Family Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scrolls

You can customize a beautiful family wall scroll here.
Start by clicking on the button next to your favorite family title below...


  1. Family / Home

  2. Family Love / Domestic Bliss

  3. Family / Members of a Family

  4. Family Over Everything

  5. Family and Friends

  6. Family Bond / Family Ties

  7. Family / Household

  8. Family Love

  9. Forever Family

10. Happy Family

11. Safety and Well-Being of the Family

12. One Family Under Heaven

13. Any success can not compensate for failure in the home

14. Home is where the heart is

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

16. Child

17. Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

18. Brotherly and Sisterly Love

19. God Daughter

20. Grand Daughter

21. Mother and Daughter

22. Mama / Mother / Mommy

23. Loving Mother

24. Never Give Up

25. No one knows a son better than the father


Family / Home

 jiā
 ei / uchi / ke
 
Family / Home Scroll

家 is the single character that means family in Chinese and Japanese.

It can also mean home or household depending on context.

Hanging this on your wall suggests that you put “family first.”

Pronunciation varies in Japanese depending on context. When pronounced “uchi” in Japanese, it means home, but when pronounced “ke,” it means family.


傢Note that there is an alternate form of this character. It has an additional radical on the left side but no difference in meaning or pronunciation. The version shown above is the most universal, and is also ancient/traditional. The image shown to the right is only for reference.

Family Love / Domestic Bliss

 tiān lún zhī lè
Family Love / Domestic Bliss Scroll

天倫之樂 means family love and joy, or domestic bliss.

The first two characters mean “the bonds of the family.”
The third character connects this to the fourth character which means happiness, joy, and cheerfulness.

Family / Members of a Family

 jiā zú
 ka zoku
Family / Members of a Family Scroll

家族 is family in Japanese Kanji, Chinese and Korean.

This represents all the members of a family.

This can also mean household or clan, depending on the context.

Family Over Everything

 jiā tíng zhì shàng
Family Over Everything Scroll

家庭至上 is a Chinese phrase that means “family above all else.”

The first two characters mean family, household, or home (they will be read as “family” in this case).

The last two characters mean supreme, paramount, or above all else.

Family and Friends

 qīn péng hǎo yǒu
Family and Friends Scroll

親朋好友 is a Chinese title that simply means “family and friends” or “kith and kin.”

If you read each character more literally, it's like, “relatives, friends, [and] good/close friends.”

Family and Friends

 kazoku ya yuujin
Family and Friends Scroll

家族や友人 means “family and friends,” in Japanese.

Family Bond / Family Ties

 qīn yuán
Family Bond / Family Ties Scroll

親緣 is a Chinese word that means affinity, family relationship, or consanguinity.

This speaks of the family bonds we have with others that share the same blood or ancestors.

Family Bond / Family Ties

 ruien
Family Bond / Family Ties Scroll

類縁 is a Japanese word that means affinity or family relationship.

This is about the bond shared by blood within a family or those from the same ancestor.

Family / Household

 jiā tíng
 ka tei
Family / Household Scroll

家庭/傢庭 is a common way to express family, household, or home in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

However, for a wall scroll, we recommend the single-character form (which is just the first character of this two-character word). If you want that, just click here: Family Single-Character

The first character means “family” or “home.” The second means “courtyard” or “garden.” When combined, the meaning is a bit different, as it becomes “household” or “family.” The home and/or property traditionally has a strong relationship with family in Asia. Some Chinese, Korean, and Japanese families have lived in the same house for 7 or more generations!

 qīn qíng
Family Love Scroll

親情 means affection, especially for family members.

This can also be translated as “family love” or “love, especially within a married couple or between parents and children.”

 kazokuai
Family Love Scroll

家族愛 is a Japanese title that means love of (one's) family, family love, or familial love.

Forever Family

 yǒng yuǎn de jiā
Forever Family Scroll

永遠的家 is a special phrase that we composed for a “family by adoption” or “adoptive family.”

It's the dream of every orphan and foster child to be formally adopted and find their “forever family.”

