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What is He in Chinese / Japanese...

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  1. No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own

  2. Guan Yu

  3. Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit

  4. Diligent Study Proverb

  5. Zhuge Liang

  6. Lao Tzu / Laozi

  7. Ip Man

  8. God Give Me Strength

  9. Tathagata

10. Be Like Water

11. Star Lotus

12. Tea

13. Mark the boat to find the lost sword / Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world

14. Silent / Solitary

15. Push or Knock

16. The Whole Room Rocks With Laughter

17. Where There is a Will, There is a Way

18. Mencius

19. Profound / Powerful Words

20. Musashi

21. A sly rabbit has three openings to its den

22. Daodejing / Tao Te Ching - Chapter 33

23. Zhuangzi / Chuang Tzu

24. God of Warcraft

25. Thought / Thinking / Idea

26. Nichiren

27. Omoi

28. Dharma / Damo / Daruma

29. Broken Mirror Rejoined

30. Daodejing / Tao Te Ching - Chapter 81

31. Hachiman: God of War

32. Bravery / Courage

33. John 8:8

34. Yue Fei

35. Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks

36. Zhong Kui

37. John 3:16

38. Work Unselfishly for the Common Good

39. Mixed Martial Arts

40. Zhang Fei

41. Confucius

42. The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering

43. Energy / Capability

44. Heath

45. Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan

46. Bruce Lee

47. John 3:16

48. Sun Wukong / Son Goku

49. 1 Peter 3:13

50. The Brave Have No Fears

51. Geisha of Unequaled Talent

52. Drain the pond to get all the fish

53. Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial

54. True / Real / Genuine

55. Siddhartha

56. Gung Ho

57. Bodhidharma

58. Wisdom from Hard Knocks

59. Dogen

60. The Red Thread of Fate

61. Adoring Love

62. Guan Gong / Warrior Saint

63. Mountain Travels Poem by Dumu

64. Wing Chun Fist Maxims

65. The Great Path has No Gate

66. Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice

67. Better Late Than Never

68. Past experience is the teacher for the future

69. Che Guevara

70. Death Before Dishonor

71. Empress

72. A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding

73. Shogun / Japanese General

74. John 3:16

75. Ultimate Loyalty to Your Country

76. Wing Chun Fist Maxims

77. Zen Buddhism

78. Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark

79. Tea Fate

80. The one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one to retreats 100

81. Tiger Rumor

82. Galatians 5:22-23


No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own

 ko wo motte shiru oya no on
No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own Scroll

子を持って知る親の恩 literally translates as: Only after you have a baby, you would appreciate your parents (feel the way they do, etc).

This is a bit like the “walk a mile in another man's shoes” saying. Basically, it's about you cannot fully understand the plight of others until you experience it yourself. It also shows appreciation for the plight of parents.

This Japanese proverb can also be translated a few more ways:

No man knows what he owes to his parents till he comes to have children of his own.

One knows not what one owes to one's parents till one comes to have children of one's own.

Only after you have a baby, you will appreciate your parents or feel the way they do.

Only after becoming a parent yourself do you realize how much you owe [how indebted you are] to your own parents.


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

 guān yǔ
Guan Yu Scroll

關羽 is the name Guan Yu, Army General for the Kingdom of Shu.

He is also known as Guan Gong (like saying Duke Guan or Sir Guan)

He was immortalized in the novel, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

He was a fearsome fighter, also famous for his virtue and loyalty. He is worshiped by some modern-day soldiers and has the title “Warrior Saint” in China. Some believe he offers safety and protection for military servicemen.

Guan Yu lived until 219 A.D.

Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit

Age is just a number

 lǎo dāng yì zhuàng
Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit Scroll

老當益壯 is a Chinese proverb that means “old but vigorous” or “hale and hearty despite the years.”

Said of someone who is more spirited when he/she grows older.

The story behind this Chinese proverb:

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named Ma Yuan. He had been planning to herd animals on the frontier since he was young. When he grew up, Ma became a minor official of a county.

Once, he was sending some prisoners to another location. He felt pity for them, so he set them free, and then he fled to another county in the north. He herded animals there, and thus his dream came true. He always said: “If you want to be a great man, the poorer you are, the firmer in spirit you have to be; the older you are, the more spirited you should be.”

Later, when he was even older, Ma Yuan became a famous general of the Eastern Han Dynasty and contributed to many battles.

Diligent Study Proverb

Drill a hole in the wall to get light to read by.

 záo bì tōu guāng
Diligent Study Proverb Scroll

鑿壁偷光 is a Chinese proverb that means “Bore a hole in the wall to make use of the neighbor's light to study.”

This is a nice gift for a very studious person.

Kuang Heng was born during the Western Han period. He has been very fond of reading ever since he was young. However, he could not attend school since his family was poor, and he had to borrow books from people to learn.

To borrow these books, he normally did chores for people who had them. When he became older, he had to work in the field from sunrise to sunset since his family's financial situation did not improve. Thus, he tried to study at night, but he had no lamp.

One day, he noticed the light from the neighbor's house coming through a crack in the wall. This made him very happy, so he dug a larger hole from the crack and read in the light that shone through. This diligent study eventually made him an accomplished person.

 zhū gě liàng
Zhuge Liang Scroll

諸葛亮 is the name Zhuge Liang, written in Chinese.

Zhuge Liang lived from 181 to 234 A.D.
He was a military leader and prime minister of Shu Han (蜀漢) during the Three Kingdoms period.
He was the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms.
He is considered a famous sage, philosopher, and military genius.

Lao Tzu / Laozi

 lǎo zǐ
 roushi
Lao Tzu / Laozi Scroll

Depending on the romanization scheme you use, this man's name can be spelled Laozi, Lao Tzu, or Lao Tze. In older English usage, he was known as Laocius. He is believed to have lived around 500 B.C.

He was a Chinese philosopher, founder of Daoism/Taoism, credited with being the author of the sacred and wise book of Daoism/Taoism.

There is a theory that Lao Tzu's soul traveled to India and was reborn as the Buddha.

 yè wèn
 Yip Man
Ip Man Scroll

葉問 is the name of “Ip Man” or “Yip Man” (1893-1972).

He was a martial arts practitioner and master. He is perhaps most famous for being the master of Bruce Lee.

God Give Me Strength

 yuàn shàng dì gěi wǒ lì liàng
God Give Me Strength Scroll

願上帝給我力量 is a wish or a prayer that you might call out at a desperate time.

Translated by us for a military serviceman in Iraq. He may need to use this phrase often, though I am not sure where he's going to find a place to hang a wall scroll.

 rú lái
 nyorai
Tathagata Scroll

如來 is the name Tathāgata (Buddha's name for himself) in Chinese and Japanese.

This has many layers of meaning: Gone to the absolute, perfected one, he who comes as do all other Buddhas, he who took the absolute way of cause and effect, etc.

Be Like Water

 xiàng shuǐ yí yàng
Be Like Water Scroll

像水一樣 is a short quote from a much longer statement by Bruce Lee.

He summarized how people should be flexible to all circumstances, attacks, or situations. In the end, he exclaims, “Be like water, my friend.” 像水一樣 is the “Be like water” part alone since that seems to be what most people want.

 xīng lián huā
Star Lotus Scroll

星蓮花 is the title Star Lotus in Chinese.

For star lotus, some may write 星荷 instead - especially in Taiwan for reasons I am not sure of. 星荷 is sometimes romanized as “sing he” or “sing ho” though it would be “xīng hé” in mainland pinyin romanization. If you need a particular version or more info, please get in touch with me.

 chá
 cha
 
Tea Scroll

茶 means tea. It can refer to prepared tea (ready-to-drink) or dry tea leaves.

The origin of tea is China but the same character is used in Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja with the exact same meaning. Japanese and Korean even borrowed the pronunciation from Chinese (pronounced “cha” in all three languages).

It's said that an early doctor (or herbologist) in ancient China kept poisoning himself as he tried different new herb concoctions. He invented tea as a means to detoxify himself as he recovered from 1 of the 76 times he nearly poisoned himself to death. Tea is seen not just as a drink but as a form of medicine used to remove impurities from the body.

The word “chai” (used in many languages to refer to various teas) is derived from this Chinese word.

茶 also means camellia, as Asian teas are often based on the leaves of camellia plant varieties.

Mark the boat to find the lost sword / Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world

 kè zhōu qiú jiàn
 kokushuukyuuken
Mark the boat to find the lost sword / Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world Scroll

刻舟求劍 is an originally-Chinese proverb that serves as a warning to people that things are always in a state of change.

Thus, you must consider that and not depend on the old ways or a way that may have worked in the past but is no longer valid.

This idiom/proverb comes from the following story:
A man was traveling in a ferry boat across a river. With him, he carried a treasured sword. Along the way, the man became overwhelmed and intoxicated by the beautiful view and accidentally dropped his prized sword into the river. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a knife and marked on the rail of the boat where exactly he had lost his sword.

When the boat arrived on the other side of the river, the man jumped out of the boat and searched for his sword right under where he'd made the mark. Of course, the boat had moved a great distance since he made the mark, and thus, he could not find the sword.

While this man may seem foolhardy, we must take a great lesson from this parable: Circumstances change, so one should use methods to handle the change. In modern China, this is used in business to mean that one should not depend on old business models for a changing market.


This proverb dates back to the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) of the territory now known as China. It has spread and is somewhat known in Japan and Korea.

Silent / Solitary

 jì
 jaku
 
Silent / Solitary Scroll

寂 means silent, solitary, quiet, calm, still, rest, or tranquil.

This also has a strong association with Buddhism where it can mean “entering into Nirvana.” In that context, this is sometimes used to refer to the passing of a Buddhist monk (he is silent, as he has entered Nirvana). For the living, this is about tranquility (especially of mind).

Some will also use this to mean “elegant simplicity.”

From Sanskrit, this can represent praśama, vivikta, śānti, or nibbāna (nirvāṇa).

Push or Knock

To weigh one's words

 fǎn fù tuī qiāo
Push or Knock Scroll

During the Tang Dynasty, a man named Jia Dao (born in the year 779), a well-studied scholar and poet, went to the capital to take the imperial examination.

One day as he rides a donkey through the city streets, a poem begins to form in his mind. A portion of the poem comes into his head like this:

“The bird sits on the tree branch near a pond,
A monk approaches and knocks at the gate...”


At the same time, he wondered if the word “push” would be better than “knock” in his poem.

As he rides down the street, he imagines the monk pushing or knocking. Soon he finds himself making motions of pushing and shaking a fist in a knocking motion as he debates which word to use. He is quite a sight as he makes his way down the street on his donkey with hands and fists flying about as the internal debate continues.

As he amuses people along the street, he becomes completely lost in his thoughts and does not see the mayor's procession coming in the opposite direction. Jia Bao is blocking the way for the procession to continue down the road, and the mayor's guards immediately decide to remove Jia Bao by force. Jia Bao, not realizing that he was in the way, apologizes, explains his poetic dilemma and awaits his punishment for blocking the mayor's way.

