Custom Leadership / Initiative Chinese or Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options for Leadership-related words or phrases on a wall scroll or portrait in Chinese or Japanese calligraphy.
If you want to create a cool Leadership wall scroll, this is the place. Below you will find a few Asian symbols that express the idea of Leadership.


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  1. Leadership

  2. Initiative / Leadership

  3. Leadership / Ability to Lead

  4. Art of War: 5 Points of Analysis

  5. Hou De Zai Wu

  6. The Confident Helmsman Inspires Confidence in the Passengers

  7. A Deliberate Inaction is Better than a Blind Action

  8. Maintain An Army For 1000 Days, Use It For An Hour

  9. The More We Sweat in Training, The Less We Bleed in Battle


 lǐng dǎo
Leadership Scroll

領導 is the Chinese word for “Leadership.”

It contains the ideas of “to lead,” “to direct,” “to conduct,” and “to guide.” Putting a wall scroll with this word on your wall suggests that you are honing your leadership skills or holding a leadership position.

Initiative / Leadership

 jī jí
 shudou
Initiative / Leadership Scroll

In Chinese, this word means “to take the initiative.”

In Japanese and Korean, the meaning varies slightly to meaning that leans more toward “leadership” (as in one who is leading a group or organization).

Leadership / Ability to Lead

 shidouryoku
Leadership / Ability to Lead Scroll

指導力 is the Japanese word for “Leadership.”

This refers to the ability to lead (or, with certain adjectives added, the lack of ability to lead).

Art of War: 5 Points of Analysis

 dào tiān dì jiàng fǎ
 dou ten chi shou hou
Art of War: 5 Points of Analysis Scroll

道天地將法 is a list of five key points to analyzing your situation from the first chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War.

This reads like a 5-part military proverb. Sun Tzu says that to sharpen your skills, you must plan. To plan well, you must know your situation. Therefore, you must consider and discuss the following:

1. Philosophy and Politics: Make sure your way or your policy is agreeable among all of your troops (and the citizens of your kingdom as well). For when your soldiers believe in you and your way, they will follow you to their deaths without hesitation and will not question your orders.

2. Heaven/Sky: Consider climate / weather. This can also mean considering whether God is smiling upon you. In the modern military, this could be waiting for clear skies so that you can have air support for an amphibious landing.

3. Ground/Earth: Consider the terrain in which the battle will take place. This includes analyzing defensible positions, and exit routes, while using varying elevations to your advantage. When you plan an ambush, you must know your terrain and the best location from which to stage that ambush. This knowledge will also help you avoid being ambushed, as you will know where the likely places in which to expect an ambush from your enemy.

4. Leadership: This applies to you as the general and your lieutenants. A leader should be smart and be able to develop good strategies. Leaders should keep their word, and if they break a promise, they should punish themselves as harshly as they would punish subordinates. Leaders should be benevolent to their troops, with almost a fatherly love for them. Leaders must have the ability to make brave and fast decisions. Leaders must have steadfast principles.

5. [Military] Methods: This can also mean laws, rules, principles, models, or systems. You must have an efficient organization in place to manage both your troops and supplies. In the modern military, this would be a combination of how your unit is organized and your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).


Notes: This is a simplistic translation and explanation. Much more is suggested in the actual text of the Art of War (Bing Fa). It would take a lot of study to master all of these aspects. In fact, these five characters can be compared to the modern military acronyms such as BAMCIS or SMEAC.

CJK notes: I have included the Japanese and Korean pronunciations but in Chinese, Korean and Japanese, this does not make a typical phrase (with subject, verb, and object) it is a list that only someone familiar with Sun Tzu’s writings would understand.

Hou De Zai Wu

 hòu dé zài wù
Hou De Zai Wu Scroll

厚德載物 is a Chinese proverb that means “With great virtue, one can take charge of the world.”

Known sometimes by the romanization Hou De Zai Wu, this famous phrase suggests that being ethical is the bridge to leadership. I wish our world leaders followed this.

The Confident Helmsman Inspires Confidence in the Passengers

 bǎ tuò de bù huāng chéng chuán de wěn dang
The Confident Helmsman Inspires Confidence in the Passengers Scroll

把舵的不慌乘船的稳当 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: [If the] helmsman is not nervous, the passengers [will feel] secure.

Figuratively, this means: If the leader appears confident, his/her followers will gain confidence also.

