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1. Better to be Happy than Rich
4. A Moment of Time is as Precious as Gold
5. Words Have Enormous Weight: One Word Worth Nine Caldrons
6. The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering
7. Joshua 24:15
8. A House Might be Worth 1 Million Dollars, But Good Neighbors are Worth 10 Million
10. Self-Confidence
安貧樂道 means “It's better to be happy than rich” in Chinese.
Even if you are poor, you should still feel satisfied in your life...
...Satisfaction, happiness and the meaning of your life come from within yourself and not from money or riches of the world.
In Chinese, there are a lot of four-character proverbs which express some very old philosophies.
Though there are only four characters on this scroll, in Chinese, the meanings often surpass the dictionary definition of each character.
In this case, you should not set your expectations too high for the money or riches you wish to have. One who sets their expectations too high is almost always disappointed. Instead, you should cherish what you have, seek to improve yourself from within, and not measure your worth by the size of your bank account.
Better to be broken jade than unbroken pottery
寧為玉碎 is the short version of a longer Chinese proverb which means “rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery.”
寧為玉碎 says the “rather be a broken piece of jade” part (the second half is implied - everyone in China knows this idiom).
A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the “broken” meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case, is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of; it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means “better to die with honor than to live in shame” or words to that effect.
This is often translated in English as “Death Before Dishonor,” the famous military slogan.
I would also compare this to the English proverb, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”
Better to be broken jade than unbroken pottery
寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is the long version of a Chinese proverb that means “rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery.”
A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the “broken” meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case, is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of, it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor, or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means “better to die with honor than to live in shame” or words to that effect.
寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is often translated in English as “Death Before Dishonor,” the famous military slogan.
I would also compare this to the English proverb, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”
This is an idiom. It therefore doesn’t directly say exactly what it means. If you think about the English idiom, "The grass is always greener," it does not directly say "jealousy" or "envy" but everyone knows that it is implied.
All you need to know about LOVE
愛是恆久忍耐又有恩慈愛是不嫉妒愛是不自誇不張狂 is 1st Corinthians 13:4 in Chinese.
With large “love” character added.
In English, this reads:
1st Corinthians 13:4 (KJV) Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up...
1st Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1st Corinthians 13:4 (Basic English) Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride.
The Chinese translation follows the love meaning, rather than the King James' use of “charity.” I was a little confused when writing this description with the significant differences between the NIV vs. KJV translations. After speaking to a Greek scholar about this, it would seem that the KJV has an almost errant translation with the use of “charity” in place of “love.”
We used the most popular Christian Chinese Bible, which is the Chinese Union Version (CUV). The CUV was first published in 1919. We use this so that the Chinese translation would be as accurate and standard as possible. Any Chinese Christian worth their salt will easily be able to identify this verse when they see these characters.
If you want a big “love” character written above the verse on your artwork, just make a note in the “special instructions” tab when you are customizing your artwork. There is no extra charge for that service on this special verse.
一言九鼎 is an ancient Chinese proverb used in modern times to talk of profound or powerful words.
The literal meaning is “one word [worth] nine [sacred] tripods.” The tripod is a highly-prized three-legged (sometimes four-legged) metal pot or kettle of ancient China. They are often made of bronze, and the Emperor would have large ones gilded in gold. See the image to the right for an example.
This House Serves the LORD
至於我和我家我們必定事奉耶和華 is the last sentence of Joshua 24:15 in Chinese.
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Joshua 24:15 (KJV) ...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15 (NIV) ...as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
We used the only official Christian Chinese Bible that I know of so that the translation would be as accurate and standard as possible. Any Chinese Christian worth their salt will easily be able to identify this verse from the Chinese words on this scroll.
I think it is a bit like having a secret code on your wall that quietly expresses to whom you are faithful.
A great gift for your devout Christian or Jewish friend if they happen to be fond of Asian art.
Or perhaps a wonderful “conversation starter” for your own home.
Note: If you are curious, the last three characters represent the way “LORD” is used in most English Bibles. In Chinese, this is actually the phonetic name from Mandarin Chinese for “Jehovah.”
百万买宅千万买邻 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as:
[It may cost a] million to buy a house, [but] ten million to find [good] neighbors.
Figuratively, this means:
Good neighbors are hard to find.
Good neighbors are even more important than the quality of one's house.