The mayor, Han Yu, a scholar and author of prose himself, finds himself intrigued by Jia Dao's poem and problem. Han Yu gets off his horse and addresses Jia Bao, stating, “I think knock is better.” The relieved Jia Bao raises his head and is invited by the mayor to join the procession, and are seen riding off together down the street, exchanging their ideas and love of poetry.

In modern Chinese, this 反復推敲 idiom is used when someone is trying to decide which word to use in their writing or when struggling to decide between two things when neither seems to have a downside.

The Whole Room Rocks With Laughter

The perfect scroll if you love humor or as a gift for the comedian in your life

 hōng tāng dà xiào
The Whole Room Rocks With Laughter Scroll

In China, 哄堂大笑 is a proverb that is used in response to a good joke or witty comment.

The story goes that Mr. Feng and Mr. He were both senior officials in the Song Dynasty (about a thousand years ago). One day, Mr. Feng walked into their shared office wearing a new pair of boots. The boots caught the eye of Mr. He who said, “New boots! - how much were they?.” Mr. Feng lifted one of the boots off the ground as if to show it off and responded, “900 coins.”
Astonished, Mr. Feng explained, “900? How can that be? - I paid 1800 coins for my boots!.” Mr. Feng then lifted his other foot off the ground and said, “This boot was also 900 coins.”

It is said that the whole room was shaking from the laughter of all that heard Mr. Feng's joke on Mr. He.

Where There is a Will, There is a Way

A determined effort can move a mountain

 yū gōng yí shān
Where There is a Will, There is a Way Scroll

愚公移山 is the Chinese proverb (also somewhat known in Japan and Korea) for “the silly old man moves a mountain.”

Figuratively, this means “where there's a will, there's a way.”

Based on a fable of Lord Yu (愚公). He moved the soil of the mountain in front of his house. After years of effort, he finally moved the entire mountain (some versions of the story have God seeing how determined the man was, and sending two angels to whisk the mountains away).

The moral of the story: Anything can be accomplished if one works at it ceaselessly.


The Japanese version of this is 愚公山を移す (gu kou yama wo utsu su). But better to get the Chinese version, since this is originally a Chinese proverb.


See Also:  Nothing is Impossible

 mèng zi
 mou shi
Mencius Scroll

孟子 is the name Mencius in Chinese.

Mencius had the name “Mèng Kē” (孟軻) at birth. This later changed to Mèng Zǐ (孟子). He lived between 372 and 289 BCE.

Mencius was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who has often been referred to as the “Second Sage” following Confucius himself.

For disambiguation, one of the classic books of Confucianism is also titled 孟子.

Romanization of Mencius from Chinese includes Meng Tsu, Mengzi, and his original name Mengke or Meng Ko. In Japanese, he is Mōshi or Moushi.

Profound / Powerful Words

 rù mù sān fēn
Profound / Powerful Words Scroll

入木三分 is a four-character Chinese proverb that translates in English to a strong form of “profound” or “written with a forceful hand.”

But there is much more to the story...

The deep meaning behind this proverb comes from a man named Wan Xizhi, who lived in the third century.

He was a great writer and calligrapher whose writing style influenced generations of other writers and calligraphers.

He once wrote words on a piece of wood to be taken to an engraver.
When the engraver began to carve the characters into the wood, he found that Wang Xizhi's writing had penetrated the wood about 3/8 of an inch.

Thus people believed that his words were so powerful and profound that they caused the ink from his brush to penetrate the wood deeply.

The proverb literally means “penetrated wood three fen” (A fen is an ancient Chinese measurement of a little over 1/8 of an inch or almost 4mm).

Musashi

The most famous Samurai

 mu sashi
Musashi Scroll

Miyamoto Musashi is probably the most famous Samurai in all of Japanese history.

武蔵 is the short title for a man long in legend. While coming from a lower class, his new sword and fighting techniques put him on par with the best that feudal Japan had to offer. His long career started with his first duel at age 13!

He is credited with using two swords at once and never losing a single battle in his career. After becoming a Buddhist, and getting older, like many old warriors, he took up a peaceful and solitary life until his death around 1645 A.D.

Note: Technically, Musashi is his given name, and Miyamoto is his surname. However, it's suggested that he assumed both of these names and had a few other names in childhood, as well as being given a Buddhist name. It's hard to know what to call him, as with most Kanji, there are multiple pronunciations. The characters for Musashi can also be pronounced Takezō. But everyone in modern times seems to know him by the name Musashi.

A sly rabbit has three openings to its den

-or- The crafty rabbit has three different entrances to its lair

 jiǎo tù sān kū
A sly rabbit has three openings to its den Scroll

狡兔三窟 speaks to the cunning character of a sly rabbit. Such a rabbit will not have just one hole but rather a few entrances and exits from his liar.

About 2,250 years ago, a rich man told his assistant to go and buy something wonderful that he did not yet possess. He was a man that already had everything, so the assistant went to a local village that owed a great deal of money to the rich man. The assistant told the village elders that all debts were forgiven. All the villagers rejoiced and praised the rich man's name. The assistant returned to the rich man and told him he had purchased “benevolence” for him. The rich man was mildly amused but perhaps slightly confused by the action.

Sometime later, the rich man fell from the favor of the Emperor and was wiped out without a penny to his name. One day he was walking aimlessly and stumbled into the village where the debts had been forgiven. The villagers recognized the man and welcomed him with open arms, clothed, fed him, and gave him a place to live.

Without trying, the man had become like the sly and cunning rabbit. When his exit was blocked, he had another hole to emerge from - and was reborn. This story and idiom come from a book titled “The Amendment” - it's unclear whether this man actually existed or not. But the book did propel this idiom into common use in China.

Still today, this idiom about the rabbit is used in China when suggesting “backup plans,” alternate methods, and anyone with a good escape plan.

Daodejing / Tao Te Ching - Chapter 33

 zhī rén zhě zhī yě zì zhī zhě míng yě shèng rén zhě yǒu lì yě zì shèng zhě qiáng yě zhī zú zhě fù yě qiáng xíng zhě yǒu zhì yě bù zhī qí suǒ zhě jiǔ yě sǐ ér bù wáng zhě shòu yě
Daodejing / Tao Te Ching - Chapter 33 Scroll

This is referred to as passage or chapter 33 of the Dao De Jing (often Romanized as “Tao Te Ching”).

These are the words of the philosopher Laozi (Lao Tzu).

The following is one translation of this passage:
To know others is wisdom;
To know oneself is acuity/intelligence.
To conquer others is power,
To conquer oneself is strength.
To know contentment is to have wealth.
To act resolutely is to have purpose.
To stay one's ground is to be enduring.
To die and yet not be forgotten is to be long-lived.
Another translation:
To understand others is to be knowledgeable;
To understand yourself is to be wise.
To conquer others is to have strength;
To conquer yourself is to be strong.
To know when you have enough is to be rich.
To go forward with strength is to have ambition.
To not lose your place is to be long-lasting.
To die but not be forgotten -- that's true long life.
A third translation of the second half:
He who is content is rich;
He who acts with persistence has will;
He who does not lose his roots will endure;
He who dies physically but preserves the Dao
will enjoy a long after-life.


Notes:

During our research, the Chinese characters shown here are probably the most accurate to the original text of Laozi. These were taken for the most part from the Mawangdui 1973 and Guodan 1993 manuscripts which pre-date other Daodejing texts by about 1000 years.

Grammar was a little different in Laozi’s time. So you should consider this to be the ancient Chinese version. Some have modernized this passage by adding, removing, or swapping articles and changing the grammar (we felt the oldest and most original version would be more desirable). You may find other versions printed in books or online - sometimes these modern texts are simply used to explain to Chinese people what the original text really means.

This language issue can be compared in English by thinking how the King James (known as the Authorized version in Great Britain) Bible from 1611 was written, and comparing it to modern English. Now imagine that the Daodejing was probably written around 403 BCE (2000 years before the King James Version of the Bible). To a Chinese person, the original Daodejing reads like text that is 3 times more detached compared to Shakespeare’s English is to our modern-day speech.

Extended notes:

While on this Biblical text comparison, it should be noted, that just like the Bible, all the original texts of the Daodejing were lost or destroyed long ago. Just as with the scripture used to create the Bible, various manuscripts exist, many with variations or copyist errors. Just as the earliest New Testament scripture (incomplete) is from 170 years after Christ, the earliest Daodejing manuscript (incomplete) is from 100-200 years after the death of Laozi.

The reason that the originals were lost probably has a lot to do with the first Qin Emperor. Upon taking power and unifying China, he ordered the burning and destruction of all books (scrolls/rolls) except those pertaining to Chinese medicine and a few other subjects. The surviving Daodejing manuscripts were either hidden on purpose or simply forgotten about. Some were not unearthed until as late as 1993.

We compared a lot of research by various archeologists and historians before deciding on this as the most accurate and correct version. But one must allow that it may not be perfect, or the actual and original as from the hand of Laozi himself.

Zhuangzi / Chuang Tzu

 zhuāng zǐ
 Sōshi
Zhuangzi / Chuang Tzu Scroll

莊子 is the name of Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu (369-286 BC).

Like Laozi or Lao Tzu, he was a Daoist author, poet, and philosopher.

God of Warcraft

 chī yóu
 shi yuu
God of Warcraft Scroll

蚩尤 is the name Chi You, legendary creator of metalworking and weapons.

There is also a comet named in his honor. Some refer to him as the Chinese god of war. He is also somewhat-known in Japan as “Shiyu.”

Thought / Thinking / Idea

 sī xiǎng
 shisou
Thought / Thinking / Idea Scroll

思想 means thought, thinking, or idea in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. Sometimes it can mean ideology, depending on context.

This can refer to someone's personality - like saying, “he is a thinker.”

 rì lián
 nichi ren
Nichiren Scroll

日蓮 is the title Nichiren.

This title refers to a Buddhist priest who lived from 1222 to 1282. He is the founder of the Nichiren sect of Buddhism.
According to historical documents, the Nichiren sect was established in 1252. Adding the character 宗 for sect, this would be 日蓮宗 (Nichiren sect), which is also known as the 法華宗 or Lotus sect.

According to Soothill-Hodous...
Nichiren's chief tenets are the three great mysteries 三大祕法, representing the trikāya:
1. 本尊 or chief object of worship, being the great maṇḍala of the worlds of the ten directions, or universe, i.e., the body or nirmāṇakāya of Buddha.
2. 題目 the title of the Lotus Sutra 妙法蓮華經 Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo, preceded by Namo, or “Adoration to the scripture of the lotus of the wonderful law,” for it is Buddha's spiritual body.
3. 戒壇 the altar of the law, which is also the title of the Lotus as above; the believer, wherever he is, dwells in the Pure-land of calm light 寂光淨土, the saṃbhogakāya.

 omoi
Omoi Scroll

オモイ is the name Omoi in Japanese.

