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1. Golden Rule
2. Confucius: Golden Rule / Ethic of Reciprocity
4. Xuan Wu / Genbu / Black Tortoise God
8. White Tiger
9. Not Only Can Water Float A Boat, It Can Sink It Also
10. Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark
Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself
Some may think of this as a “Christian trait,” but actually, it transcends many religions.
This Chinese teaching dates back to about 2,500 years ago in China. Confucius had always taught the belief in being benevolent (ren), but this idea was hard to grasp for some of his students, as benevolence could be kind-heartedness or an essence of humanity itself.
When answering Zhong Gong's question as to what "ren" actually meant, Confucius said:
己所不欲勿施于人 or "When you go out, you should behave as if you were in the presence of a distinguished guest; when people do favors for you, act as if a great sacrifice was made for you. Whatever you wouldn't like done to you, do not do that thing to others. Don't complain at work or home.”
Hearing this, Zhong Gong said humbly, “Although I am not clever, I will do what you say.”
From this encounter, the Chinese version of the “Golden Rule” or “Ethic of Reciprocity” came to be.
The characters you see above express, “Do not do to others whatever you do not want to be done to yourself.”
See Also: Confucius Teachings | Benevolence
玄武 can refer to the Black Tortoise (an ancient Chinese constellation of stars- part of the seven mansions of the north sky).
In Daoism, this is the God of the North sky.
This also refers to a Black Tortoise god, said to rule over the northern heavens in Japanese. Can also be pronounced/romanized as genmu or when used as a personal name, Hirotake in Japanese.
My life, I call the shots
我的生活我做主 is a Chinese phrase that can be translated as “My life, my rules,” or “My life, I call the shots.”
The first four characters say, “my life.”
The fifth character is I, me, and/or my.
The last two characters can be interpreted in a variety of ways, just as to make the decision, to take charge of, to call the shot, or to make the rule.
生活法 is a Japanese and Chinese title meaning “art of living” or “way of life.”
This can also be translated in a few other ways, such as “rule of life” and “the act of living.”
The “art” title kind of comes from the fact that the last character is the same as the book, “The Art of War.” So when you write your book, this is the title for “The Art of Life,” in Chinese and Japanese.
不拘一格 is a Chinese proverb that speaks of exploring different styles and not being stuck in conventional thinking.
It can also be translated as “not sticking to one pattern” or “not limited to one type (or style).” The most simple translation is “being creative” or “unbridled creativity.” Some may also say this means “not being stuck in a rut,” in the context of a designer or artist.
If you translate this, the first two characters mean “not stick to” or “not confine oneself to.”
The second two characters mean “one mode,” “one pattern,” “one form,” “one style,” or “one rule.”
白虎 is the title “White Tiger” in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean Hanja.
In Chinese folklore, the White Tiger rules or represents the seven mansions (constellations) of the western sky. However, in modern Chinese, a “white tiger” is also slang for hairless female genitalia (be careful about this, as Chinese men might secretly laugh or snicker when they see your white tiger wall scroll).
In Japanese folklore, the White Tiger is a god said to rule over the western heavens. They also know of the Chinese seven mansions of the western heavens. In Japanese, this can also be the given name Byakko.
Many things have opposite properties. The water you drink can also drown you. Pork may nourish you and keep you alive but under-cook it and it could kill you. Potassium nitrate is often used as a fertilizer to grow the food that sustains us but it's also been used as an explosive to topple buildings and destroy us.
This concept is easily associated with “yin yang” where an element has two opposite properties that are as different as night and day.
This proverb's meaning can be summed up this way: “Anything that can lead you to success may also contain great risks.”
This phrase is known in literary circles by Korean people (scholars or literature). It is therefore also a valid proverb in Korean Hanja, though most Koreans would not be able to make sense of it.
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.
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
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.
不屈不撓 means “Indomitable” or “Unyielding.”
不屈不撓 is a long word by Chinese standards. At least, it is often translated as a single word into English. It's actually a proverb in Chinese.
If you want to break it down, you can see that the first and third characters are the same. Both mean “not” (they work as a suffix to make a negative or opposite meaning to whatever character follows).
The second character means “bendable.”
The last means “scratched” or “bothered.”
So this really means “Won't be bent, can't be bothered.” I have also seen it written as “Will not crouch, will not submit.” This comes from the fact that the second character can mean “to crouch” and the last can mean “to submit” (as in “to give in” such as “submitting to the rule of someone else”). This may explain better why these four characters mean “indomitable.”
