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1. No man knows what he owes to his parents until he comes to have children of his own
3. Mark the boat to find the lost sword / Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world
6. Islam
7. Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark
9. No Fear
10. Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks
11. Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan
12. Time and Tide Wait for No Man
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.
信任 means belief or trust in Chinese characters, old Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.
It can also mean having confidence in or credence.
刻舟求劍 is an originally-Chinese proverb that serves as a warning to people that things are always in a state of change.
Thus, you must consider that and not depend on the old ways or a way that may have worked in the past but is no longer valid.
This idiom/proverb comes from the following story:
A man was traveling in a ferry boat across a river. With him, he carried a treasured sword. Along the way, the man became overwhelmed and intoxicated by the beautiful view and accidentally dropped his prized sword into the river. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a knife and marked on the rail of the boat where exactly he had lost his sword.
When the boat arrived on the other side of the river, the man jumped out of the boat and searched for his sword right under where he'd made the mark. Of course, the boat had moved a great distance since he made the mark, and thus, he could not find the sword.
While this man may seem foolhardy, we must take a great lesson from this parable: Circumstances change, so one should use methods to handle the change. In modern China, this is used in business to mean that one should not depend on old business models for a changing market.
This proverb dates back to the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) of the territory now known as China. It has spread and is somewhat known in Japan and Korea.
Literally: The Way or Road
道 is the character “dao” which is sometimes written as “tao” but pronounced like “dow” in Mandarin.
道 is the base of what is known as “Taoism.” If you translate this literally, it can mean “the way” or “the path.”
Dao is believed to be that which flows through all things and keeps them in balance. It incorporates the ideas of yin and yang (e.g. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)
The beginning of Taoism can be traced to a mystical man named
Lao Zi (604-531 BC), who followed, and added to the teachings of Confucius.
More about Taoism / Daoism here.
Note that this is pronounced “dou” and sometimes “michi” when written alone in Japanese but pronounced “do” in word compounds such as Karate-do and Bushido. It's also “do” in Korean.
Alternate translations and meanings: road, way, path; truth, principle province.
Important Japanese note: In Japanese, this will generally be read with the road, way, or path meaning. Taoism is not as popular or well-known in Japan so Daoist/Taoist philosophy is not the first thing a Japanese person will think of when they read this character.
See our Taoism Page
無所畏懼 means “fear nothing,” but it's the closest thing in Chinese to the phrase “fear no man” which many of you have requested.
This would also be the way to say “fear nobody” and can be translated simply as “undaunted.”
(phonetic version)
伊斯蘭教 both means and sounds like “Islam” in Mandarin Chinese.
The first three characters sound like the word “Islam,” and the last character means “religion” or “teaching.” It's the most general term for “Islam” in China. The highest concentration of Muslims in China is Xinjiang (the vast region in northwest China that was called The East Turkistan Republic until 1949 and is sometimes called Chinese Turkistan, Uyghuristan). Here you will find Uygurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and others that are descendants of Turkmen (possibly mixed with Persians and Arabs). Many of their ancestors were traders who traveled the silk road to buy and sell spices and silk and exchange other goods from the Orient and the Middle East.
I spent some time in Xinjiang and got to know this community. They are strong people who can endure much. They are friendly and love to have a good time. I was a stranger but was treated by villagers (near China's border with Afghanistan) as if I was a good friend.
However, I have heard that it's best not to cross them, as in this land, the law is the blade, and everything is “eye for an eye.” The Chinese government has little control in Xinjiang, with almost no police officers except in the capital of Urumqi (so it's a 60-hour roundtrip train ride to seek the aid of law enforcement in most cases).
While few seem devout, there are at least small mosques in every village. And you will never see a man or woman outside without a head covering.
It should be noted that these people are all citizens of China, but they are officially of the Caucasian race. A visit to Xinjiang will change your idea of what it means to be Chinese.
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.
大丈夫 is a Chinese, Korean, and Japanese title that means a manly man, a man of character, a great man, or a fine figure of a man.
In Japanese, this can also be used to mean safe, all right, alright, OK, sure, or “no problem.” Used in Japanese for something that is undoubted or very acceptable.
(2 characters)
無畏 literally means “No Fear.” But perhaps not the most natural Chinese phrase (see our other “No Fear” phrase for a complete thought). However, this two-character version of “No Fear” seems to be a very popular way to translate this into Chinese when we checked Chinese Google.