This may refer to the Naruto characters named Omoi. He is a shinobi of Kumogakure, part of the Samui Team, and became the 5th Raikage's personal guard.


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

Dharma / Damo / Daruma

 dá mó
 daru ma
Dharma / Damo / Daruma Scroll

達摩 is the Chinese and Japanese title for Dharma (a short name for Bodhidharma).

He's known in Chinese as Damo and in Japanese as Daruma.


Note: In Japanese, they tend to write the last character as 磨 versus 摩. If you choose the Japanese master calligrapher, expect it to be written in the Japanese version.

Broken Mirror Rejoined

Used in modern times for divorced couples that come back together

 pò jìng chóng yuán
Broken Mirror Rejoined Scroll

破鏡重圓 is about a husband and wife who were separated and reunited.

About 1500 years ago in China, there lived a beautiful princess named Le Chang. She and her husband Xu De Yan loved each other very much. But when the army of the Sui Dynasty was about to attack their kingdom, disposed of all of their worldly possessions and prepared to flee into exile.

They knew that in the chaos, they might lose track of each other, so the one possession they kept was a bronze mirror which is a symbol of unity for a husband and wife. They broke the mirror into two pieces, and each of them kept half of the mirror. They decided that if separated, they would try to meet at the fair during the 15th day of the first lunar month (which is the lantern festival). Unfortunately, the occupation was brutal, and the princess was forced to become the mistress of the new commissioner of the territory, Yang Su.

At the Lantern Festival the next year, the husband came to the fair to search for his wife. He carried with him his half of the mirror. As he walked through the fair, he saw the other half of the mirror for sale at a junk market by a servant of the commissioner. The husband recognized his wife's half of the mirror immediately, and tears rolled down his face as he was told by the servant about the bitter and loveless life that the princess had endured.

As his tears dripped onto the mirror, the husband scratched a poem into his wife's half of the mirror:


You left me with the severed mirror,
The mirror has returned, but absent are you,
As I gaze in the mirror, I seek your face,
I see the moon, but as for you, I see not a trace.


The servant brought the inscribed half of the mirror back to the princess. For many days, the princess could not stop crying when she found that her husband was alive and still loved her.

Commissioner Yang Su, becoming aware of this saga, realized that he could never obtain the princess's love. He sent for the husband and allowed them to reunite.

This proverb, 破鏡重圓, is now used to describe a couple who has been torn apart for some reason (usually divorce) but have come back together (or remarried).
It seems to be more common these days in America for divorced couples to reconcile and get married to each other again. This will be a great gift if you know someone who is about to remarry their ex.

Daodejing / Tao Te Ching - Chapter 81

Daodejing / Tao Te Ching - Chapter 81 Scroll

信言不美美言不信知者不博博者不知善者不多多者不善聖人無積既以為人己癒有既以予人矣已癒多故天之道利而不害聖人之道為而不爭 is the Mawangdui version of Daodejing chapter 81.

It can be translated this way:
Credible words are not eloquent;
Eloquent words are not credible.

The wise are not erudite;
The erudite are not wise.

The adept are not all-around;
The all-around are not adept.
The sages do not accumulate things.
Yet the more they have done for others,
The more they have gained themselves;
The more they have given to others,
The more they have gotten themselves.

Thus, the way of tian (heaven) is to benefit without harming;
The way of sages is to do without contending.
Another translation:
Sincere words are not showy;
showy words are not sincere.
Those who know are not “widely learned";
those “widely learned” do not know.
The good do not have a lot;
Those with a lot are not good.
The Sage accumulates nothing.
Having used what he had for others,
he has even more.
Having given what he had to others,
what he has is even greater.
Therefore, the Way of Heaven is to benefit and not cause any harm,
The Way of Man is to act on behalf of others and not to compete with them.
And a third translation:
True words aren't charming,
charming words aren't true.
Good people aren't contentious,
contentious people aren't good.
People who know aren't learned,
learned people don't know.
Wise souls don't hoard;
the more they do for others the more they have,
the more they give the richer they are.
The Way of heaven provides without destroying.
Doing without outdoing
is the Way of the wise.

Hachiman: God of War

 hachi man jin
Hachiman: God of War Scroll

八幡神 is the Japanese God of War.

He is often known by the short name “Hachiman.” This version has the “God” title “jin” at the end, completing the idea of “God of War.”

Bravery / Courage

Courage in the face of Fear

 yǒng gǎn
 yuu kan
Bravery / Courage Scroll

勇敢 is about courage or bravery in the face of fear.

You do the right thing even when it is hard or scary. When you are courageous, you don't give up. You try new things. You admit mistakes. This kind of courage is the willingness to take action in the face of danger and peril.

勇敢 can also be translated as braveness, valor, heroic, fearless, boldness, prowess, gallantry, audacity, daring, dauntless, and/or courage in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. This version of bravery/courage can be an adjective or a noun. The first character means bravery and courage by itself. The second character means “daring” by itself. The second character emphasizes the meaning of the first but adds the idea that you are not afraid of taking a dare, and you are not afraid of danger.

勇敢 is more about brave behavior and not so much the mental state of being brave. You'd more likely use this to say, “He fought courageously in the battle,” rather than “He is very courageous.”

Bravery / Courage

Courageous Energy

 yǒng qì
 yuuki
Bravery / Courage Scroll

勇氣 is one of several ways to express bravery and courage in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

This version is the most spiritual. This is the essence of bravery from deep within your being. This is the mental state of being brave versus actual brave behavior. You'd more likely use this to say, “He is very courageous,” rather than “He fought courageously in the battle.”

The first character also means bravery or courage when it's seen alone. With the second character added, an element of energy or spirit is added. The second character is the same “chi” or “qi” energy that Kung Fu masters focus on when they strike. For this reason, you could say this means “spirit of courage” or “brave spirit.”

This is certainly a stronger word than just the first character alone.

Beyond bravery or courage, dictionaries also translate this word as valor/valour, nerve, audacity, daring, pluck, plucky, gallantry, guts, gutsy, and boldness.

This is also one of the 8 key concepts of tang soo do.


Japanese 気 While the version shown to the left is commonly used in Chinese and Korean Hanja (and ancient Japanese Kanji), please note that the second character is written with slightly fewer strokes in modern Japanese. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the character to the right. Both styles would be understood by native Chinese, Japanese, and many (but not all) Korean people. You should make your selection based on the intended audience for your calligraphy artwork. Or pick the single-character form of bravery/courage which is universal.

 yú shì yòu wān zhe yāo yòng zhǐ tou zài dì shàng huà zì
John 8:8 Scroll

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.

 yuè fēi
 gakuhi
Yue Fei Scroll

岳飛 is the name of General Yue Fei (1103-1142). He was a famous General of the Song Dynasty army in China. Many legendary stories have been written about him, and passed down through the generations.

In Japanese, this can be the personal name, Gakuhi.

Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks

Persistence to overcome all challenges

 bǎi zhé bù náo
 hyaku setsu su tou
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll

百折不撓 is a Chinese proverb that means “Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks.”

More directly translated, it reads, “[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching.” 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).

This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan, and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose the corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.

Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and the common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.

Near the end of his career, a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest, he resigned from his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.

His tombstone reads “Bai Zhe Bu Nao” which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.

My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as “keep on fighting despite all setbacks,” “be undaunted by repeated setbacks,” and “be indomitable.”

Our translator says it can mean “never give up” in modern Chinese.

Although the first two characters are translated correctly as “repeated setbacks,” the literal meaning is “100 setbacks” or “a rope that breaks 100 times.” The last two characters can mean “do not yield” or “do not give up.”
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.


See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence

 zhōng kuí
Zhong Kui Scroll

鐘馗 is the name Zhong Kui.

He is a mythological figure who is known to drive away evil spirits (especially from your dreams). Sometimes Zhong Kui is used figuratively to describe a person with the courage to fight against evil.

John 3:16 (first half)

 shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén
John 3:16 (first half) Scroll

神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們 is the first half of John 3:16 in Chinese.

It reads roughly, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”

This came directly from the Chinese Union Bible first printed in 1919.

Work Unselfishly for the Common Good

 kè jǐ fèng gōng
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good Scroll

克己奉公 is a Chinese proverb that is often used to express how one should act as a government official. Most of us wish our public officials would hold themselves to higher standards. I wish I could send this scroll, along with the meaning to every member of Congress, and the President (or if I was from the UK, all the members of Parliament, and the PM)

This can also mean: “Place Strict Standards on Oneself in Public Service.”
The story behind this ancient Chinese idiom:
Cai Zun was born in China a little over 2000 years ago. In 24 AD, he joined an uprising led by Liu Xiu, who later became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Later, the new emperor put Cai Zun in charge of the military court. Cai Zun exercised his power in strict accordance with military law, regardless of the offender's rank or background. He even ordered the execution of one of the emperor's close servants after the servant committed a serious crime.

Cai Zun led a simple life but put great demands on himself to do all things honorably. The emperor rewarded him for his honest character and honorable nature by promoting him to the rank of General and granting him the title of Marquis.

Whenever Cai Zun would receive an award, he would give credit to his men and share the reward with them.
Cai Zun was always praised by historians who found many examples of his selfless acts that served the public interest.
Sometime long ago in history, people began to refer to Cai Zun as “ke ji feng gong.”


See Also:  Unselfish | Selflessness | Altruism

Mixed Martial Arts

 zōng hé gé dòu
Mixed Martial Arts Scroll

綜合格鬥 is a common Chinese title for “Mixed Martial Arts” or “MMA.”

The characters or words in this title break down this way:
綜合 zōng hé = composite, synthesized, to sum up, to integrate, and/or to synthesize.
格 gé = style, frame, or rule.
斗 dòu = fight, to battle, or to struggle.

 zhāng fēi
 chou hi
Zhang Fei Scroll

張飛 is the name of General Zhang Fei, of the Shu Kingdom. He was blood-brother of Liu Bei in the semi-historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” Zhang Fei is famous for his heroic and fearsome fighting and his love of wine.

In Japanese, this can be the name Chouhi.

 kǒng zǐ
 koushi
Confucius Scroll

孔子 is how to write the name of the great sage, known in the West as Confucius.

His real name is Kongzi (The name Confucius is a westernized version of his name - his family name is Kong, and “zi” was added as a title of distinction).

He lived some 2500 years ago in Qufu, a town in modern-day Shandong Province of Northern China (about 6 hours south of Beijing by bus). He was a consort to Emperors, and after his death, the impact of his philosophies still served to advise emperors, officials, and common people for generations.

Also during these thousands of years, the Kong family remained powerful in China, and the Kong estate was much like the Vatican in Rome. The Kong estate existed as if on sovereign ground with its own small garrison of guards and the privileges of a kingdom within an empire.

This was true up until the time the Kong family had to flee to Taiwan in 1949 when the Red Army took victory over the Nationalists during the Revolution. The home of Confucius was later razed and all statues were defaced or stolen during the Cultural Revolution. Finally, after years of smearing his name and image, it is once again okay to celebrate the teachings of Confucius in mainland China.