百聞は一見に如かず is the Japanese version of an ancient Chinese proverb that means “Seeing once is better than hearing one hundred times.”
It is the rough equivalent of “seeing is believing,” “one eye-witness is better than many hearsays,” or “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Sometimes it's simply more prudent to verify with your own eyes.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Hearing a Hundred Times is Not as Good as Seeing Once
自信 is created by simply putting the character for “faith/believe/confidence” with the character for “oneself” in front of it.
The literal translation holds the same meaning in English, Chinese, and Japanese.
It's like a self-affirmation to say, “you can do it.”
Some may also use this to mean self-esteem or a sense of self-worth. 自信 is also how to say “believe in oneself.”
See Also: Confidence
These search terms might be related to Worth:
Idea / Thought / Meaning
The Value of Warriors Lies in Their Quality
Value of Warrior Generals
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Better to be Happy than Rich | 安貧樂道 安贫乐道 | ān pín lè dào an1 pin2 le4 dao4 an pin le dao anpinledao | an p`in le tao anpinletao an pin le tao |
|
Death Before Dishonor | 寧為玉碎 宁为玉碎 | níng wéi yù suì ning2 wei2 yu4 sui4 ning wei yu sui ningweiyusui | ning wei yü sui ningweiyüsui |
|
Death Before Dishonor | 寧為玉碎不為瓦全 宁为玉碎不为瓦全 | níng wéi yù suì bù wéi wǎ quán ning2 wei2 yu4 sui4 bu4 wei2 wa3 quan2 ning wei yu sui bu wei wa quan ningweiyusuibuweiwaquan | ning wei yü sui pu wei wa ch`üan ning wei yü sui pu wei wa chüan |
|
Corinthians 13:4 | 愛是恆久忍耐又有恩慈愛是不嫉妒愛是不自誇不張狂 爱是恒久忍耐又有恩慈爱是不嫉妒爱是不自夸不张狂 | ài shì héng jiǔ rěn nài yòu yǒu én cí ài shì bú jì dù ài shì bú zì kuā bù zhāng kuáng ai4 shi4 heng2 jiu3 ren3 nai4 you4 you3 en2 ci2 ai4 shi4 bu2 ji4 du4 ai4 shi4 bu2 zi4 kua1 bu4 zhang1 kuang2 ai shi heng jiu ren nai you you en ci ai shi bu ji du ai shi bu zi kua bu zhang kuang | ai shih heng chiu jen nai yu yu en tz`u ai shih pu chi tu ai shih pu tzu k`ua pu chang k`uang ai shih heng chiu jen nai yu yu en tzu ai shih pu chi tu ai shih pu tzu kua pu chang kuang |
|
A Moment of Time is as Precious as Gold | 春宵一刻 | shunshouikkoku shunshoikoku | ||
Words Have Enormous Weight: One Word Worth Nine Caldrons | 一言九鼎 | yī yán jiǔ dǐng yi1 yan2 jiu3 ding3 yi yan jiu ding yiyanjiuding | i yen chiu ting iyenchiuting |
|
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 |
|
Joshua 24:15 | 至於我和我家我們必定事奉耶和華 至于我和我家我们必定事奉耶和华 | zhì yú wǒ hé wǒ jiā wǒ men bì dìng shì fèng yē hé huá zhi4 yu2 wo3 he2 wo3 jia1 wo3 men bi4 ding4 shi4 feng4 ye1 he2 hua2 zhi yu wo he wo jia wo men bi ding shi feng ye he hua | chih yü wo ho wo chia wo men pi ting shih feng yeh ho hua | |
A House Might be Worth 1 Million Dollars, But Good Neighbors are Worth 10 Million | 百萬買宅千萬買鄰 百万买宅千万买邻 | bǎi wàn mǎi zhái qiān wàn mǎi lín bai3 wan4 mai3 zhai2 qian1 wan4 mai3 lin2 bai wan mai zhai qian wan mai lin | pai wan mai chai ch`ien wan mai lin pai wan mai chai chien wan mai lin |
|
Seeing is Believing | 百聞は一見に如かず | hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu hyakubunwaikkennishikazu hyakubun wa iken ni shikazu | ||
Self-Confidence | 自信 | jishin | zì xìn / zi4 xin4 / zi xin / zixin | tzu hsin / tzuhsin |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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