Note: This also means “No Fear” in Japanese and Korean, but this character pair is not often used in Japan or Korea.
This term appears in various Chinese dictionaries with definitions like “without fear,” intrepidity, fearless, dauntless, and bold.
In the Buddhist context, this is a word derived from the word Abhaya, meaning: Fearless, dauntless, secure, nothing, and nobody to fear. Also, from vīra meaning: courageous, bold.
See Also: Never Give Up | No Worries | Undaunted | Bravery | Courage
(four-character version)
勇者無畏 is a complete sentence that means “Brave People Have No Fear” or “A Brave Person Has No Fear” (plural or singular is not implied).
We translated “No Fear” into the two variations that you will find on our website. Then we checked Chinese Google and found that others had translated “No Fear” in the exact same ways. Pick the one you like best. A great gift for your fearless friend.
恐れず is probably the best way to express “No Fear” in Japanese.
The first Kanji and the following Hiragana character create a word that means: to fear, to be afraid of, frightened, or terrified.
The last Hiragana character serves to modify and negate the first word (put it in negative form). Basically, they carry a meaning like “without” or “keeping away.” 恐れず is almost like the English modifier “-less.”
Altogether, you get something like “Without Fear” or “Fearless.”
Here's an example of using this in a sentence: 彼女かのじょは思い切ったことを恐れずにやる。
Translation: She is not scared of taking big risks.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
Persistence to overcome all challenges
百折不撓 is a Chinese proverb that means “Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks.”
More directly translated, it reads, “[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching.” 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).
This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan, and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose the corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.
Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and the common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.
Near the end of his career, a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest, he resigned from his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.
His tombstone reads “Bai Zhe Bu Nao” which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.
My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as “keep on fighting despite all setbacks,” “be undaunted by repeated setbacks,” and “be indomitable.”
Our translator says it can mean “never give up” in modern Chinese.
Although the first two characters are translated correctly as “repeated setbacks,” the literal meaning is “100 setbacks” or “a rope that breaks 100 times.” The last two characters can mean “do not yield” or “do not give up.”
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.
See Also: Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence
太極拳 is the famous Taoist meditation and martial art exercise. The direct translation of these characters would be something like “grand ultimate fist,” but that does not quite hit the mark for what this title really means.
An early-morning walk through any city in China near a park or an open area will yield a view of Chinese people practicing this ancient technique.
A typical scene is an old man of no less than 80 years on this earth, with a wispy white beard and perhaps a sword in one hand. He makes slow moves that are impossibly smooth. He is steady-footed and always in balance. For him, time is meaningless and proper form, and technique is far more important than speed.
For the younger generation, faster moves may look impressive and seem smooth to the casual observer. But more discipline and mental strength are needed to create perfectly smooth moves in virtual slow motion.
Note: There are two ways to Romanize these Chinese characters, as seen in the title above. The pronunciation and actual characters are the same in Chinese. If you really used English sounds/words to pronounce this, it would be something like “tie jee chew-on” (make the “chew-on” one flowing syllable).
歲不我與 is a Chinese proverb that means is a way to express, “Time and tide wait for no man.”
The literal meaning of these Chinese characters is, “Years don't [for] oneself wait.” In more natural English, it's more like, “Years will pass by, with or without you.”
There is also an alternate version, 时不我待, which literally means “Time doesn't [for] oneself, wait.” In natural English, it's more like, “Time waits for no man.”
光陰矢の如し is a Japanese proverb that means “time flies like an arrow.” It's very similar to the English idiom, “time and tide wait for no man,” or “life is short.”
The Kanji breakdown:
光陰 = Time (the cycle of light and dark).
[and an]
矢 = Arrow
の = are
如し = Alike
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
歳月人を待たず is a Japanese idiom “Saigetsu hito o matazu” which means “Time waits for no one.”
Another way to put it is, “Time and tide stay for no man.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
無法信任 is the kind of thing you expect to hear in a spy movie.
“Trust no one, 007!”
The first two characters express the idea of “no way” or “cannot.”
The last two characters mean “trust.”
The characters must go in this order due to Chinese grammar issues and in order to sound natural.
Note: This is not an ancient Chinese phrase by any means. It's just that we received a lot of requests for this phrase.