Known as Khổng Tử in Vietnamese.

The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering

 huò dé yǒng shēng de yào shí shì xiān yào huó dé jīng cǎi
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering Scroll

獲得永生的鑰匙是先要活得精彩 is a famous quote from Bruce Lee.

However, when quoted, he was speaking in English. So this is a translation of his English quote into Chinese. Since Bruce spoke both Chinese and English, his quotes sometimes go both ways.

Energy / Capability

 néng liáng
 nou ryou
Energy / Capability Scroll

能量 means energy in Chinese and Japanese.

This can also refer to the capability, power, or ability that someone has.

This would also be the word in Chinese that you would use to say, “He/She has a lot of energy.”

 xī sī
Heath Scroll

西斯 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Heath.

This name is a little rough in Chinese, as there no sound like, “he” and no “th” sound in Chinese. This Chinese version sounds like “Hsisuh.”

Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan

 tài jí quán
 tai kyoku ken
Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan Scroll

太極拳 is the famous Taoist meditation and martial art exercise. The direct translation of these characters would be something like “grand ultimate fist,” but that does not quite hit the mark for what this title really means.

An early-morning walk through any city in China near a park or an open area will yield a view of Chinese people practicing this ancient technique.

A typical scene is an old man of no less than 80 years on this earth, with a wispy white beard and perhaps a sword in one hand. He makes slow moves that are impossibly smooth. He is steady-footed and always in balance. For him, time is meaningless and proper form, and technique is far more important than speed.

For the younger generation, faster moves may look impressive and seem smooth to the casual observer. But more discipline and mental strength are needed to create perfectly smooth moves in virtual slow motion.

Note: There are two ways to Romanize these Chinese characters, as seen in the title above. The pronunciation and actual characters are the same in Chinese. If you really used English sounds/words to pronounce this, it would be something like “tie jee chew-on” (make the “chew-on” one flowing syllable).

 lǐ xiǎo lóng
 bu ruu su ri
Bruce Lee Scroll

李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.

He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”

His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.

For a pronunciation lesson, the “X” in Romanized Mandarin is pronounced like a “sh” sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in “Long” is like the English “oh,” not like the “ah” sound in the English word “long.”

If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.

Note: Japanese use these same Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name “Bruce Lee” sounds in English).


See Also:  Kung Fu | Martial Arts

 kami wa, minoru ni, sono hitori ko o o atae ni natta hodo ni, yo o aisare ta. Sore wa miko o shinjiru mono ga, hitori toshite horobiru koto naku, eien no inochi o motsu tame de aru.
John 3:16 Scroll

Here is the full translation of John 3:16 into Japanese.

This translation comes from the Shinkaiyaku Bible (a preferred translation by many Japanese Christians).

Just for reference, from the KJV, this reads, “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.”


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

Sun Wukong / Son Goku

Monkey King

 sūn wù kōng
 son go kuu
Sun Wukong / Son Goku Scroll

孫悟空 is the name Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King. He is the main character with supernatural powers in the ancient Chinese novel Journey to the West.

This title is also known as the real name of the Monkey King in Japanese. This can also be the Son Goku, better known as simply Goku, a fictional character of the Dragon Ball Japanese manga series.

1 Peter 3:13

 Nǐ men ruò shì rè xīn xíng shàn yǒu shéi hài nǐ men ne
1 Peter 3:13 Scroll

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?

The Brave Have No Fears

 yǒng zhě bú jù
 yuu sha fu ku
The Brave Have No Fears Scroll

This proverb means “Brave people [are] without fear,” or “The brave are without fear.”

勇者不懼 is a proverb credited to Confucius. It's one of three phrases in a set of things he said.

This phrase is originally Chinese but has penetrated Japanese culture as well (many Confucian phrases have) back when Japan borrowed Chinese characters into their language.


This phrase has also been converted into modern Japanese grammar when written as 勇者は懼れず. If you want this version just click on those characters.


See Also:  No Fear

Geisha of Unequaled Talent

(Danger: Can mean prostitute!)

 míng jì
 mei gi
Geisha of Unequaled Talent Scroll

In Japanese, 名妓 means “distinguished/talented/beautiful geisha.”

The meaning in Chinese (and the deeper meaning in Japanese) would be “distinguished/talented/beautiful prostitute.”

I am not sure that our master calligrapher will even write this, so please note that fact if you decide to place the order. Of course, we'll refund your money if he refuses.

Drain the pond to get all the fish

Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

 jié zé ér yú
Drain the pond to get all the fish Scroll

In 632 BC, Duke Wen of the Kingdom of Jin was about to lead an army against the forces of the Kingdom of Chu.
The Duke asked one of his advisers, Jiu Fan, how they could win the impending battle, as they were drastically outnumbered.
Jiu Fan said, “All is fair in war,” and suggested a plan of dishonorable tactics (cheating).
The Duke was unsure of this advice, so he asked another adviser, Yong Ji, who replied, “If you catch fish by draining the pond, you can certainly get all the fish. But there will be no fish the following year. You can cheat this one time in battle, but such tactics can only be used once, as the enemy will be wise in future encounters.”

The Duke heard the words of his wiser adviser but cheated to gain victory in the battle. However, he rewarded Yong Ji more than Jiu Fan at the victory celebration, stating that while Jiu Fan's advice gained one victory, the wise words of Yong Ji would last forever.

This Chinese idiom/proverb is still used, over 2600 years later to remind people not to burn bridges, cheat, or dishonor themselves in exchange for a short-term gain while sacrificing the future.

竭澤而漁 is very similar to the meaning of the English phrase, “Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.”

Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial

 dà gōng wú sī
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial Scroll

大公無私 is a Chinese proverb that comes from an old story from some time before 476 BC. About a man named Qi Huangyang, who was commissioned by the king to select the best person for a certain job in the Imperial Court.

Qi Huangyang selected his enemy for the job. The king was very confused by the selection, but Qi Huangyang explained that he was asked to find the best person for the job, not necessarily someone that he liked or had a friendship with.

Later, Confucius commented on how unselfish and impartial Qi Huangyang was by saying, “Da Gong Wu Si” which, if you look it up in a Chinese dictionary, is generally translated as “Unselfish” or “Just and Fair.”

If you translate each character, you'd have something like

“Big/Deep Justice Without Self.”

Direct translations like this leave out a lot of what the Chinese characters really say. Use your imagination, and suddenly you realize that “without self” means “without thinking about yourself in the decision” - together, these two words mean “unselfish.” The first two characters serve to drive the point home that we are talking about a concept that is similar to “blind justice.”

One of my Chinese-English dictionaries translates this simply as “just and fair.” So that is the short and simple version.

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly used term.


See Also:  Selflessness | Work Unselfishly for the Common Good | Altruism

True / Real / Genuine

 zhēn
 shin / makoto
 
True / Real / Genuine Scroll

真 is a simple way to express the idea that something is real, true, truth, or genuine.

Occasionally, this character refers to a Buddhist sect that originated in the 13th century.

真 is commonly used as a compound with other characters to create ideas like “true love.” It's also used similarly to the English words “really” or “truly” to say “really good” or “He is really knowledgeable.” Those phrases start with “他真的是... (note the second character is 真).


There are two ways to write this character, shown here is the most common way in China; however, a slight stroke variation is used in Korean Hanja. If you want that version, just let us know when you place your order.


See Also:  Honesty

 xī dá duō
 shiddatta / shiddaruta
Siddhartha Scroll

悉達多 is the name Siddhartha (as in Siddhartha Gautama), the personal name for Śākyamuni.

This same Buddha is also known as “Shakyamuni Gautama,” “Gotama Buddha,” or “Tathagata.”

Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of known human history.

The actual meaning of this name in Chinese is the realization of all aims, or simply being prosperous.


This name is sometimes romanized from the original Sanskrit or Pali as Siddhattha (from Siddhattha Gotama), Siddharth, Siddhārtha, or Sarvāthasiddha.

Siddhārtha or Sarvāthasiddha can also be written as 悉達, 悉多, 悉多頞他, or 悉陀.

Gung Ho

Working Together

 gōng hé
 guai
Gung Ho Scroll

工合 is one of those Asian words that is used more in English than in the original Chinese.

Gung Ho was originally used to speak of Carlson's Raiders, a group of “Gung Ho” U.S. Marines who went on an island-hopping campaign of death during WWII.

A movie called Gung Ho came out in the mid-1940s and was later re-released in the 1950s depicting the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, and brought this word to the mainstream.

It is still sometimes used today within the U.S. Marine Corps brotherhood to refer to a unit or group that works well together or is otherwise efficient and motivated (has good morals).

In 1986, there was a movie called Gung Ho about a Japanese company taking over an American automotive factory. They completely ignored the fact that this was a Chinese title.

It should be noted that this title actually means a condition, state, manner, or the health of something in Japanese.

Language and pronunciation notes:
Like many Asian words absorbed into common use in English, this one is drastically mispronounced. The official Romanization is “gong he” but that doesn't tell you enough. The vowel sound on the first character is like the English word “own,” now just add the g-sounds to the beginning and end. The second character is misleading, as you might think it is like the English word “he.” In reality, the vowel sound is more like the “u” in “up.”

It should also be noted that the current generation in China no longer uses or recognizes this as a common word or slogan.


Note: This can be pronounced and is a word in Japanese, though seldom used. Japanese will use a variation of "具合" instead. But still, not common.

 pú tí dá mó
 bodai daruma
Bodhidharma Scroll

菩提達磨 is the title Bodhidharma in Chinese and Japanese.

Bodhidharma, commonly known as Damo, is reputed as the founder of the Chan (Zen) or Intuitional or Mystic School.

He likely came from south India and spread Mahayana Buddhism throughout China (even meeting the Emperor) and his disciples likely spread this all the way to Korea, Japan, and beyond in the 5th and 6th centuries.

Sometimes the last character varies in Chinese to 摩 instead of 磨 - let me know if you need a certain variation when you order.

Wisdom from Hard Knocks

The school of hard knocks

 ái yī quán dé yī zhāo ái shí quán biàn zhū gě
Wisdom from Hard Knocks Scroll

挨一拳得一招挨十拳變諸葛 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Receive one blow, [and one] learns a lesson; Receive ten blows, [and one] becomes a great Zhuge [Liang].

You must first understand that a man named Zhuge Liang was one of the great strategists and philosophers in Chinese history. He's known as a man of great wisdom.

Figuratively, this phrase means:
One can learn much from failure or “hard knocks.”

 dào yuán
 dou gen
Dogen Scroll

Usually, when people are looking for 道元 or “Dogen,” they are referring to the Japanese Zen monk by this name.

He lived from 1200-1253. This Dogen name or title literally means “The Way Origin” or “Beginning of the Path.” It is understood to mean “beginning of right doctrine or faith” in the context of his name and work to establish the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.

To accomplish that task, this humble monk traveled from Japan and across China to find the more original or pure forms of Buddhism.

