because it was meant to be a somewhat rhythmic poem to help practitioners memorize many aspects of Wing Chun.

You will see this referred to as “Wing Chun Kuem Kuit.” This Cantonese romanization is popular in the west (and there is no official way to romanize Cantonese, so many variations exist). In Mandarin, it would be, “Yong Chun Quan Jue.” The last character (kuit or kyut from Cantonese, jue or chüeh from Mandarin) kind of means “secrets of the art.” It's a short way to write 口訣, meaning “mnemonic chant” or “rhyme for remembering.”

In the west (especially in the military), we often use acronyms to remember things. There are no initials to make acronyms in Chinese, so in ancient times, chants like this are used to remember vast amounts of information. I will presume you already know the meaning of the 10 maxims, so I will skip that to keep this calligraphy entry from getting too large.

Some think 练拳者必记 is the title but that just says, “(When) training (the) fist, people should remember:.” Therefore, I've not included that in the calligraphy. However, you can put a note in the special instructions if you want it added.

Note: On a traditional calligraphy wall scroll, the characters will be written in vertical columns, starting from the right, and proceeding left.

Note: This is an except and variation from a huge 口訣. These 10 maxims are used extensively in Wing Chun training, and you’ll find them all over the internet. Just know there is a much longer version out there, along with several variations and excepts like this one. If you know of, or want a different version, just contact me, and I will add it for you.

サスケ is the Japanese title of the TV show, Sasuke Rising.

サスケ is the original Japanese TV show that inspired the American Ninja Warrior, Ninja Warrior UK, and other variations.

It should be noted that in Japan, the show's title is usually displayed in capital Roman letters as “SASUKE,” rather than the Japanese text, サスケ. Although, both titles are known in Japan (you'd probably need to search for サスケ if looking to buy a Sasuke DVD in Japan).

Notes: Sasuke can also be a given name (written the same way). There are also other names that romanize as Sasuke in Japanese.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

A customer asked me to split these Wing Chun maxims into two parts, so he could order a couplet.

It thought this was a good idea, so it's been added here.

Be sure to order both part 1 and part 2 together. They need to be a matched set. It will be incomplete as a single wall scroll. Also, each wall scroll is handmade, so if you order them separately, weeks or months apart, they will vary a little by length, shade of paper, etc.

Here is 1st Corinthians 13:4-8 (just the first sentence of verse 8) in Japanese.

In the familiar NIV, this would read:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails...

The Japanese text is from the 新改訳聖書 (Shinkaiyaku) or New Japanese Bible. Popular among most Protestant denominations in modern Japan.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

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

Here is the Lord's Prayer in Chinese from Luke 11:2-4.

The Chinese text with punctuation is:
Part of 11:2 ...我们在天上的父，有古卷只作父阿愿人都尊你的名为圣。愿你的国降临。愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。有古卷无愿你的旨意云云。
11:3 我们日用的饮食，天天赐给我们。
11:4 赦免我们的罪，因为我们也赦免凡亏欠我们的人。不叫我们遇见试探。救我们脱离凶恶。有古卷无末句。
Note that punctuation is not included in traditional Chinese calligraphy artwork.

From KJV, this is:
Part of 11:2 ...Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

These are the precepts of Reiki that are attributed to Usui Mikao.

Here is a breakdown of the characters and a rough translation:
招福の秘法,　萬病の霊薬。
Invite blessings of [the] secret method, 10,000 illnesses of spiritual medicine.
今日丈けは:　怒るな,　心配すな,　感謝して,　業をはげめ,　人に親切に。
At least for today: Do not be angry, do not worry, be grateful, work with diligence, and be kind to people.
朝夕合掌して,　心に念じ,　口に唱へよ,　心身改善。
Morning [and] evening perform gassho (join hands), [with your] heart/mind in silent prayer, [with your] mouth chant, [thusly] mind [and] body [will] reform/improve.
臼井靈氣療法！　-肇祖,　臼井甕男。
Usui Reiki Ryōhō! -Founder, Usui Mikao.

The middle portion of this is often titled, “The Five Principles of Reiki” and makes a nice calligraphy selection by itself. The Japanese text presented here can be considered the more verbose version.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

Here is the Lord's Prayer in Chinese from Mathew 6:9-13.

The Chinese text with punctuation is:
Part of 6:9 ...我们在天上的父，愿人都尊你的名为圣。
6:10 愿你的国降临，愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。
6:11 我们日用的饮食，今日赐给我们。
6:12 免我们的债，如同我们免了人的债。
6:13 不叫我们遇见试探，救我们脱离凶恶，因为国度，权柄，荣耀，全是你的，直到永远，阿们。
Note that punctuation is not included in traditional Chinese calligraphy artwork.

From KJV, this is:
Part of 6:9 ...Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們叫一切信他的不至滅亡反得永生 is the full translation of John 3:16 into Chinese.

This is from the Chinese Union Bible which comes from a revised version of the King James. This Chinese Bible was originally translated and printed in 1919 (several revisions since then).

Because of the origin being the KJV, I'll say that in English, this would be, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

As with any translation, there are interesting cultural and linguistic issues. For instance, the word used for “world” in Chinese can also mean “common people.” So you could say that it means “For God so loved the common people...”
This does not take away from the text, as it will be understood with the same meaning and connotation.

There is no direct Greek-to-Chinese translation in print (that I know of), so this is the best available. Of course, you can ask any Greek person of faith, and they will claim that a bit is lost from the original Greek of the New Testament to any of the English versions of the Bible in print.

A customer asked me to split these Wing Chun maxims into two parts, so he could order a couplet. I thought this was a good idea, so it's been added here.

A couplet is a set of two wall scrolls that start and finish one phrase or idea. Often, couplets are hung with the first wall scroll on the right side, and the second on the left side of a doorway or entrance. The order in Chinese is right-to-left, so that's why the first wall scroll goes on the right as you face the door.

Of course, couplets can also be hung together on a wall. Often they can be hung to flank an altar, or table with incense, or even flanking a larger central wall scroll. See an example here from the home of Confucius

Be sure to order both parts 1 and 2 together. One without the other is like Eve without Adam.

跆拳道精神禮義廉耻忍耐克己百折不屈 is General Choi's writing that is often called “The Tenets of Taekwon-do.”

The actual title would be translated as “Taekwondo Spirit” or “The Spirit of Taekwondo.” It was originally written in Korean Hanja (Chinese characters used in Korea for about 1600 years).