The first two characters mean forever, eternal, eternity, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence. The third character connects this idea with the last character which means “family” and/or “home.”

Happy Family

 hé xié zhī jiā
Happy Family Scroll

和諧之家 means “harmonious family” or “happy family” in Chinese.

The first two characters relay the idea of happiness and harmony.
The third character is a connecting or possessive article (connects harmony/happiness to family).
The last character means family but can also mean home or household.

Happy Family

 nago ya ka na ka tei
Happy Family Scroll

和やかな家庭 means “happy family” or “harmonious family” in Japanese.

The first three Kanji create a word that means mild, calm, gentle, quiet, or harmonious. After that is a connecting article. The last two Kanji mean family, home, or household.


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

Safety and Well-Being of the Family

Kanai Anzen

 ka nai an zen
Safety and Well-Being of the Family Scroll

家內安全 is the Japanese way of saying “Family First.”

It's a Japanese proverb about the safety and well-being of your family and/or peace and prosperity in the household.

Some Japanese will hang an amulet in their home with these Kanji. The purpose is to keep your family safe from harm.

According to Shinto followers, hanging this in your home is seen as an invocation to God to always keep family members free from harm.

We were looking for a way to say “family first” in Japanese when this proverb came up in the conversation and research. While it doesn't say “family first,” it shows that the safety and well-being of your family is your first or most important priority. So, this proverb is the most natural way to express the idea that you put your family first.


See Also:  Peace and Prosperity

One Family Under Heaven

 tiān xià yī jiā
 tenka ikka
One Family Under Heaven Scroll

天下一家 is a proverb that can also be translated as “The whole world is one family.”

It is used to mean that all humans are related by decree of Heaven.

The first two characters can be translated as “the world,” “the whole country,” “descended from heaven,” “earth under heaven,” “the public,” or “the ruling power.”

The second two characters can mean “one family,” “a household,” “one's folks,” “a house” or “a home.” Usually, this is read as “a family.”

Note: This proverb can be understood in Japanese, though not commonly used.

Any success can not compensate for failure in the home

 suǒ yǒu de chéng gōng dōu wú fǎ bǔ cháng jiā tíng de shī bài
Any success can not compensate for failure in the home Scroll

所有的成功都無法補償家庭的失敗 is a Chinese proverb that can be translated into English as “No success can compensate for failure in the home.”

Also, the word “home” can be exchanged with “family.”

Home is where the heart is

 jiā yóu xīn shēng
Home is where the heart is Scroll

家由心生 is an old Chinese proverb that is roughly equal to the English idiom “Home is where the heart is.”

If you know Chinese, you may recognize the first character as home and the third as the heart.

Home is where the heart is

 ie to wa kokoro ga aru basho da
Home is where the heart is Scroll

家とは心がある場所だ is, “Home is where the heart is,” in Japanese.

Most Japanese will take this to mean:
If you are with the person or at the place you love most, it becomes your true home.


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

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.

 ér tóng
 jidou
Child Scroll

兒童 is how to write “child” in Chinese.

There are several ways to write child or offspring in Chinese, but this is the best form for calligraphy, or written (versus oral) form.

If children are essential to you, this might be the scroll you want. Or if you are a child at heart, this also works.


児In Japanese, they use a slightly-morphed version of the original Chinese first character. If you want the special Japanese version, please click on the Kanji image shown to the right, instead of the button above. Note: Japanese people would still be able to understand the Chinese version and vice versa.

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

 bàng tóu chū xiào zǐ zhù tóu chū wǔ nì
Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child Scroll

棒頭出孝子箸頭出忤逆 literally translates as:
A stick (or switch) produces filial sons; chopsticks produce disobedient [ones].

Figuratively, this means:
Strict discipline produces dutiful children, whereas indulgence produces disobedient ones.

This proverb is very similar to this English proverb:
“Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

Brotherly and Sisterly Love

 shǒu zú qíng
Brotherly and Sisterly Love Scroll

手足情 is the love between siblings.

When you love, protect, care for, and have a deep bond that only brothers or sisters can.

