Custom Kung Fu Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options to create artwork with Kung Fu characters on a wall scroll or portrait...
...We could also help you create an Kung Fu Asian Tattoo.


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  1. Kung Fu / Gong Fu

  2. Kung Fu San Soo / San Shou

  3. Kung Fu Panda

  4. Drunken Monkey Kung Fu

  5. Laughing Dragon Kung Fu

  6. San Soo Kung Fu

  7. Shaolin Kung Fu

  8. Tai Chi Wing Chun Kung Fu

  9. Wing Chun Kung Fu

10. Lau Gar Kung Fu

11. Bruce Lee

12. Hung Gar


Kung Fu / Gong Fu

 gōng fu
 gung fu
 kan fu / ku fu
Kung Fu / Gong Fu Scroll

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

Kung Fu San Soo / San Shou

 gōng fu sǎn shǒu
 gung fu saan sau
Kung Fu San Soo / San Shou Scroll

功夫散手 is a martial arts title.

Oddly, there are multiple ways two spell/romanize this in English, but in Chinese, it's written exactly the same.

Technically, the Mandarin romanizes as “gong fu san shou,” for which you'll sometimes see it written “kung fu san shou” (k'ung is an old romanization for a word that sounds like gong with a vowel sound like “oh”).

There is another martial arts style that spells this “Kung Fu San Soo.” I guess this was supposed to approximate Cantonese pronunciation for which the scholarly romanization is generally agreed to be “gung fu saan sau.”

Kung Fu Panda

 gōng fú xióng māo
Kung Fu Panda Scroll

This is the title Kung Fu Panda in Chinese.

Drunken Monkey Kung Fu

 zuì hóu gōng fu
Drunken Monkey Kung Fu Scroll

醉猴功夫 is the title for Drunken Monkey Kung Fu (Gong Fu).

The martial arts style was inspired by the novel, “Journey to the West.”


See Also:  Monkey Fist

Laughing Dragon Kung Fu

 xiào lóng gōng fu
Laughing Dragon Kung Fu Scroll

笑龍功夫 is the title for a Martial Arts studio (custom-made at by request of the owner of the studio).

San Soo Kung Fu

 sǎn shǒu gōng fu
 saan sau gung fu
San Soo Kung Fu Scroll

散手功夫 is San Soo Kung Fu.

Sometimes you will see this in the order 功夫散手 (Kung Fu San Soo). Either version is OK.

It's like “Kung Fu of San Soo” vs. “San Soo Kung Fu” if you put it in English terms. San Soo is the adjective either way in Chinese.

Shaolin Kung Fu

 shǎo lín gōng fu
 sho rin kan fu
Shaolin Kung Fu Scroll

The Shaolin monks of China have been practicing the art of Kung Fu for thousands of years.

少林功夫 is the full title, “Shao Lin Kung Fu.”

Tai Chi Wing Chun Kung Fu

 tài jí yǒng chūn gōng fu
Tai Chi Wing Chun Kung Fu Scroll

太極詠春功夫 is the title Tai Chi Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Please note that it can be romanized in a variety of ways such as:
Tai Chi Ving Tsun Kung Fu
Tai Qi Yong Chun Gong Fu
Taai Gik Wing Ceon Gung Fu

Be sure this is the right title for what you are looking for before you order.

Wing Chun Kung Fu

 yǒng chūn gōng fu
 wing cheun gung fu
Wing Chun Kung Fu Scroll

詠春功夫 is Wing Chun Kung Fu.

The first two characters literally mean “Singing Spring” (as in springtime).

The last two are “Kung Fu” (high skill).

Lau Gar Kung Fu

 liú jiā gōng fu
 lau gar gung fu
Lau Gar Kung Fu Scroll

劉家功夫 are the characters for the Lau Gar Kung Fu style of martial arts.

The romanization of “Lau Gar” comes from Cantonese. “Kung Fu” is the common romanization for English from the Mandarin “Gōng Fu” or Cantonese “Gung Fu” pronunciations.

Lau gar = Lau family.

 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

 hóng jiā
 hung gaa
Hung Gar Scroll

洪家 is the martial arts title Hung Ga or Hung Gar.

The first character means flood, big, immense, or great but it can also be the surname, Hong or Hung.

The last character means family or home.

This can also be read as “The Hung Family” or “The Hung Household.” This title is mostly associated with a style of Kung Fu.




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


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Kung Fu
Gong Fu
功夫kan fu / ku fu
kanfu / kufu
gōng fu / gong1 fu / gong fu / gongfukung fu / kungfu
Kung Fu San Soo
San Shou
功夫散手gōng fu sǎn shǒu
gong1 fu san3 shou3
gong fu san shou
gongfusanshou
kung fu san shou
kungfusanshou
Kung Fu Panda功夫熊貓
功夫熊猫
gōng fú xióng māo
gong1 fu2 xiong2 mao1
gong fu xiong mao
gongfuxiongmao
kung fu hsiung mao
kungfuhsiungmao
Drunken Monkey Kung Fu醉猴功夫 / 醉猴功伕
醉猴功夫
zuì hóu gōng fu
zui4 hou2 gong1 fu
zui hou gong fu
zuihougongfu
tsui hou kung fu
tsuihoukungfu
Laughing Dragon Kung Fu笑龍功夫
笑龙功夫
xiào lóng gōng fu
xiao4 long2 gong1 fu
xiao long gong fu
xiaolonggongfu
hsiao lung kung fu
hsiaolungkungfu
San Soo Kung Fu散手功夫sǎn shǒu gōng fu
san3 shou3 gong1 fu
san shou gong fu
sanshougongfu
san shou kung fu
sanshoukungfu
Shaolin Kung Fu少林功夫sho rin kan fu
shorinkanfu
shǎo lín gōng fu
shao3 lin2 gong1 fu
shao lin gong fu
shaolingongfu
shao lin kung fu
shaolinkungfu
Tai Chi Wing Chun Kung Fu太極詠春功夫
太极咏春功夫
tài jí yǒng chūn gōng fu
tai4 ji2 yong3 chun1 gong1 fu
tai ji yong chun gong fu
taijiyongchungongfu
t`ai chi yung ch`un kung fu
taichiyungchunkungfu
tai chi yung chun kung fu
Wing Chun Kung Fu詠春功夫
咏春功夫
yǒng chūn gōng fu
yong3 chun1 gong1 fu
yong chun gong fu
yongchungongfu
yung ch`un kung fu
yungchunkungfu
yung chun kung fu
Lau Gar Kung Fu劉家功夫
刘家功夫
liú jiā gōng fu
liu2 jia1 gong1 fu
liu jia gong fu
liujiagongfu
liu chia kung fu
liuchiakungfu
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
Hung Gar洪家hóng jiā / hong2 jia1 / hong jia / hongjiahung chia / hungchia
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.