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寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is the long version of a Chinese proverb which means, "rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery".
A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the "broken" meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of, it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor, or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means, "better to die with honor than to live in shame" or words to that effect.
This is often translated in English as "Death Before Dishonor", the famous military slogan.
I would also compare this to the English proverb, "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees".
This is an idiom. It therefore doesn’t directly say exactly what it means. If you think about the English idiom, "The grass is always greener," it does not directly say "jealousy" or "envy" but everyone knows that it is implied.
寧為玉碎 is the short version of a longer Chinese proverb which means, "rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery".
寧為玉碎 just say the "rather be a broken piece of jade" part (the second half is implied - everyone in China knows this idiom).
A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the "broken" meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of, it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor, or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means, "better to die with honor than to live in shame" or words to that effect.
寧為玉碎 is often translated in English as "Death Before Dishonor", the famous military slogan.
I would also compare this to the English proverb, "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees".
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Unbroken | 連綿 连绵 | ren men / renmen | lián mián lian2 mian2 lian mian lianmian | lien mien lienmien |
Death Before Dishonor | 寧為玉碎不為瓦全 宁为玉碎不为瓦全 | níng wéi yù suì bù wéi wǎ quán ning2 wei2 yu4 sui4 bu4 wei2 wa3 quan2 ning wei yu sui bu wei wa quan ningweiyusuibuweiwaquan | ning wei yü sui pu wei wa ch`üan ning wei yü sui pu wei wa chüan |
|
Death Before Dishonor | 寧為玉碎 宁为玉碎 | níng wéi yù suì ning2 wei2 yu4 sui4 ning wei yu sui ningweiyusui | ning wei yü sui ningweiyüsui |
|
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 unbroken search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
連綿 连绵 see styles |
lián mián / lian2 mian2 lien mien renmen / れんめん |
![]() More info & calligraphy: (adj-t,adv-to) unbroken; uninterrupted; on and on; continuous to bind on |
一望 see styles |
kazumi / かずみ | (noun/participle) one sweep (of the eye); an unbroken view; (female given name) Kazumi |
一眸 see styles |
ichibou / ichibo / いちぼう | (noun/participle) one sweep (of the eye); an unbroken view |
山巒 山峦 see styles |
shān luán / shan1 luan2 shan luan |
mountain range; unbroken chain of peaks |
新馬 新马 see styles |
xīn mǎ / xin1 ma3 hsin ma shinba / しんば |
abbr. for Singapore 新加坡 and Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚 new horse (in horse racing, etc.); unbroken horse; remount |
無間 无间 see styles |
wú jiàn / wu2 jian4 wu chien muken;mugen / むけん;むげん |
very close; no gap between them; continuously; unbroken; hard to separate; indistinguishable (1) ceaselessness; incessancy; (2) (abbreviation) {Buddh} (See 無間地獄) the Avici hell avīci, uninterrupted, unseparated, without intermission; immediately |
盤亙 盘亘 see styles |
pán gèn / pan2 gen4 p`an ken / pan ken |
linked in a unbroken chain |
続く see styles |
tsuzuku / つづく | (v5k,vi) (1) to continue; to last; to go on; (v5k,vi) (2) to continue (without a break); to be unbroken; (v5k,vi) (3) to occur again and again; (v5k,vi) (4) to lead to; to connect to; to adjoin; (v5k,vi) (5) to come after; to follow; to succeed; to rank next to; (v5k,vi) (6) to hold out; to keep; to last |
綿々 see styles |
menmen / めんめん | (adj-t,adv-to) unbroken; endless; continuous |
綿亙 绵亘 see styles |
mián gèn / mian2 gen4 mien ken |
to stretch in an unbroken chain (esp. of mountains) |
綿延 绵延 see styles |
mián yán / mian2 yan2 mien yen |
continuous (esp. of mountain ranges); to stretch long and unbroken; a continuous link; sostenuto (sustained, in music) |
綿綿 绵绵 see styles |
mián mián / mian2 mian2 mien mien menmen / めんめん |
continuous; uninterrupted (adj-t,adv-to) unbroken; endless; continuous long-continuing |
縷々 see styles |
ruru / るる | (adj-t,adv-to) continuously; unbroken; at great length; in minute detail; (female given name) Ruru |
縷縷 see styles |
ruru / るる | (adj-t,adv-to) continuously; unbroken; at great length; in minute detail |
脈々 see styles |
myakumyaku / みゃくみゃく | (adj-t,adv-to) (1) continuous; unbroken; ceaseless; (2) pulsating forcefully |
脈脈 脉脉 see styles |
mò mò / mo4 mo4 mo mo myakumyaku / みゃくみゃく |
affectionate; loving (adj-t,adv-to) (1) continuous; unbroken; ceaseless; (2) pulsating forcefully |
荒馬 see styles |
arauma / あらうま | untamed horse; unbroken horse; wild horse; bronco; (surname) Araba |
陽爻 see styles |
youkou / yoko / ようこう | (See 爻) yang yao (unbroken line composing one third of a trigram) |
一段事 see styles |
yī duàn shì / yi1 duan4 shi4 i tuan shih ichidan no ji |
The unity or continuity in the unbroken processes of nature; all nature, all being is but one continuous process; fundamental matter |
三種常 三种常 see styles |
sān zhǒng cháng / san1 zhong3 chang2 san chung ch`ang / san chung chang sanshu jō |
A Buddha in his three eternal qualities: (a) 本性常 in his nature or dharmakāya; (b) 不斷常 in his unbroken eternity, saṃbhogakāya; (c) 相續常 in his continuous and eternally varied forms, nirmāṇakāya; three kinds of constancy |
未開封 see styles |
mikaifuu / mikaifu / みかいふう | unopened (state); with an unbroken seal |
百萬遍 百万遍 see styles |
bǎi wàn biàn / bai3 wan4 bian4 pai wan pien hyakuman ben |
To repeat Amitābha's name a million times (ensures rebirth in his Paradise; for a seven days' unbroken repetition Paradise may be gained); a million recitations |
万世一系 see styles |
banseiikkei / bansekke / ばんせいいっけい | (yoji) unbroken imperial line |
念念相續 念念相续 see styles |
niàn niàn xiāng xù / nian4 nian4 xiang1 xu4 nien nien hsiang hsü nennen sōzoku |
Unbroken continuity; continuing instant in unbroken thought or meditation on a subject; also unceasing invocation of a Buddha's name; moment-to-moment continuity |
接連不斷 接连不断 see styles |
jiē lián bù duàn / jie1 lian2 bu4 duan4 chieh lien pu tuan |
in unbroken succession (idiom) |
連綿不断 see styles |
renmenfudan / れんめんふだん | (noun - becomes adjective with の) (yoji) long and uninterrupted (unbroken) |
一望;一眸 see styles |
ichibou / ichibo / いちぼう | (noun/participle) one sweep (of the eye); sweeping view; unbroken view |
悍馬;駻馬 see styles |
kanba / かんば | unruly horse; unmanageable horse; unbroken horse |
綿綿;綿々 see styles |
menmen / めんめん | (adj-t,adv-to) unbroken; endless; continuous |
縷縷;縷々 see styles |
ruru / るる | (adj-t,adv-to) continuously; unbroken; at great length; in minute detail |
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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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