Custom Reincarnation Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options to create artwork with Reincarnation characters on a wall scroll or portrait.
If you want to create a cool Reincarnation wall scroll, this is the place. Below you will find a few Asian symbols that express the idea of Reincarnation.


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  1. Reincarnation

  2. Reincarnation / Transmigration of Souls

  3. Reincarnation / Life in Flux

  4. Re-Birth / Renaissance

  5. Avatar

  6. Eternal Life / Everlasting Life / Immortality

  7. Eternal Life / Future Life

  8. Phoenix Rise from the Ashes

  9. The Buddha is in Each Sentient Being


Reincarnation (Buddhism)

 zhuǎn shì
 ten sei
Reincarnation (Buddhism) Scroll

轉世 is the Buddhist idea of reincarnation or transmigration.

Other definitions of this term: “Attainer of Nirvana from within the desire realm,” “A practitioner who enters directly into Nirvana from the desire realm, without traversing the form and formless realms. One of the 27 kinds of Hinayana sages,” or simply, “to return again to this life.”

轉世 is also a Japanese title, but the first Kanji was slightly simplified after WWII. Just let us know if you want the modern Japanese version when you order.


See Also:  Buddhism | Rebirth

Reincarnation / Transmigration of Souls

 lún huí
 rin ne
Reincarnation / Transmigration of Souls Scroll

輪回 is a universal word in Japanese and Chinese that expresses the Buddhist idea of “reincarnation,” “transmigration of souls,” or “the eternal cycle of birth and death.”

In some contexts, this can also mean “karma,” and others will say it represents “samsara.”

The first character means wheel, ring, turn, circle, loop, or rotate.
The second character can be thought of as a suffix meaning “-times.” This second character can also refer to something that revolves, returns, goes back, or is a counter of the number of occurrences of some event.
Together the sum supersedes the parts, and it means reincarnation. But knowing the essence of each character may help you understand some of the meaning behind the word.


廻Shown to the right is the more common way to write the second character in Japanese. it’s an alternate form of this character in Chinese (so neither way is technically wrong in either language). If you select a Japanese calligrapher, expect that is will look like the Kanji to the right.


See Also:  Buddhism | Rebirth

Reincarnation / Life in Flux

 rinne tenshou
Reincarnation / Life in Flux Scroll

輪廻転生 is a Japanese Zen quote or proverb that expresses the idea of all things being in flux through the endless circle of birth, death, and rebirth or the circle of transmigration.

Re-Birth / Renaissance

 chóng shēng
Re-Birth / Renaissance Scroll

重生 is the Chinese word for rebirth. This can be used literally or metaphorically. As a metaphor, you could use this to say something like, “We are watching the rebirth of New Orleans after the disaster of Katrina.”

重生 is sometimes translated as “renaissance.”

Note: 重生 is not the Buddhist concept of reincarnation or re-birth.

 huà shēn
 keshin
Avatar Scroll

化身 is a way to say avatar in Chinese characters, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

This is the original Buddhist idea of an avatar (not the movie). This can also mean: incarnation; reincarnation; embodiment; personification; impersonation.

化身 is the Chinese word used for the original Sanskrit, nirmāṇakāya. Alternates for nirmāṇakāya include 應身, 應化身, or 變化身. In the context of Buddhism, this is a Buddha's metamorphosic body, which has the power to assume any shape to propagate the Truth. This title, 化身, is used for the appearance of a Buddha's many forms.

Eternal Life / Everlasting Life / Immortality

 yǒng shēng
 eisei
Eternal Life / Everlasting Life / Immortality Scroll

永生 are the last two words from John 3:16 in the Chinese Union Bible.

Although not specifically Christian, this is the way to express ever-lasting life or eternal life in Chinese.

In Japanese, this can either mean eternal life or immortality.


See Also:  Eternity | Rebirth | Immortality

Eternal Life / Future Life

 lái shì
 rai-se
Eternal Life / Future Life Scroll

來世 is a word that can be used in many different ways.

It is often used to express the next life (life in heaven or wherever your soul is bound for). So it does have a religious overtone. However, it can also be used to express your life in the future - perhaps during your present lifetime.

It can also be translated as “the next world,” “the next generation,” “the time that is to come,” “otherworld,” or simply “posterity.”


See Also:  Eternity | Rebirth | Immortality

Phoenix Rise from the Ashes

 fèng huáng niè pán
Phoenix Rise from the Ashes Scroll

鳳凰涅磐 is a proverb that suggests “Legendary Phoenix rises from the ashes.” It means “Legendary Phoenix [reaches] Nirvana.”

There is a legend in China of a great bird reborn once every 500 years. This bird gathers all the ill will, suffering, desire, and other negative things of the world. The bird then plunges into the fire to burn away all negative things, sacrificing itself in the process (achieving Nirvana, or perhaps allowing others the opportunity to reach Nirvana).

500 years later, the phoenix is reborn from the ashes again, and the cycle repeats.

The Buddha is in Each Sentient Being

 butsu wa shujou no naka ni ari
The Buddha is in Each Sentient Being Scroll

佛は衆生の中に在り is “Butsu wa shujo no naka ni ari” and means that the Buddha (potential for Buddhahood) exists in all beings in the universe.

So yes, your dog has the potential to be a Buddha (but only in a future reincarnation as a human). But all things, from the tiny cricket to the humpback whale have Buddha nature within them. If one takes the time to look and contemplate, one will see the Buddha in all things.

In Japan, sometimes the Buddha character is written 仏 instead of 佛, so you might see the whole phrase written as 仏は衆生の中に在り.


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


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Reincarnation (Buddhism)轉世
转世
ten sei / tenseizhuǎn shì
zhuan3 shi4
zhuan shi
zhuanshi
chuan shih
chuanshih
Reincarnation
Transmigration of Souls
輪回 / 輪廻
轮回
rin ne / rinnelún huí / lun2 hui2 / lun hui / lunhui
Reincarnation
Life in Flux
輪廻転生rinne tenshou
rinnetenshou
rinne tensho
Re-Birth
Renaissance
重生chóng shēng
chong2 sheng1
chong sheng
chongsheng
ch`ung sheng
chungsheng
chung sheng
Avatar化身keshinhuà shēn / hua4 shen1 / hua shen / huashen
Eternal Life
Everlasting Life
Immortality
永生eiseiyǒng shēng
yong3 sheng1
yong sheng
yongsheng
yung sheng
yungsheng
Eternal Life
Future Life
來世
来世
rai-selái shì / lai2 shi4 / lai shi / laishilai shih / laishih
Phoenix Rise from the Ashes鳳凰涅磐
凤凰涅磐
fèng huáng niè pán
feng4 huang2 nie4 pan2
feng huang nie pan
fenghuangniepan
feng huang nieh p`an
fenghuangniehpan
feng huang nieh pan
The Buddha is in Each Sentient Being佛は衆生の中に在りbutsu wa shujou no naka ni ari
butsuwashujounonakaniari
butsu wa shujo no naka ni ari
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.