The Red Thread of Fate

 yīn yuán hóng xiàn
The Red Thread of Fate Scroll

姻緣紅線 is the legendary red string of destiny that binds all soul mates or lovers together.

In ancient Chinese culture, a mythological matchmaker named 月老 (Yuè Lǎo) was the controller of the fate that led lovers to meet. He did this by tying a celestial red string to the ankle of each person. Sometime during their life, they will meet and marry as fate dictates.

While the origin of the red string comes from China, it has spread to other parts of Asia (such as Japan, where it's known as 赤い糸).

Adoring Love

 ài mù
 ai bou
Adoring Love Scroll

愛慕 means “adoring love” in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

I suppose this is the best kind of love to have. 愛慕 has the common character for love. But the second character modifies and reinforces the meaning to become adore, adoring love, or to love and adore.

Ancient Chinese warning:
Adoring someone is fine until you are in the shoes of the Prince of the Kingdom of Wu. This Prince adored a certain beautiful woman (Xi Shi) so much that he neglected his duties and soon let the kingdom fall into ruins.

Guan Gong / Warrior Saint

 guān gōng
Guan Gong / Warrior Saint Scroll

關公 is a Chinese title, Guan Gong, that means Lord Guan (The warrior saint of ancient China).

Guan Gong Warrior Saint While his real name was Guan Yu / 關羽, he is commonly known by the title of Guan Gong (關公).

Some Chinese soldiers still pray to Guan Gong for protection. They would especially do this before going into battle. Statues of Guan Gong are seen throughout China.

Mountain Travels Poem by Dumu

 yuǎn shàng hán shān shí jìng xiá bái yún shēng chù yǒu rén jiā tíng chē zuò ài fēng lín wǎn shuàng yè hóng yú èr yuè huā
Mountain Travels Poem by Dumu Scroll

This poem was written almost 1200 years ago during the Tang dynasty.

It depicts traveling up a place known as Cold Mountain, where some hearty people have built their homes. The traveler is overwhelmed by the beauty of the turning leaves of the maple forest that surrounds him just as night overtakes the day, and darkness prevails. His heart implores him to stop, and take in all of the beauty around him.

First, before you get to the full translation, I must tell you that Chinese poetry is a lot different than what we have in the west. Chinese words simply don't rhyme in the same way that English or other western languages do. Chinese poetry depends on rhythm and a certain beat of repeated numbers of characters.

I have done my best to translate this poem keeping a certain feel of the original poet. But some of the original beauty of the poem in its original Chinese will be lost in translation.


Far away on Cold Mountain, a stone path leads upwards.
Among white clouds, people's homes reside.
Stopping my carriage I must, as to admire the maple forest at nights fall.
In awe of autumn leaves showing more red than even flowers of early spring.


Hopefully, this poem will remind you to stop, and “take it all in” as you travel through life.
The poet's name is “Du Mu” in Chinese that is: 杜牧.
The title of the poem, “Mountain Travels” is: 山行
You can have the title, poet's name, and even “Tang Dynasty” written as an inscription on your custom wall scroll if you like.

More about the poet:

Dumu lived from 803-852 AD and was a leading Chinese poet during the later part of the Tang dynasty.
He was born in Chang'an, a city in central China and the former capital of the ancient Chinese empire in 221-206 BC. In present-day China, his birthplace is currently known as Xi'an, the home of the Terracotta Soldiers.

He was awarded his Jinshi degree (an exam administered by the emperor's court which leads to becoming an official of the court) at the age of 25 and went on to hold many official positions over the years. However, he never achieved a high rank, apparently because of some disputes between various factions, and his family's criticism of the government. His last post in the court was his appointment to the office of Secretariat Drafter.

During his life, he wrote scores of narrative poems, as well as a commentary on the Art of War and many letters of advice to high officials.

His poems were often very realistic and often depicted everyday life. He wrote poems about everything, from drinking beer in a tavern to weepy poems about lost love.

The thing that strikes you most is the fact even after 1200 years, not much has changed about the beauty of nature, toils, and troubles of love and beer drinking.

Wing Chun Fist Maxims (Part 2)

Wing Chun Fist Maxims (Part 2) Scroll

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.

Chinese text of Part 2:
6 步步追形, 點點朝午
7 以形補手, 敗形不敗馬
8 腰馬一致, 心意合一
9 拳由心發, 動法無形
10 活人練活死功夫

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.

The Great Path has No Gate

 dà dào wú mén
 dai dou mu mon
The Great Path has No Gate Scroll

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

Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice

Ability is more important than looks

 bù guǎn hēi māo bái māo néng zhuō zhe lǎo shǔ de jiù shì hǎo mǎo
Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice Scroll

不管黑猫白猫能捉着老鼠的就是好猫 literally translates as: It doesn't matter [if a] cat [is] black [or] white, [as long as it] can catch mice, it's a good cat.

This proverb was either composed or made famous by Deng XiaoPing in 1961 when he exclaimed, “I don't care if it's a white cat or a black cat. It's a good cat so long as it catches mice” when his critics pointed out that his ideas were Capitalistic (free market). The response was meant to say, “It does not matter if it's Communist or Capitalist, as long as it works.”

This is a Chinese proverb that can be used to suggest one should disregard looks or a person's race, as long as they can do the job. It can also be used as a metaphor for many other situations.


Deng XiaoPing probably saved China from collapse (as the Soviet Union experienced). He changed China’s economy from pure Communism to a hybrid where the free market (Capitalism) is encouraged. More about Deng XiaoPing

Better Late Than Never

It's Never Too Late Too Mend

 wáng yáng bǔ láo yóu wèi wéi wǎn
Better Late Than Never Scroll

Long ago in what is now China, there were many kingdoms throughout the land. This time period is known as “The Warring States Period” by historians because these kingdoms often did not get along with each other.

Sometime around 279 B.C. the Kingdom of Chu was a large but not particularly powerful kingdom. Part of the reason it lacked power was the fact that the King was surrounded by “yes men” who told him only what he wanted to hear. Many of the King's court officials were corrupt and incompetent which did not help the situation.

The King was not blameless himself, as he started spending much of his time being entertained by his many concubines.

One of the King's ministers, Zhuang Xin, saw problems on the horizon for the Kingdom, and warned the King, “Your Majesty, you are surrounded by people who tell you what you want to hear. They tell you things to make you happy and cause you to ignore important state affairs. If this is allowed to continue, the Kingdom of Chu will surely perish, and fall into ruins.”

This enraged the King who scolded Zhuang Xin for insulting the country and accused him of trying to create resentment among the people. Zhuang Xin explained, “I dare not curse the Kingdom of Chu but I feel that we face great danger in the future because of the current situation.” The King was simply not impressed with Zhuang Xin's words.
Seeing the King's displeasure with him and the King's fondness for his court of corrupt officials, Zhuang Xin asked permission from the King that he may take leave of the Kingdom of Chu, and travel to the State of Zhao to live. The King agreed, and Zhuang Xin left the Kingdom of Chu, perhaps forever.

Five months later, troops from the neighboring Kingdom of Qin invaded Chu, taking a huge tract of land. The King of Chu went into exile, and it appeared that soon, the Kingdom of Chu would no longer exist.

The King of Chu remembered the words of Zhuang Xin and sent some of his men to find him. Immediately, Zhuang Xin returned to meet the King. The first question asked by the King was “What can I do now?”

Zhuang Xin told the King this story:

A shepherd woke one morning to find a sheep missing. Looking at the pen saw a hole in the fence where a wolf had come through to steal one of his sheep. His friends told him that he had best fix the hole at once. But the Shepherd thought since the sheep is already gone, there is no use fixing the hole.
The next morning, another sheep was missing. And the Shepherd realized that he must mend the fence at once. Zhuang Xin then went on to make suggestions about what could be done to reclaim the land lost to the Kingdom of Qin, and reclaim the former glory and integrity of the Kingdom of Chu.

The Chinese idiom shown above came from this reply from Zhuang Xin to the King of Chu almost 2,300 years ago.
It translates roughly into English as...
“Even if you have lost some sheep, it's never too late to mend the fence.”

This proverb, 亡羊补牢犹未为晚, is often used in modern China when suggesting in a hopeful way that someone change their ways, or fix something in their life. It might be used to suggest fixing a marriage, quitting smoking, or getting back on track after taking an unfortunate path in life among other things one might fix in their life.

I suppose in the same way that we might say, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” in our western cultures to suggest that you can always start anew.

Note: This does have Korean pronunciation but is not a well-known proverb in Korean (only Koreans familiar with ancient Chinese history would know it). Best if your audience is Chinese.

Past experience is the teacher for the future

Past events not forgotten serve as teachers for later events.

 qián shì bú wàng hòu shí zhī shī
Past experience is the teacher for the future Scroll

The most literal translation to English of this ancient 前事不忘后事之师 Chinese proverb is:
“Past events not forgotten serve as teachers for later events.”

However, it's been translated several ways:
Don't forget past events, they can guide you in the future.
Benefit from past experience.
Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.
Past calamity is my teacher.
A good memory for the past is a teacher for the future.
The remembrance of the past is the teacher of the future.
If one remembers the lessons of the past; They will serve as a guide to avoid mistakes in the future.

The origin:
This proverb comes from the 5th century B.C., just before the Warring States Period in the territory now known as China.
The head of the State of Jin, Zhi Bo, seized power in a coup. He did this with help from the armies of the State of Han and Wei. Instead of being grateful for the help from Han and Wei, he treacherously took the land of Han and Wei. Never satisfied, Zhi Bo employed the armies of Han and Wei to attack and seize the State of Zhao.

The king of Zhao took advice from his minister Zhang Mengtan and secretly contacted the Han and Wei armies to reverse their plans and attack the army of Zhi Bo instead. The plan was successful, and the State of Zhao was not only saved but was set to become a powerful kingdom in the region.

Zhang Mengtan immediately submitted his resignation to a confused king of Zhao. When asked why, Zhang Mengtan said, “I've done my duty to save my kingdom, but looking back at past experience, I know sovereign kings are never satisfied with the power or land at hand. They will join others and fight for more power and more land. I must learn from past experiences, as those experiences are the teachers of future events.”
The king could not dispute the logic in that statement and accepted Zhang Mengtan's resignation.

For generations, the State of Zhao continued to fight for power and land until finally defeated and decimated by the State of Qin (which led to the birth of the Qin Dynasty in 221 B.C.).

Che Guevara

Latin American / Cuban Revolutionary

 qiè gé wǎ lā
Che Guevara Scroll

切格瓦拉 is the name “Che Guevara,” as written (transliterated) in Mandarin Chinese.

Che Guevara Once revered by Chinese people as a Socialist rebel, he's now just a historical figure that school children briefly learn about in China.

切格瓦拉 is because China used to be a truly-Communist/Socialist nation, and thus, other Communists and Socialists were heroes.

In modern China, with its free-market economy, those former heroes fade a little.

