You can choose from many options to create artwork with Serenity characters on a wall scroll or portrait.
Start your project by clicking on the button next to your favorite title below...
1. A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding
2. Inner Peace / Silence / Serenity
6. Tranquil / Tranquility / Serenity
8. Inner Peace
9. Achieve Inner Peace; Find Deep Understanding
10. Peace of Mind
11. Peaceful Heart
淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.
This is a Chinese proverb that means “Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world).”
What I have translated as “simple life” means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.
The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.
靜 is the simplest way to convey the meaning of inner peace and serenity.
靜 is often translated as “serenity.” It can also be used to express the ideas of still, calm, serene, quiet, silent, stillness, not moving, or tranquility.
In the old days, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean people might hang a wall scroll with this character in their reading room to bring about a sense of peace in the room.
While they once used the same character form in Japan, they now use a slightly-simplified version in modern Japan (after WWII). This version is shown to the right, and can be selected for your wall scroll by clicking on that Kanji instead of the button above.
See Also: Peace
This is the serenity prayer, as used by many 12-step programs and support groups.
In Chinese, this says:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
This is a Japanese version of the serenity prayer, as used by many 12-step programs and support groups.
In Japanese, this says:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
靜穏 is a Japanese-specific way to express “serenity” or “tranquility.”
Notes: The second Kanji is not a Chinese character - it was morphed or developed in Japan after Chinese characters were absorbed into the Japanese language during the 5th century.
The first character is slightly-simplified from the original Chinese form but still recognizable.
See Also: Peace
寧靜 expresses the idea of tranquility and serenity in Chinese.
See Also: Peace | Inner Peace | Harmony | Calm
冷靜 means calm and cool-headed in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Other translations: calmness, composure, coolness, serenity, tranquility.
冷靜 is a good wall scroll for someone that wants to remind themselves to stay calm and level-headed.
See Also: Sober Calm
內心平靜 is a Chinese and Japanese phrase that is a direct translation of the western idea of inner peace.
The first two characters contain the idea of “heart,” “innermost being,” or “deep in the/your inner mind.”
The last two characters mean “tranquil” and “serene.”
I have seen this phrase used as “inner peace” for art prints and even on the side of coffee cups. But I think the translation is too literal. It feels like a direct translation from English rather than a nicely composed Chinese or Japanese phrase. See my other entries for “inner peace.”
See Also: Simplicity | Peace
寧靜而致遠 is five characters from a longer ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.
诸葛亮 Zhuge Liang
The proverb means “Your inner peace/tranquility/serenity will help you see or reach far (into the world).”
The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
(five-character version)
內心的寧靜 is the long way to express the idea of “peace of mind” in Chinese.
The first two characters mean heart or “innermost being.”
The middle character is a connecting modifier.
The last two characters mean peace, tranquility, or serenity.
Some may also translate this as “inner peace,” but I like our other inner-peace options for that idea.
This kind of makes sense in Korean but will have an archaic read - even by those who can understand Korean Hanja.
靜心 is how to write “peaceful heart” in Chinese.
The first character means peaceful, calm, and quiet. The second means heart but can also mean mind, soul, or spirit.
Because the word for heart/mind/soul is interchangeable in Chinese, this can also be translated as “a peaceful soul” or “a quiet mind.”
I have also seen this translated as “placid temperament” or “spirit of serenity,” especially in Japanese.
While they once used the same first character form in Japan, they now use a slightly-simplified version in modern Japan (after WWII). This version is shown to the right, and can be selected for your wall scroll by clicking on that Kanji instead of the button above.