The actual translation is “Hand and Foot,” but the relationship between brothers or sisters is like that of hands and feet. They belong together and complete the body. Even though this says “hand and foot,” it will always be read with the brotherly and sisterly love meaning in Chinese.

Note: During the past 20 years, the “One child policy” in China is slowly making this term obsolete.

God Daughter

 jiào nǚ
God Daughter Scroll

教女 is the title for a female child, which you have a sworn duty to raise should the girl's parents die.

The second character specifically designates that we are talking about a female child, thus the title God Daughter.

Grand Daughter

 mago musume
Grand Daughter Scroll

孫娘 is granddaughter in Japanese Kanji.

Mother and Daughter

 haha musume
Mother and Daughter Scroll

母娘 means “mother and daughter” in Japanese Kanji.

母娘 is an unusual selection for a calligraphy wall scroll and can be read in many different ways. Your native Japanese friends might wonder what you are trying to say.


Note: This will not make sense in Chinese.


See Also:  Mother and Son

Mama / Mother / Mommy

 mā
 
Mama / Mother / Mommy Scroll

媽 is the oral way that most Chinese people refer to their mothers. Often, they will put this together twice (two of the same character in a row) to create a word that sounds like “Mama.” That's absolutely what little kids call their mothers in China. This Chinese “Mama” is the rough equivalent of “Mommy” in English. Beyond a certain age, Chinese will start to just say “Ma,” which is like saying “Mom.”

This entry is just here for a language lesson. This would make a strange wall scroll by Chinese standards. In Chinese, there are sometimes oral words that don't seem appropriate when written in calligraphy, and this is one of them. See our entry for “Loving Mother” for a better selection.


See Also:  Loving Mother

Loving Mother

 cí mǔ
 ji bo
Loving Mother Scroll

慈母 create the title of a loving mother, affectionate mother, or merciful mother.

A great gift for your mom.

Never Give Up

 yǒng bù fàng qì
Never Give Up Scroll

The first character means “eternal” or “forever,” and the second means “not” (together, they mean “never”). The last two characters mean “give up” or “abandon.” Altogether, you can translate this proverb as “never give up” or “never abandon.”

Depending on how you want to read this, 永不放棄 is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family, or friends.


See Also:  Undaunted | No Fear | Hope

No one knows a son better than the father

 zhī zǐ mò ruò fù
No one knows a son better than the father Scroll

知子莫若父 can be translated as “No one knows a son better than his father.”

This idiom is based on the idea that after spending many years together, family members know everything about each other. Better than anyone else, a father knows the qualities and shortcomings of his son.

If you are looking for something about “father and son,” this is probably the best selection.

While this is the original proverb (very old), others have been composed about various combinations of mothers, sons, daughters, and fathers. Let me know if you need a custom version.




This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...