We are not offering the “Che” character alone, as few would associate it with Che Guevara, so you need the full name to be clear (minus Ernesto, which is his real first name).

Death Before Dishonor

A soldier can die or kill, but never dishonor or disgrace himself

 shì kě shā bù kě rǔ
Death Before Dishonor Scroll

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.

 huáng hòu
 kou gou
Empress Scroll

皇后 is the title of empress/emperess, the female form of the emperor.

皇后 is used in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

While the emperor's reign was for life, if he died, his wife would hold his power. In this case, a woman was the ultimate ruler of the greater part of East Asia (now China) until her death and the succession of the emperor's firstborn son to lead the empire. Numerous times in various Chinese dynasties, an empress took power in this way.

The first character means emperor by itself.

The second character alone can mean “wife of an emperor or king” (the first character clarifies that we are talking about an empress and not a queen). It can also mean sovereign or last offspring, depending on context.

Note: In some books, this word is translated as queen. While only incorrect if you get technical (because an empress is theoretically a higher level than a queen), the meaning is very similar.

皇后 is sometimes used for the title of queen, but more technically, this is the wife of the emperor (a higher level than a queen).


See Also:  Emperor | King | Queen | Phoenix

A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding

 dàn bó yǐ míng zhì, níng jìng ér zhì yuǎn
A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding Scroll

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

Shogun / Japanese General

 jiāng jūn
 shougun
Shogun / Japanese General Scroll

将軍 or Shogun, in the simplest definition, is a General, but you could also use words such as commander, lord, overlord, highest ranking, or commanding officer.

The title “Shogun” has held some slightly ambiguous meanings at times in Japanese history.

In the west, when someone mentions “Shogun,” we may be filled with thoughts of gallant warriors. Some might even think of the TV mini-series with Richard Chamberlain. Often westerners use the words, Samurai and Shogun interchangeably, but that's really not technically correct. In the case of the Samurai, the Shogun was a designated (by the emperor) leader of a gild of Samurai. In this context, the Shogun was a Samurai lord. Or effectively, a commanding officer of a company of Samurai - to put it in modern military terms.

Sometimes a Shogun was a general; other times, he was the leader of a military government in Japan - but not a front-line warrior like a Samurai.

Variants of the same characters are used in China for the rank and title of a General of the People's Liberation Army (and the same term and characters have been used for the last 2200 years since the Qin Dynasty).

 shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén jiào yí qiè xìn tā de bú zhì miè wáng fǎn dé yǒng shēng
John 3:16 Scroll

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.

Ultimate Loyalty to Your Country

The most famous tattoo in Chinese history

 jìn zhōng bào guó
Ultimate Loyalty to Your Country Scroll

盡忠報國 is a proverb that is the tattoo worn on the back of Yue Fei, a famous Chinese warrior who lived until 1142 A.D.

The tattoo can be translated as “Serve the country with the utmost loyalty.” More literally, it means “[The] Ultimate Loyalty [is too] Duty [of] Country.”

Legend has it that this tattoo once saved his life when he was accused of treason.

The first two characters have come to create a word that means “serve the country faithfully” or “die for the country.” Note: It's more a willingness to die for one's country than the actual act of dying.

The last two characters have come to mean “Dedicate oneself to the service of one's country.”

Both of these words are probably only in the Chinese lexicon because of this famous tattoo.

If you break it down, character-by-character, here is what you get:
1. To the utmost, to the limit of something, the ultimate.
2. Loyalty or duty (a sense of duty to one's master, lord, country, or job).
3. Report, recompense, give back to (in this case, you are giving yourself to your country as payback).
4. Country, state, nation, kingdom.


More about the famous warrior and army general, Yue Fei

Wing Chun Fist Maxims (Part 1)

Wing Chun Fist Maxims (Part 1) Scroll

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.

The Chinese text of part 1:
1 有手黐手,無手問手
2 來留區送, 甩手直沖
3 怕打終歸打, 貪打終被打
4 粘連迫攻, 絕不放鬆
5 來力瀉力, 借力出擊

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.

Zen Buddhism

 chán zōng
 zen shuu
Zen Buddhism Scroll

禪宗 is one way to title “Zen Buddhism.” Because the original pronunciation of Zen in Chinese is Chan, you'll also see this expressed as Chan Buddhism.

From the Buddhist Dictionary:
The Chan, meditative or intuitional, sect is usually said to have been established in China by Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth patriarch, who brought the tradition of the Buddha-mind from India. This sect, believing in direct enlightenment, disregarded ritual and sūtras and depended upon the inner light and personal influence for the propagation of its tenets, founding itself on the esoteric tradition supposed to have been imparted to Kāśyapa by the Buddha, who indicated his meaning by plucking a flower without further explanation. Kāśyapa smiled in apprehension and is supposed to have passed on this mystic method to the patriarchs. The successor of Bodhidharma was 慧可 Huike, and he was succeeded by 僧璨 Sengcan, 道信 Daoxin, 弘忍 Hongren, 慧能 Huineng, and 神秀 Shenxiu, the sect dividing under the two latter into the southern and northern schools: the southern school became prominent, producing 南嶽 Nanyue and 靑原 Qingyuan, the former succeeded by 馬祖 Mazu, the latter by 石頭 Shitou. From Mazu's school arose the five later schools.

Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark

 jiān tīng zé míng, piān tīng zé àn
Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark Scroll

兼聽則明偏聽則暗 is an ancient Chinese proverb about getting all the information from all sides so that you truly understand a situation.

Wei Zheng

Wei Zheng

A man named Wei Zheng lived between 580-643 AD. He was a noble and wise historian and minister in the court of the early Tang Dynasty. The emperor once asked him, “What should an emperor do to understand the real-world situation, and what makes an emperor out-of-touch with reality?”

Wei Zheng replied, “Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; listen to only one side and you will be left in the dark.”

Then Wei Zheng went on to cite examples of leaders in history that were victorious after heeding both sides of the story, and other leaders that met their doom because they believed one-sided stories which often came from flattering lips.

Please note that there is an unwritten rule when the same character appears twice in the same phrase, the calligrapher will alter the appearance so that no two characters are exactly alike in the same piece. This calligraphy has two repeating characters that will be written differently than they appear here.

 chá yuán
Tea Fate Scroll

茶緣 is a special title for the tea lover. This kind of means “tea fate,” but it's more spiritual and hard to define. Perhaps the tea brought you in to drink it. Perhaps the tea will bring you and another tea-lover together. Perhaps you were already there, and the tea came to you. Perhaps it's the ah-ha moment you will have when drinking the tea.

I've been told not to explain this further, as it will either dilute or confuse the purposefully-ambiguous idea embedded in this enigma.

I happen to be the owner of a piece of calligraphy written by either the son or nephew of the last emperor of China, which is the title he wrote. It was given to me at a Beijing tea house in 2001. 茶緣 is where I learned to love tea after literally spending weeks tasting and studying everything I could about Chinese tea. I did not understand the significance of the authorship or the meaning of the title at all. Some 10 years later, I realized the gift was so profound and had such providence. Only now do I realize the value of a gift that it is too late to give proper thanks for. It was also years later that I ended up in this business and could have the artwork properly mounted as a wall scroll. It has been borrowed for many exhibitions and shows and always amazes native Chinese and Taiwanese who read the signature. This piece of calligraphy I once thought was just a bit of ink on a thin and wrinkled piece of paper, is now one of my most valued possessions. And fate has taught me to be more thankful for seemingly simple gifts.

The one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one to retreats 100

The pot calls the kettle black

 wù shí bù xiào bǎi bù
The one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one to retreats 100 Scroll

五十步笑百步 is a Chinese proverb that means the one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one who retreats 100 paces.

During the Warring States Period of what is now China (475 - 221 B.C.), the King of Wei was in love with war. He often fought with other kingdoms just for spite or fun.

One day, the King of Wei asked the philosopher Mencius, “I love my people, and all say I do the best for them. I move the people from famine-stricken areas to places of plenty and transport grains from rich areas to the poor. Nobody goes hungry in my kingdom, and I treat my people far better than other kings. But why does the population of my kingdom not increase, and why does the population of other kingdoms not decrease?”

Mencius answered, “Since you love war, I will make this example: When going to war, and the drums beat to start the attack, some soldiers flee for their lives in fear. Some run 100 paces in retreat, and others run 50 steps. Then the ones who retreated 50 paces laugh and taunt those who retreated 100 paces, calling them cowards mortally afraid of death. Do you think this is reasonable?

The King of Wei answered, “Of course not! Those who run 50 paces are just as timid as those who run 100 paces.”

Mencius then said, “You are a king who treats his subjects better than other kings treat their people, but you are so fond of war that your people suffer from great losses in battle. Therefore, your population does not grow. While other kings allow their people to starve to death, you send your people to die in war. Is there any difference?”

This famous conversation led to the six-character proverb shown here. It serves as a warning to avoid hypocrisy. It goes hand-in-hand with the western phrase, “The pot calls the kettle black,” or the Biblical phrase, “Before trying to remove a splinter from your neighbor's eye, first remove the plank from your own eye.”

 sān rén chéng hǔ
Tiger Rumor Scroll

These four characters together relay the meaning that can be expressed in English as “When three people say there's a tiger running in the street, you believe it.”

Of course, there is an ancient story behind this idiom...

三人成虎 is actually a proverb that resulted from a conversation that occurred around 300 B.C.

The conversation was between the king of the Wei kingdom and one of the king's ministers named Pang Cong.

It was near the end of one of many wars, this time with the Zhao kingdom. Pang Cong was to be sent by the king to the Zhao kingdom with the king's son, who was to be held hostage. It was common at the time for a king to make his son a hostage to secure stable peace between warring kingdoms.

Before minister Pang Cong departed, he asked his king, “If one person told you a tiger was running in the street, would you believe it?.”

“No,” the king said.

The minister continued, “What if two people told you?”

The king replied, “Well, I would have my doubts but I might believe it.”

The minister continued, “So, what if three people told you that a tiger is running in the streets?”

The king replied, “Yes, I would believe it. It must be true if three people say it.”

The minister then reminded the king, “Your son and I are now traveling far away to live in the distant Zhao kingdom - much farther from your palace than the street. Rumors may fly about me in my absence, so I hope your majesty will weight such rumors appropriately.”

The king replied, “I have every trust in you, do not worry”

While the minister was gone, the king's enemies gossiped about minister Pang Cong on many occasions. At first, the king thought nothing of these comments and rumors. But slowly, as the rumors mounted, the king began to suspect ill of his minister.

Sometime later, when peace was well-established, the minister and prince were freed and returned to the kingdom of Wei. The king received his son BUT DID NOT EVEN SUMMON MINISTER PANG CONG TO THE PALACE!

Hopefully, this story will help you see how dangerous words can be when used to promote rumors or create ill will. And perhaps will inspire you not to believe everything you hear.

There is also a secondary suggestion in this idiom that gossip is as ferocious as a tiger. Some Chinese people who don't know the ancient story above may believe that this scroll means that rumors are as vicious as three tigers.