This is as close as you can get to the phrase “trust no man,” though technically, no gender is specified.
誰も信じるな is as close as you can get to the phrase “trust no man” in Japanese, though no gender is specified.
The first two characters mean everyone or anyone but change to “no one” with the addition of a negative verb.
The third through fifth characters express the idea of believing in, placing trust in, confiding in, or having faith in.
The last character makes the sentence negative (without the last character, this would mean “trust everyone,” with that last character, it's “trust no one”).
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
人為財死鳥為食亡 is a Chinese proverb that literally states that human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food.
Figuratively it means that man will do anything in his means to become rich. Personally, I think dying for food is a more noble cause.
Often translated as “Men die in pursuit of wealth, birds die in pursuit of food. The 人 in this proverb just means human, so “men” is a placeholder for human with that translation - an English language problem that we have no easy gender-neutral nouns.
This proverb is meant to serve as a warning about the follies of greed.
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
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 | ||
Belief Trust | 信任 | shinnin | xìn rèn / xin4 ren4 / xin ren / xinren | hsin jen / hsinjen |
Mark the boat to find the lost sword Ignoring the changing circumstances of the world | 刻舟求劍 刻舟求剑 | kokushuukyuuken kokushukyuken | kè zhōu qiú jiàn ke4 zhou1 qiu2 jian4 ke zhou qiu jian kezhouqiujian | k`o chou ch`iu chien kochouchiuchien ko chou chiu chien |
Daoism Taoism | 道 | michi / -do | dào / dao4 / dao | tao |
Fear No Man Fear Nothing | 無所畏懼 无所畏惧 | wú suǒ wèi jù wu2 suo3 wei4 ju4 wu suo wei ju wusuoweiju | wu so wei chü wusoweichü |
|
Islam | 伊斯蘭教 伊斯兰教 | yī sī lán jiào yi1 si1 lan2 jiao4 yi si lan jiao yisilanjiao | i ssu lan chiao issulanchiao |
|
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 |
|
Man of Character | 大丈夫 | dai jou bu / daijoubu / dai jo bu | dà zhàng fu da4 zhang4 fu5 da zhang fu dazhangfu | ta chang fu tachangfu |
No Fear | 無畏 无畏 | mui | wú wèi / wu2 wei4 / wu wei / wuwei | |
No Fear | 勇者無畏 勇者无畏 | yǒng zhě wú wèi yong3 zhe3 wu2 wei4 yong zhe wu wei yongzhewuwei | yung che wu wei yungchewuwei |
|
No Fear | 恐れず | oso re zu / osorezu | ||
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks | 百折不撓 百折不挠 | hyaku setsu su tou hyakusetsusutou hyaku setsu su to | bǎi zhé bù náo bai3 zhe2 bu4 nao2 bai zhe bu nao baizhebunao | pai che pu nao paichepunao |
Tai Chi Chuan Tai Ji Quan | 太極拳 太极拳 | tai kyoku ken taikyokuken | tài jí quán tai4 ji2 quan2 tai ji quan taijiquan | t`ai chi ch`üan taichichüan tai chi chüan |
Time and Tide Wait for No Man | 歲不我與 岁不我与 | suì bù wǒ yǔ sui4 bu4 wo3 yu3 sui bu wo yu suibuwoyu | sui pu wo yü suipuwoyü |
|
Time and Tide Wait for No Man | 光陰矢の如し 光阴矢の如し | kouinya no goto shi kouinyanogotoshi koinya no goto shi | ||
Time Waits For No One | 歳月人を待たず | sai getsu hito o ma ta zu saigetsuhitoomatazu | ||
Trust No One Trust No Man | 無法信任 无法信任 | wú fǎ xìn rèn wu2 fa3 xin4 ren4 wu fa xin ren wufaxinren | wu fa hsin jen wufahsinjen |
|
Trust No One Trust No Man | 誰も信じるな | dare mo shin ji ru na daremoshinjiruna | ||
Men Die for Wealth, Birds Die for Food | 人為財死鳥為食亡 人为财死鸟为食亡 | rén wèi cái sǐ niǎo wèi shí wáng ren2 wei4 cai2 si3 niao3 wei4 shi2 wang2 ren wei cai si niao wei shi wang | jen wei ts`ai ssu niao wei shih wang jen wei tsai ssu niao wei shih wang |
|
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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