Gallery Price: $60.00

Your Price: $36.88

Gallery Price: $100.00

Your Price: $49.88


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Family
Home
家 / 傢
ei / uchi / kejiā / jia1 / jiachia
Family Love
Domestic Bliss
天倫之樂
天伦之乐
tiān lún zhī lè
tian1 lun2 zhi1 le4
tian lun zhi le
tianlunzhile
t`ien lun chih le
tienlunchihle
tien lun chih le
Family
Members of a Family
家族ka zoku / kazokujiā zú / jia1 zu2 / jia zu / jiazuchia tsu / chiatsu
Family Over Everything家庭至上jiā tíng zhì shàng
jia1 ting2 zhi4 shang4
jia ting zhi shang
jiatingzhishang
chia t`ing chih shang
chiatingchihshang
chia ting chih shang
Family and Friends親朋好友
亲朋好友
qīn péng hǎo yǒu
qin1 peng2 hao3 you3
qin peng hao you
qinpenghaoyou
ch`in p`eng hao yu
chinpenghaoyu
chin peng hao yu
Family and Friends家族や友人kazoku ya yuujin
kazokuyayuujin
kazoku ya yujin
Family Bond
Family Ties
親緣
亲缘
qīn yuán / qin1 yuan2 / qin yuan / qinyuanch`in yüan / chinyüan / chin yüan
Family Bond
Family Ties
類縁ruien
Family
Household
家庭 / 傢庭
家庭
ka tei / kateijiā tíng / jia1 ting2 / jia ting / jiatingchia t`ing / chiating / chia ting
Family Love親情
亲情
qīn qíng / qin1 qing2 / qin qing / qinqingch`in ch`ing / chinching / chin ching
Family Love家族愛kazokuai / kazokuai
Forever Family永遠的家
永远的家
yǒng yuǎn de jiā
yong3 yuan3 de jia1
yong yuan de jia
yongyuandejia
yung yüan te chia
yungyüantechia
Happy Family和諧之家
和谐之家
hé xié zhī jiā
he2 xie2 zhi1 jia1
he xie zhi jia
hexiezhijia
ho hsieh chih chia
hohsiehchihchia
Happy Family和やかな家庭nago ya ka na ka tei
nagoyakanakatei
Safety and Well-Being of the Family家內安全
家内安全
ka nai an zen
kanaianzen
One Family Under Heaven天下一家tenka ikka / tenkaikka / tenka ikatiān xià yī jiā
tian1 xia4 yi1 jia1
tian xia yi jia
tianxiayijia
t`ien hsia i chia
tienhsiaichia
tien hsia i chia
Any success can not compensate for failure in the home所有的成功都無法補償家庭的失敗
所有的成功都无法补偿家庭的失败
suǒ yǒu de chéng gōng dōu wú fǎ bǔ cháng jiā tíng de shī bài
suo3 you3 de cheng2 gong1 dou1 wu2 fa3 bu3 chang2 jia1 ting2 de shi1 bai4
suo you de cheng gong dou wu fa bu chang jia ting de shi bai
so yu te ch`eng kung tou wu fa pu ch`ang chia t`ing te shih pai
so yu te cheng kung tou wu fa pu chang chia ting te shih pai
Home is where the heart is家由心生jiā yóu xīn shēng
jia1 you2 xin1 sheng1
jia you xin sheng
jiayouxinsheng
chia yu hsin sheng
chiayuhsinsheng
Home is where the heart is家とは心がある場所だie to wa kokoro ga aru basho da
ietowakokorogaarubashoda
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
Child兒童
儿童
jidou / jidoér tóng / er2 tong2 / er tong / ertongerh t`ung / erhtung / erh tung
Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child棒頭出孝子箸頭出忤逆bàng tóu chū xiào zǐ zhù tóu chū wǔ nì
bang4 tou2 chu1 xiao4 zi3 zhu4 tou2 chu1 wu3 ni4
bang tou chu xiao zi zhu tou chu wu ni
pang t`ou ch`u hsiao tzu chu t`ou ch`u wu ni
pang tou chu hsiao tzu chu tou chu wu ni
Brotherly and Sisterly Love手足情shǒu zú qíng
shou3 zu2 qing2
shou zu qing
shouzuqing
shou tsu ch`ing
shoutsuching
shou tsu ching
God Daughter教女jiào nǚ / jiao4 nv3 / jiao nv / jiaonvchiao nü / chiaonü
Grand Daughter孫娘mago musume
magomusume
Mother and Daughter母娘haha musume
hahamusume
Mama
Mother
Mommy

mā / ma1 / ma
Loving Mother慈母ji bo / jibocí mǔ / ci2 mu3 / ci mu / cimutz`u mu / tzumu / tzu mu
Never Give Up永不放棄
永不放弃
yǒng bù fàng qì
yong3 bu4 fang4 qi4
yong bu fang qi
yongbufangqi
yung pu fang ch`i
yungpufangchi
yung pu fang chi
No one knows a son better than the father知子莫若父zhī zǐ mò ruò fù
zhi1 zi3 mo4 ruo4 fu4
zhi zi mo ruo fu
zhizimoruofu
chih tzu mo jo fu
chihtzumojofu
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.


Dictionary

Lookup in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary

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.