Notes:
Some will translate this as “indomitable spirit”; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of “spirit” in this word.
Other translations include indefatigability, indomitableness, or unremitting tenacity.
The first two characters can be stand-alone words in Chinese.
In Japanese, this is considered two words (with very similar meanings). It's more common to see the word order flipped to 不撓不屈 in Japanese.
The same characters are used in old Korean Hanja. Just like in Japanese, the words are swapped to 不撓不屈 creating a word pronounced “불요불굴” in Korean.
See 不撓不屈
功夫 or Kung Fu is one of the most famous types of martial arts in the world - and not just because of Bruce Lee.
Some translate the meaning as “Accomplishment by Great Effort.” I think this is partially true, but directly translated, it literally means “Merit/Achievement/Accomplishment Man.” The word “fu” can sometimes mean “husband” or “porter,” but in this case, it can only mean “man.” However, few in China will think “man” when they hear the word “Gong Fu” spoken.
This term is also used for things other than martial arts. In fact, it's used to refer to a person with excellent skills in crafts that require a lot of effort to master, such as cooking, tea ceremonies, and calligraphy.
What a lot of people don't know is that the spelling of “Kung Fu” was actually taken from the old Wade Giles form of Romanization. Using this method, the sounds of the English “G” and “K” were both written as “K” and an apostrophe after the “K” told you it was supposed to sound like a “G.” Nobody in the west knew this rule, so most people pronounce it with a “K-sound.” And so, Gong Fu will always be Kung Fu for most westerners.
Also, just to educate you a little more, the “O” in “Gong” has a sound like the English word “oh.”
The popular Chinese dish “Kung Pao Chicken” suffers from the same problem. It should actually be “Gong Bao Chicken.”
Historical note: Many will claim that Kung Fu was invented by the monks of the Shaolin monastery. This fact is argued in both directions by scholars of Chinese history. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the Shaolin Monks brought the original fame to Kung Fu many generations ago.
Japanese note: While most Japanese martial artists will recognize these characters, Katakana is more often used to approximate the pronunciation of "Kung Fu" with "カンフー." Some will argue as to whether this should be considered a Japanese word at all.
See Also: Bruce Lee
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Golden Rule | 黄金律 | ougonritsu / ogonritsu | ||
Confucius: Golden Rule Ethic of Reciprocity | 己所不欲勿施於人 己所不欲勿施于人 | jǐ suǒ bú yù wù shī yú rén ji3 suo3 bu2 yu4, wu4 shi1 yu2 ren2 ji suo bu yu, wu shi yu ren jisuobuyu,wushiyuren | chi so pu yü, wu shih yü jen chisopuyü,wushihyüjen |
|
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 |
|
Xuan Wu Genbu Black Tortoise God | 玄武 | genbu | xuán wǔ / xuan2 wu3 / xuan wu / xuanwu | hsüan wu / hsüanwu |
My Life, My Rules | 我的生活我做主 | wǒ de shēng huó wǒ zuò zhǔ wo3 de sheng1 huo2 wo3 zuo4 zhu3 wo de sheng huo wo zuo zhu wodeshenghuowozuozhu | wo te sheng huo wo tso chu woteshenghuowotsochu |
|
Way of Life Art of Life | 生活法 | seikatsuhou seikatsuho | shēng huó fǎ sheng1 huo2 fa3 sheng huo fa shenghuofa | |
Unbridled Creativity | 不拘一格 | bù jū yī gé bu4 ju1 yi1 ge2 bu ju yi ge bujuyige | pu chü i ko puchüiko |
|
White Tiger | 白虎 | byakko / hakko byako / hako | bái hǔ / bai2 hu3 / bai hu / baihu | pai hu / paihu |
Not Only Can Water Float A Boat, It Can Sink It Also | 水能載舟亦能覆舟 水能载舟亦能覆舟 | shuǐ néng zài zhōu yì néng fù zhōu shui3 neng2 zai4 zhou1 yi4 neng2 fu4 zhou1 shui neng zai zhou yi neng fu zhou | shui neng tsai chou i neng fu chou | |
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 |
|
Indomitable Unyielding | 不屈不撓 不屈不挠 | fu kutsu fu tou fukutsufutou fu kutsu fu to | bù qū bù náo bu4 qu1 bu4 nao2 bu qu bu nao buqubunao | pu ch`ü pu nao puchüpunao pu chü pu nao |
Kung Fu Gong Fu | 功夫 | kan fu / ku fu kanfu / kufu | gōng fu / gong1 fu / gong fu / gongfu | kung fu / kungfu |
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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