Note: This proverb appears in my Korean dictionary but is not well-known in Korea.

Galatians 5:22-23

 shèng líng suǒ jié de guǒ zi jiù shì rén ài xǐ lè he píng rěn nài ēn cí liáng shàn xìn shí wēn róu jié zhì
Galatians 5:22-23 Scroll

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...




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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own子を持って知る親の恩ko wo motte shiru oya no on
kowomotteshiruoyanoon
Guan Yu關羽
关羽
guān yǔ / guan1 yu3 / guan yu / guanyukuan yü / kuanyü
Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit老當益壯
老当益壮
lǎo dāng yì zhuàng
lao3 dang1 yi4 zhuang4
lao dang yi zhuang
laodangyizhuang
lao tang i chuang
laotangichuang
Diligent Study Proverb鑿壁偷光
凿壁偷光
záo bì tōu guāng
zao2 bi4 tou1 guang1
zao bi tou guang
zaobitouguang
tsao pi t`ou kuang
tsaopitoukuang
tsao pi tou kuang
Zhuge Liang諸葛亮
诸葛亮
zhū gě liàng
zhu1 ge3 liang4
zhu ge liang
zhugeliang
chu ko liang
chukoliang
Lao Tzu
Laozi
老子roushi / roshilǎo zǐ / lao3 zi3 / lao zi / laozilao tzu / laotzu
Ip Man葉問
叶问
yè wèn / ye4 wen4 / ye wen / yewenyeh wen / yehwen
God Give Me Strength願上帝給我力量
愿上帝给我力量
yuàn shàng dì gěi wǒ lì liàng
yuan4 shang4 di4 gei3 wo3 li4 liang4
yuan shang di gei wo li liang
yuanshangdigeiwoliliang
yüan shang ti kei wo li liang
yüanshangtikeiwoliliang
Tathagata如來
如来
nyorairú lái / ru2 lai2 / ru lai / rulaiju lai / julai
Be Like Water像水一樣xiàng shuǐ yí yàng
xiang4 shui3 yi2 yang4
xiang shui yi yang
xiangshuiyiyang
hsiang shui i yang
hsiangshuiiyang
Star Lotus星蓮花
星莲花
xīng lián huā
xing1 lian2 hua1
xing lian hua
xinglianhua
hsing lien hua
hsinglienhua
Teachachá / cha2 / chach`a / cha
Mark the boat to find the lost sword
Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world
刻舟求劍
刻舟求剑
kokushuukyuuken
kokushukyuken
kè zhōu qiú jiàn
ke4 zhou1 qiu2 jian4
ke zhou qiu jian
kezhouqiujian
k`o chou ch`iu chien
kochouchiuchien
ko chou chiu chien
Silent
Solitary
jakujì / ji4 / jichi
Push or Knock反復推敲
反复推敲
fǎn fù tuī qiāo
fan3 fu4 tui1 qiao1
fan fu tui qiao
fanfutuiqiao
fan fu t`ui ch`iao
fanfutuichiao
fan fu tui chiao
The Whole Room Rocks With Laughter哄堂大笑hōng tāng dà xiào
hong1 tang1 da4 xiao4
hong tang da xiao
hongtangdaxiao
hung t`ang ta hsiao
hungtangtahsiao
hung tang ta hsiao
Where There is a Will, There is a Way愚公移山yū gōng yí shān
yu1 gong1 yi2 shan1
yu gong yi shan
yugongyishan
yü kung i shan
yükungishan
Mencius孟子mou shi / moushi / mo shimèng zi / meng4 zi5 / meng zi / mengzimeng tzu / mengtzu
Profound
Powerful Words
入木三分rù mù sān fēn
ru4 mu4 san1 fen1
ru mu san fen
rumusanfen
ju mu san fen
jumusanfen
Musashi武蔵mu sashi / musashi
A sly rabbit has three openings to its den狡兔三窟jiǎo tù sān kū
jiao3 tu4 san1 ku1
jiao tu san ku
jiaotusanku
chiao t`u san k`u
chiaotusanku
chiao tu san ku
Daodejing
Tao Te Ching - Chapter 33
知人者知也自知者明也勝人者有力也自勝者強也知足者富也強行者有志也不失其所者久也死而不亡者壽也
知人者知也自知者明也胜人者有力也自胜者强也知足者富也强行者有志也不失其所者久也死而不亡者寿也
zhī rén zhě zhī yě zì zhī zhě míng yě shèng rén zhě yǒu lì yě zì shèng zhě qiáng yě zhī zú zhě fù yě qiáng xíng zhě yǒu zhì yě bù zhī qí suǒ zhě jiǔ yě sǐ ér bù wáng zhě shòu yě
zhi1 ren2 zhe3 zhi1 ye3 zi4 zhi1 zhe3 ming2 ye3 sheng4 ren2 zhe3 you3 li4 ye3 zi4 sheng4 zhe3 qiang2 ye3 zhi1 zu2 zhe3 fu4 ye3 qiang2 xing2 zhe3 you3 zhi4 ye3 bu4 zhi1 qi2 suo3 zhe3 jiu3 ye3 si3 er2 bu4 wang2 zhe3 shou4 ye3
zhi ren zhe zhi ye zi zhi zhe ming ye sheng ren zhe you li ye zi sheng zhe qiang ye zhi zu zhe fu ye qiang xing zhe you zhi ye bu zhi qi suo zhe jiu ye si er bu wang zhe shou ye
chih jen che chih yeh tzu chih che ming yeh sheng jen che yu li yeh tzu sheng che ch`iang yeh chih tsu che fu yeh ch`iang hsing che yu chih yeh pu chih ch`i so che chiu yeh ssu erh pu wang che shou yeh
chih jen che chih yeh tzu chih che ming yeh sheng jen che yu li yeh tzu sheng che chiang yeh chih tsu che fu yeh chiang hsing che yu chih yeh pu chih chi so che chiu yeh ssu erh pu wang che shou yeh
Zhuangzi
Chuang Tzu
莊子
庄子
Sōshizhuāng zǐ
zhuang1 zi3
zhuang zi
zhuangzi
chuang tzu
chuangtzu
God of Warcraft蚩尤shi yuu / shiyuu / shi yuchī yóu / chi1 you2 / chi you / chiyouch`ih yu / chihyu / chih yu
Thought
Thinking
Idea
思想shisou / shisosī xiǎng / si1 xiang3 / si xiang / sixiangssu hsiang / ssuhsiang
Nichiren日蓮
日莲
nichi ren / nichirenrì lián / ri4 lian2 / ri lian / rilianjih lien / jihlien
Omoiオモイomoi
Dharma
Damo
Daruma
達摩 / 達磨
达摩 / 达磨
daru ma / darumadá mó / da2 mo2 / da mo / damota mo / tamo
Broken Mirror Rejoined破鏡重圓
破镜重圆
pò jìng chóng yuán
po4 jing4 chong2 yuan2
po jing chong yuan
pojingchongyuan
p`o ching ch`ung yüan
pochingchungyüan
po ching chung yüan
Daodejing
Tao Te Ching - Chapter 81
信言不美美言不信知者不博博者不知善者不多多者不善聖人無積既以為人己癒有既以予人矣已癒多故天之道利而不害聖人之道為而不爭
信言不美美言不信知者不博博者不知善者不多多者不善圣人无积既以为人己愈有既以予人矣已愈多故天之道利而不害圣人之道为而不争
Hachiman: God of War八幡神hachi man jin
hachimanjin
Bravery
Courage
勇敢yuu kan / yuukan / yu kanyǒng gǎn / yong3 gan3 / yong gan / yongganyung kan / yungkan
Bravery
Courage
勇氣
勇气 / 勇気
yuuki / yukiyǒng qì / yong3 qi4 / yong qi / yongqiyung ch`i / yungchi / yung chi
John 8:8於是又彎著腰用指頭在地上畫字
于是又弯着腰用指头在地上画字
yú shì yòu wān zhe yāo yòng zhǐ tou zài dì shàng huà zì
yu2 shi4 you4 wan1 zhe yao1 yong4 zhi3 tou zai4 di4 shang4 hua4 zi4
yu shi you wan zhe yao yong zhi tou zai di shang hua zi
yü shih yu wan che yao yung chih t`ou tsai ti shang hua tzu
yü shih yu wan che yao yung chih tou tsai ti shang hua tzu
Yue Fei岳飛
岳飞
gakuhiyuè fēi / yue4 fei1 / yue fei / yuefeiyüeh fei / yüehfei
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks百折不撓
百折不挠
hyaku setsu su tou
hyakusetsusutou
hyaku setsu su to
bǎi zhé bù náo
bai3 zhe2 bu4 nao2
bai zhe bu nao
baizhebunao
pai che pu nao
paichepunao
Zhong Kui鐘馗
钟馗
zhōng kuí
zhong1 kui2
zhong kui
zhongkui
chung k`uei
chungkuei
chung kuei
John 3:16 (first half)神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們
神爱世人甚至将他的独生子赐给他们
shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén
shen2 ai4 shi4 ren2 shen4 zhi4 jiang1 ta1 de du2 sheng1 zi3 ci4 gei3 ta1 men2
shen ai shi ren shen zhi jiang ta de du sheng zi ci gei ta men
shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang t`a te tu sheng tzu tz`u kei t`a men
shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang ta te tu sheng tzu tzu kei ta men
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good克己奉公kè jǐ fèng gōng
ke4 ji3 feng4 gong1
ke ji feng gong
kejifenggong
k`o chi feng kung
kochifengkung
ko chi feng kung
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
Zhang Fei張飛
张飞
chou hi / chouhi / cho hizhāng fēi
zhang1 fei1
zhang fei
zhangfei
chang fei
changfei
Confucius孔子koushi / koshikǒng zǐ / kong3 zi3 / kong zi / kongzik`ung tzu / kungtzu / kung tzu
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering獲得永生的鑰匙是先要活得精彩
获得永生的钥匙是先要活得精彩
huò dé yǒng shēng de yào shí shì xiān yào huó dé jīng cǎi
huo4 de2 yong3 sheng1 de yao4 shi2 shi4 xian1 yao4 huo2 de2 jing1 cai3
huo de yong sheng de yao shi shi xian yao huo de jing cai
huo te yung sheng te yao shih shih hsien yao huo te ching ts`ai
huo te yung sheng te yao shih shih hsien yao huo te ching tsai
Energy
Capability
能量nou ryou / nouryou / no ryonéng liáng
neng2 liang2
neng liang
nengliang
Heath西斯xī sī / xi1 si1 / xi si / xisihsi ssu / hsissu
Tai Chi Chuan
Tai Ji Quan
太極拳
太极拳
tai kyoku ken
taikyokuken
tài jí quán
tai4 ji2 quan2
tai ji quan
taijiquan
t`ai chi ch`üan
taichichüan
tai chi chüan
Bruce Lee李小龍
李小龙
bu ruu su ri
buruusuri
bu ru su ri
lǐ xiǎo lóng
li3 xiao3 long2
li xiao long
lixiaolong
li hsiao lung
lihsiaolung