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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 | |
A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding | 淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 淡泊以明志宁静而致远 | dàn bó yǐ míng zhì, níng jìng ér zhì yuǎn dan4 bo2 yi3 ming2 zhi4, ning2 jing4 er2 zhi4 yuan3 dan bo yi ming zhi, ning jing er zhi yuan | tan po i ming chih, ning ching erh chih yüan | |
Inner Peace Silence Serenity | 靜 静 | shizu / sei | jìng / jing4 / jing | ching |
Life of Serenity | 悠悠閑閑 | yuu yuu kan kan yuuyuukankan yu yu kan kan | ||
Serenity Prayer | 上帝賜給我平靜去接受我所不能改變的給我勇氣去改變我所能改變的並給我智慧去分辨這兩者 上帝赐给我平静去接受我所不能改变的给我勇气去改变我所能改变的并给我智慧去分辨这两者 | shàng dì cì wǒ píng jìng qù jiē shòu wǒ suǒ bù néng gǎi biàn de wǒ yǒng qì qù gǎi biàn wǒ suǒ néng gǎi biàn de bìng wǒ zhì huì qù fēn biàn zhè liǎng zhě shang4 di4 ci4 gei3 wo3 ping2 jing4 qu4 jie1 shou4 wo3 suo3 bu4 neng2 gai3 bian4 de gei3 wo3 yong3 qi4 qu4 gai3 bian4 wo3 suo3 neng2 gai3 bian4 de bing4 gei3 wo3 zhi4 hui4 qu4 fen1 bian4 zhe4 liang3 zhe3 shang di ci gei wo ping jing qu jie shou wo suo bu neng gai bian de gei wo yong qi qu gai bian wo suo neng gai bian de bing gei wo zhi hui qu fen bian zhe liang zhe | shang ti tz`u kei wo p`ing ching ch`ü chieh shou wo so pu neng kai pien te kei wo yung ch`i ch`ü kai pien wo so neng kai pien te ping kei wo chih hui ch`ü fen pien che liang che shang ti tzu kei wo ping ching chü chieh shou wo so pu neng kai pien te kei wo yung chi chü kai pien wo so neng kai pien te ping kei wo chih hui chü fen pien che liang che |
|
Serenity Prayer | 神様は私に変える事の出来ない物を受け入れる穏やかさと変える事の出来る勇気とその違いを知る賢明さを与える | kamisama ha watashi ni kaeru koto no deki nai mono o ukeireru odayaka sa to kaeru koto no dekiru yuuki to sono chigai o shiru kenmei sa o ataeru kamisama ha watashi ni kaeru koto no deki nai mono o ukeireru odayaka sa to kaeru koto no dekiru yuki to sono chigai o shiru kenmei sa o ataeru | ||
Serenity Tranquility | 平靜 平静 | heisei | píng jìng ping2 jing4 ping jing pingjing | p`ing ching pingching ping ching |
Serenity Tranquility | 靜穏 静穏 | seion | ||
Tranquil Tranquility Serenity | 寧靜 宁静 | níng jìng ning2 jing4 ning jing ningjing | ning ching ningching |
|
Calm Cool-Headed | 冷靜 冷静 | rei sei / reisei | lěng jìng leng3 jing4 leng jing lengjing | leng ching lengching |
Inner Peace | 內心平靜 内心平静 | naishin heizyou naishinheizyou naishin heizyo | nèi xīn píng jìng nei4 xin1 ping2 jing4 nei xin ping jing neixinpingjing | nei hsin p`ing ching neihsinpingching nei hsin ping ching |
Achieve Inner Peace; Find Deep Understanding | 寧靜而致遠 宁静而致远 | níng jìng ér zhì yuǎn ning2 jing4 er2 zhi4 yuan3 ning jing er zhi yuan ningjingerzhiyuan | ning ching erh chih yüan ningchingerhchihyüan |
|
Peace of Mind | 內心的寧靜 内心的宁静 | nèi xīn de níng jìng nei4 xin1 de ning2 jing4 nei xin de ning jing neixindeningjing | nei hsin te ning ching neihsinteningching |
|
Peaceful Heart | 靜心 静心 | shizugokoro / seishin | jìng xīn / jing4 xin1 / jing xin / jingxin | ching hsin / chinghsin |
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.
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.