This is a great suggestion that a confident leader inspires confidence in his/her troops or followers. Of course, a nervous leader will create fear in troops or followers.

A Deliberate Inaction is Better than a Blind Action

 yí dòng bù rú yí jìng
A Deliberate Inaction is Better than a Blind Action Scroll

Sometimes 一動不如一靜 is translated by others as “Look before you leap” but the more accurate and direct translation is the one I used in the title.

While somewhat military in its origin, this proverb can apply to any situation where a decision needs to be made, but perhaps there are still some “unknowns.”

This phrase suggests that in our “action-based” world, sometimes the “smarter move” is “no move at all.”


See Also:  Better to Choose Nothing Rather Than Make a Poor Choice

Maintain An Army For 1000 Days, Use It For An Hour

 yǎng bīng qiān rì, yàng bīng yì shí
Maintain An Army For 1000 Days, Use It For An Hour Scroll

Nothing could be more true. When I was in the Marine Corps, we trained for years for combat that often lasts only hours.

養兵千日用兵一時 is a Chinese proverb that, also reminds me of a common phrase used in the military to describe combat: “Weeks of total boredom, punctuated with five minutes of sheer terror.”

This may have some roots in Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Though I can not find this passage in his writings.

On the subject of the Art of War, if you have a favorite passage, we can create a custom calligraphy scroll with that phrase.

The More We Sweat in Training, The Less We Bleed in Battle

 píng shí duō liú hàn zhàn shí shǎo liú xuè
The More We Sweat in Training, The Less We Bleed in Battle Scroll

There is more than one way to translate the ancient Chinese military proverb, 平时多流汗战时少流血. Here are a few interpretations:

A drop of sweat spent in a drill is a drop of blood saved in war.

More practice will give one a better chance of success in real situations.

The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.

I heard this many times when I was a U.S. Marine but I had no idea at the time that it was actually an old Chinese proverb.


See Also:  Blood Sweat and Tears


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Leadership領導
领导
lǐng dǎo / ling3 dao3 / ling dao / lingdaoling tao / lingtao
Initiative
Leadership
主動
主动
shudou / shudojī jí / ji1 ji2 / ji ji / jijichi chi / chichi
Leadership
Ability to Lead
指導力
指导力
shidouryoku
shidoryoku
Art of War: 5 Points of Analysis道天地將法
道天地将法
dou ten chi shou hou
doutenchishouhou
do ten chi sho ho
dào tiān dì jiàng fǎ
dao4 tian1 di4 jiang4 fa3
dao tian di jiang fa
daotiandijiangfa
tao t`ien ti chiang fa
taotientichiangfa
tao tien ti chiang fa
Hou De Zai Wu厚德載物
厚德载物
hòu dé zài wù
hou4 de2 zai4 wu4
hou de zai wu
houdezaiwu
hou te tsai wu
houtetsaiwu
The Confident Helmsman Inspires Confidence in the Passengers把舵的不慌乘船的穩當
把舵的不慌乘船的稳当
bǎ tuò de bù huāng chéng chuán de wěn dang
ba3 tuo4 de bu4 huang1 cheng2 chuan2 de wen3 dang
ba tuo de bu huang cheng chuan de wen dang
pa t`o te pu huang ch`eng ch`uan te wen tang
pa to te pu huang cheng chuan te wen tang
A Deliberate Inaction is Better than a Blind Action一動不如一靜
一动不如一静
yí dòng bù rú yí jìng
yi2 dong4 bu4 ru2 yi2 jing4
yi dong bu ru yi jing
yidongburuyijing
i tung pu ju i ching
itungpujuiching
Maintain An Army For 1000 Days, Use It For An Hour養兵千日用兵一時
养兵千日用兵一时
yǎng bīng qiān rì, yàng bīng yì shí
yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 yang4 bing1 yi4 shi2
yang bing qian ri yang bing yi shi
yang ping ch`ien jih yang ping i shih
yang ping chien jih yang ping i shih
The More We Sweat in Training, The Less We Bleed in Battle平時多流汗戰時少流血
平时多流汗战时少流血
píng shí duō liú hàn zhàn shí shǎo liú xuè
ping2 shi2 duo1 liu2 han4
zhan4 shi2 shao3 liu2 xue4
ping shi duo liu han
zhan shi shao liu xue
p`ing shih to liu shih shao liu hsüeh
ping shih to liu shih shao liu hsüeh
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.


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.