John 3:16神は 實に そのひとり 子をお 與えになったほどに 世を 愛された. それは 御子を 信じる 者が ひとりとして 滅びることなく 永遠のいのちを 持つためである.kami wa, minoru ni, sono hitori ko o o atae ni natta hodo ni, yo o aisare ta. Sore wa miko o shinjiru mono ga, hitori toshite horobiru koto naku, eien no inochi o motsu tame de aru.
Sun Wukong
Son Goku
孫悟空
孙悟空
son go kuu / songokuu / son go kusūn wù kōng
sun1 wu4 kong1
sun wu kong
sunwukong
sun wu k`ung
sunwukung
sun wu kung
1 Peter 3:13你們若是熱心行善有誰害你們呢
你们若是热心行善有谁害你们呢
Nǐ men ruò shì rè xīn xíng shàn yǒu shéi hài nǐ men ne
ni3 men ruo4 shi4 re4 xin1 xing2 shan4 you3 shei2 hai4 ni3 men ne
ni men ruo shi re xin xing shan you shei hai ni men ne
ni men jo shih je hsin hsing shan yu shei hai ni men ne
The Brave Have No Fears勇者不懼
勇者不惧
yuu sha fu ku
yuushafuku
yu sha fu ku
yǒng zhě bú jù
yong3 zhe3 bu2 ju4
yong zhe bu ju
yongzhebuju
yung che pu chü
yungchepuchü
Geisha of Unequaled Talent名妓mei gi / meigimíng jì / ming2 ji4 / ming ji / mingjiming chi / mingchi
Drain the pond to get all the fish竭澤而漁
竭泽而渔
jié zé ér yú
jie2 ze2 er2 yu2
jie ze er yu
jiezeeryu
chieh tse erh yü
chiehtseerhyü
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial大公無私
大公无私
dà gōng wú sī
da4 gong1 wu2 si1
da gong wu si
dagongwusi
ta kung wu ssu
takungwussu
True
Real
Genuine
真 or 眞
shin / makotozhēn / zhen1 / zhenchen
Siddhartha悉達多
悉达多
shiddatta / shiddarutaxī dá duō
xi1 da2 duo1
xi da duo
xidaduo
hsi ta to
hsitato
Gung Ho工合guaigōng hé / gong1 he2 / gong he / gonghekung ho / kungho
Bodhidharma菩提達磨
菩提达磨
bodai daruma
bodaidaruma
pú tí dá mó
pu2 ti2 da2 mo2
pu ti da mo
putidamo
p`u t`i ta mo
putitamo
pu ti ta mo
Wisdom from Hard Knocks挨一拳得一招挨十拳變諸葛
挨一拳得一招挨十拳变诸葛
ái yī quán dé yī zhāo ái shí quán biàn zhū gě
ai2 yi1 quan2 de2 yi1 zhao1 ai2 shi2 quan2 bian4 zhu1 ge3
ai yi quan de yi zhao ai shi quan bian zhu ge
ai i ch`üan te i chao ai shih ch`üan pien chu ko
ai i chüan te i chao ai shih chüan pien chu ko
Dogen道元dou gen / dougen / do gendào yuán / dao4 yuan2 / dao yuan / daoyuantao yüan / taoyüan
The Red Thread of Fate姻緣紅線
姻缘红线
yīn yuán hóng xiàn
yin1 yuan2 hong2 xian4
yin yuan hong xian
yinyuanhongxian
yin yüan hung hsien
yinyüanhunghsien
Adoring Love愛慕
爱慕
ai bou / aibou / ai boài mù / ai4 mu4 / ai mu / aimu
Guan Gong
Warrior Saint
關公
关公
guān gōng
guan1 gong1
guan gong
guangong
kuan kung
kuankung
Mountain Travels Poem by Dumu遠上寒山石徑斜白雲生處有人家停車坐愛楓林晚霜葉紅於二月花
远上寒山石径斜白云生处有人家停车坐爱枫林晚霜叶红于二月花
yuǎn shàng hán shān shí jìng xiá bái yún shēng chù yǒu rén jiā tíng chē zuò ài fēng lín wǎn shuàng yè hóng yú èr yuè huā
yuan3 shang4 han2 shan1 shi2 jing4 xia2 bai2 yun2 sheng1 chu4 you3 ren2 jia1 ting2 che1 zuo4 ai4 feng1 lin2 wan3 shuang4 ye4 hong2 yu2 er4 yue4 hua1
yuan shang han shan shi jing xia bai yun sheng chu you ren jia ting che zuo ai feng lin wan shuang ye hong yu er yue hua
yüan shang han shan shih ching hsia pai yün sheng ch`u yu jen chia t`ing ch`e tso ai feng lin wan shuang yeh hung yü erh yüeh hua
yüan shang han shan shih ching hsia pai yün sheng chu yu jen chia ting che tso ai feng lin wan shuang yeh hung yü erh yüeh hua
Wing Chun Fist Maxims (Part 2)步步追形點點朝午以形補手敗形不敗馬腰馬一致心意合一拳由心發動法無形活人練活死功夫
步步追形点点朝午以形补手败形不败马腰马一致心意合一拳由心发动法无形活人练活死功夫
The Great Path has No Gate大道無門
大道无门
dai dou mu mon
daidoumumon
dai do mu mon
dà dào wú mén
da4 dao4 wu2 men2
da dao wu men
dadaowumen
ta tao wu men
tataowumen
Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice不管黑貓白貓能捉著老鼠的就是好貓
不管黑猫白猫能捉着老鼠的就是好猫
bù guǎn hēi māo bái māo néng zhuō zhe lǎo shǔ de jiù shì hǎo mǎo
bu4 guan3 hei1 mao1 bai2 mao1 neng2 zhuo1 zhe lao3 shu3 de jiu4 shi4 hao3 mao3
bu guan hei mao bai mao neng zhuo zhe lao shu de jiu shi hao mao
pu kuan hei mao pai mao neng cho che lao shu te chiu shih hao mao
Better Late Than Never亡羊補牢猶未為晚
亡羊补牢犹未为晚
wáng yáng bǔ láo yóu wèi wéi wǎn
wang2 yang2 bu3 lao2 you2 wei4 wei2 wan3
wang yang bu lao you wei wei wan
wang yang pu lao yu wei wei wan
wangyangpulaoyuweiweiwan
Past experience is the teacher for the future前事不忘后事之師
前事不忘后事之师
qián shì bú wàng hòu shí zhī shī
qian2 shi4 bu2 wang4 hou4 shi2 zhi1 shi1
qian shi bu wang hou shi zhi shi
ch`ien shih pu wang hou shih chih shih
chien shih pu wang hou shih chih shih
Che Guevara切格瓦拉qiè gé wǎ lā
qie4 ge2 wa3 la1
qie ge wa la
qiegewala
ch`ieh ko wa la
chiehkowala
chieh ko wa la
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
Empress皇后kou gou / kougou / ko gohuáng hòu
huang2 hou4
huang hou
huanghou
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
Shogun
Japanese General
將軍
将军
shougun / shogunjiāng jūn
jiang1 jun1
jiang jun
jiangjun
chiang chün
chiangchün
John 3:16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
神爱世人甚至将他的独生子赐给他们叫一切信他的不至灭亡反得永生
shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén jiào yí qiè xìn tā de bú zhì miè wáng fǎn dé yǒng shēng
shen2 ai4 shi4 ren2 shen4 zhi4 jiang1 ta1 de du2 sheng1 zi3 ci4 gei3 ta1 men2 jiao4 yi2 qie4 xin4 ta1 de bu2 zhi4 mie4 wang2 fan3 de2 yong3 sheng1
shen ai shi ren shen zhi jiang ta de du sheng zi ci gei ta men jiao yi qie xin ta de bu zhi mie wang fan de yong sheng
shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang t`a te tu sheng tzu tz`u kei t`a men chiao i ch`ieh hsin t`a te pu chih mieh wang fan te yung sheng
shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang ta te tu sheng tzu tzu kei ta men chiao i chieh hsin ta te pu chih mieh wang fan te yung sheng
Ultimate Loyalty to Your Country盡忠報國
尽忠报国
jìn zhōng bào guó
jin4 zhong1 bao4 guo2
jin zhong bao guo
jinzhongbaoguo
chin chung pao kuo
chinchungpaokuo
Wing Chun Fist Maxims (Part 1)有手黐手無手問手來留區送甩手直沖怕打終歸打貪打終被打粘連迫攻絕不放鬆來力瀉力借力出擊
有手黐手无手问手来留区送甩手直冲怕打终归打贪打终被打粘连迫攻绝不放松来力泻力借力出击
Zen Buddhism禪宗
禅宗
zen shuu / zenshuu / zen shuchán zōng
chan2 zong1
chan zong
chanzong
ch`an tsung
chantsung
chan tsung
Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark兼聽則明偏聽則暗
兼听则明偏听则暗
jiān tīng zé míng, piān tīng zé àn
jian1 ting1 ze2 ming2, pian1 ting1 ze2 an4
jian ting ze ming, pian ting ze an
chien t`ing tse ming, p`ien t`ing tse an
chien ting tse ming, pien ting tse an
Tea Fate茶緣
茶缘
chá yuán / cha2 yuan2 / cha yuan / chayuanch`a yüan / chayüan / cha yüan
The one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one to retreats 100五十步笑百步wù shí bù xiào bǎi bù
wu4 shi2 bu4 xiao4 bai3 bu4
wu shi bu xiao bai bu
wushibuxiaobaibu
wu shih pu hsiao pai pu
wushihpuhsiaopaipu
Tiger Rumor三人成虎sān rén chéng hǔ
san1 ren2 cheng2 hu3
san ren cheng hu
sanrenchenghu
san jen ch`eng hu
sanjenchenghu
san jen cheng hu
Galatians 5:22-23聖靈所結的果子就是仁愛喜樂和平忍耐恩慈良善信實溫柔節制
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
shèng líng suǒ jié de guǒ zi jiù shì rén ài xǐ lè he píng rěn nài ēn cí liáng shàn xìn shí wēn róu jié zhì
sheng4 ling2 suo3 jie2 de guo3 zi jiu4 shi4 ren2 ai4 xi3 le4 he ping2 ren3 nai4 en1 ci2 liang2 shan4 xin4 shi2 wen1 rou2 jie2 zhi4
sheng ling suo jie de guo zi jiu shi ren ai xi le he ping ren nai en ci liang shan xin shi wen rou jie zhi
sheng ling so chieh te kuo tzu chiu shih jen ai hsi le ho p`ing jen nai en tz`u liang shan hsin shih wen jou chieh chih
sheng ling so chieh te kuo tzu chiu shih jen ai hsi le ho ping jen nai en tzu liang shan hsin shih wen jou chieh chih
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.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

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.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

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.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

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.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

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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