松 in Chinese / Japanese...

If you love pine trees or pine forests, 鬆 is your character. Also used to refer to fir trees.

Sometimes you’ll see a complex alternate version of this character. The meaning is still primarily pine but it can also have other meanings. If you want this special version, click on the character to the right instead of the button above.

There’s another rare alternate version of this character as shown to the right. In this case, the character’s radicals are arranged vertically instead of horizontally.

狄鬆 is the name Dizon in Chinese (Mandarin).

費鬆 is the name Faizon in Chinese (Mandarin).

吉鬆 is the name Jimson in Chinese (Mandarin).

曼鬆 is the name Manzon in Chinese (Mandarin).

松林 is a Japanese, Chinese, and Korean word that means pine forest.

Also, a Japanese surname that romanizes as Matsubayashi or Shorin/Shourin.

This means to relax in Chinese.

In most cases it's used to suggest that a person “relax,” “hang loose” or “chill out.”

In context where this word is not applied to a human, it can mean to loosen, as in to loosen a knot in a rope.

桑鬆 is the name Sanson in Chinese (Mandarin).

鬆岩 is the name Songam in Chinese (Mandarin).

松鼠 is the common Chinese word for squirrel.

阿鬆森 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Ascensión.

科拉鬆 is the name Corazon in Chinese (Mandarin).

This is the most common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Nixon.

松濤会 is the martial arts style Shotokai or Shōtōkai in Japanese Kanji.

Sometimes written in the old form, 松濤會 or even 鬆濤會. Let me know if you want one of these versions instead of 松濤会 when you place your order.

松濤館 are the Kanji characters that make up the title for Shotokan.

This should be considered a Japanese-only title. It does make sense and is pronounceable in Chinese and Korean but only as a title for a building (perhaps a martial arts hall) surrounded by pine trees. Also, the first two characters were simplified in both Japanese and Chinese. The third character was simplified in Chinese but not Japanese.

Upon request, we can offer the fully traditional Chinese version but be sure you know what you are asking for.

Note: This would be understood in Chinese and Korean Hanja by a person from those cultures who is familiar with martial arts and various schools of Japanese karate.

埃里克鬆 is the name Ericson in Chinese (Mandarin).

杜松子酒 is the full Chinese name for the alcohol known as gin.

If you like this juniper-berry-based liquor, this could be your title. Don't skimp on the vermouth!

松濤館流 is the Japanese martial arts title, Shotokan-Ryu.

This is a style or school of karate.

松村少林流 is the Japanese martial arts title “Matsumura Shorin-ryu.”

普雷森塔鬆 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Presentacion.

松巖跆拳道 is the title Songahm Taekwondo.

If you want this written in Korean Hangul instead of Hanja, click on the Hangul characters below the Korean flag above.

Note, Songahm is usually written in Hanja as 松巖. However, in Traditional Chinese, it would be 鬆巖, and in modern Japanese, it can be 松岩 (but not known in this context - I think it's a small train station and place in Japan).
Technically, all of these can also be Korean Hanja so that you might see these variations in use. If you need a version other than 松巖, just let me know when you order.

鬆林流空手道 is the Japanese title for the Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do school of martial arts.

If directly translated, it means “Pine Forest Style Empty Hand Way.”

Notes:
1. 松林流 can be pronounced Matsubayashi-Ryū or Shōrin-Ryū. This can be confusing as Shōrin can also represent 少林 which refers to the Shaolin (little forest) style.
2. 松 can also be written in the traditional form of 鬆.

鬆濤館空手道 art the Japanese Kanji that make up the title for Shotokan Karate.

This should be considered a Japanese-only title. It does make sense and is pronounceable in Chinese and Korean but only as a title for a building (perhaps a martial arts hall) surrounded by pine trees - followed by the characters for “The empty hand method” (kong shou dao / Karate-do). Also, the first two characters were simplified in both Japanese and Chinese. The third character was simplified in Chinese but not Japanese.

Upon request, we can offer the fully traditional Chinese version but be sure you know what you are asking for.

Note: This would be understood in Chinese and Korean Hanja by a person from those cultures familiar with martial arts and various schools of Japanese karate.

松涛館合気道 is the title for Shotokan Aikido in Japanese.

Note: Chinese and Korean pronunciations of these characters are included above, however, this title would only be understood in Chinese or Korean by someone who practices or is familiar with Shotokan Aikido. Please consider this title to be “Japanese only.”

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

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

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

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

This text is the chant or poem of Wing Chun.

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

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

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

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

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

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