Many custom options...

Tan Paper and Copper Silk Love Wall Scroll
Red Paper and Ivory Silk Love Wall Scroll
Orange Paper Love Scroll
Crazy Blue and Gold Silk Love Scroll


And formats...

Love Vertical Portrait
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Love Vertical Portrait

Sifu in Chinese / Japanese...

Buy a Sifu calligraphy wall scroll here!

Personalize your custom “Sifu” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Sifu” title below...

Fatherly Master / Sifu / Shi Fu / Shifu

Martial Arts Teacher

 shī fù
 si fu
 shi fu
Fatherly Master / Sifu / Shi Fu / Shifu Scroll

師父 means master in Chinese (occasionally used in Korean Hanja and Japanese). In the context of Martial Arts, this is the master and teacher who instructs students.

The second character by itself means father. Thus, you get the “Fatherly Master” translation. There's an old Chinese saying that goes something like, “One who is your teacher for one day is your father for life.”

Language notes: I've often seen this romanized as “sifu,” this is actually the Cantonese romanization. In Mandarin Chinese, it's “Shifu.” The pronunciation in Mandarin is actually like “sure foo” (using typical English pronunciation). There's an “R-sound” in there, which is not obvious from the romanization. Many martial arts studios incorrectly pronounce this like “she foo” (which is actually the Japanese pronunciation). In Cantonese, it sounds like “Sea foo” (almost like “seafood,” minus the “d” at the end).

師父 is kind of a weird selection for a calligraphy wall scroll; this entry is more for educational purposes. But you are welcome to buy it if it suits your circumstances.

Master / Skilled Worker

Secondary version of Sifu

 shī fu
 si fu
Master / Skilled Worker Scroll

師傅 is “sifu” as in the “master” in the context of martial arts.

But two sifu titles are floating around. This one can simply mean “skilled worker.”

Historically, this term has been used for many things, such as “The tutor of a king or emperor.” But now it's more commonly used to mean master worker or qualified worker.

Currently, within the field of skilled labor, a master (Shifu) is higher than a journeyman and is considered to be one worthy of teaching others.

Note: In the 1970s and 1980s, this term was used as a common form of polite address between people. You might say, “master, do you know where Tian'anmen Square is?” to a person on the street at that time. This usage has almost passed; however, for some reason, people still often refer to taxi cab drivers as “master” in China (though I think/hope this is fading).

In Mandarin Chinese, this is pronounced like “Sure Foo,” and in Cantonese, like “See Foo.”

The second character is the difference between this sifu and the other. In this case, the second character by itself means tutor, instructor, or teacher.

Sensei / Master / Teacher / Mister

 xiān shēng
 sen sei
Sensei / Master / Teacher / Mister Scroll

先生 is sensei, which is associated in the west with a master or instructor of karate, aikido, judo, and other Japanese martial arts.

In reality, this is a term of respect for almost any professional or skilled person (doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc.). Sometimes, it is used for musicians and artists who have achieved a certain level of fame, skill, or accomplishment.

It should be noted that this is also a courtesy title in Chinese but more like calling someone “mister” or “gentleman.” It doesn't have the “master” or “teacher” meaning in Chinese - see our Chinese “Master / Sifu / Shi Fu” entry if your audience is Chinese.

In Korean Hanja, this means teacher, instructor, schoolmaster, or schoolmistress.

This entry is for educational purposes. 先生 is kind of a strange thing to put on a wall scroll. It's a title that is used more orally to show respect rather than something written in calligraphy. If you feel it is appropriate in your circumstances, we will create a piece of sensei Japanese calligraphy artwork for you.


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Fatherly Master
Sifu
Shi Fu
Shifu
師父
师父
shi fu / shifushī fù / shi1 fu4 / shi fu / shifushih fu / shihfu
Master
Skilled Worker
師傅
师傅
shī fu / shi1 fu / shi fu / shifushih fu / shihfu
Sensei
Master
Teacher
Mister
先生sen sei / senseixiān shēng
xian1 sheng1
xian sheng
xiansheng
hsien sheng
hsiensheng
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 Sifu in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


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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.


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.


Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.

Some people may refer to this entry as Sifu Kanji, Sifu Characters, Sifu in Mandarin Chinese, Sifu Characters, Sifu in Chinese Writing, Sifu in Japanese Writing, Sifu in Asian Writing, Sifu Ideograms, Chinese Sifu symbols, Sifu Hieroglyphics, Sifu Glyphs, Sifu in Chinese Letters, Sifu Hanzi, Sifu in Japanese Kanji, Sifu Pictograms, Sifu in the Chinese Written-Language, or Sifu in the Japanese Written-Language.

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