Buy an 金剛 calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “金剛” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “金剛” title below...
金剛 can translate as adamantine from Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.
Other meanings and translations can include diamond, thunderbolt, Indra's indestructible weapon, a Buddhist symbol of the indestructible truth, Vajra (a mythical weapon), guardian deity, hardness, indestructibility, power, the least frangible of minerals.
The Chinese pronunciation of “Jīn Gāng” became the loanword used in English as “King Kong.” You can see King Kong as the indestructible ape guardian deity depending on how you read the story.
金剛 is a common way to call diamonds in Chinese and Japanese.
Traditionally, there were not that many diamonds that made their way to Asia, so this word does not have the deep cultural significance that it does in the west (thanks mostly to De Beers' marketing). Therefore, this word was kind of borrowed from other uses.
This title can also refer to vajra (a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond that originally refers to an indestructible substance); hard metal; pupa of certain insects; Vajrapani, Buddha's warrior attendant; King Kong; adamantine; Buddhist symbol of the indestructible truth.
金剛不壞 is originally a Buddhist term for “The diamond indestructible.”
Sometimes, it's written 金剛不壞身, The diamond-indestructible body.
Outside that context, it still means firm and solid, sturdy and indestructible, unshakable, or adamantine (a mythological indestructible material).
Note: If you order this from the Japanese master calligrapher, the last Kanji will look like the one shown to the right.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 金剛 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
金剛 金刚 see styles |
jīn gāng jin1 gang1 chin kang kongou / kongo こんごう |
More info & calligraphy: Diamond(1) vajra (indestructible substance); diamond; adamantine; (2) thunderbolt; Indra's weapon; Buddhist symbol of the indestructible truth; (p,s,g) Kongou vajra, 伐闍羅; 跋折羅 (or跋闍羅); 縛曰羅(or 縛日羅) The thunderbolt of Indra, often called the diamond club; but recent research considers it a sun symbol. The diamond, synonym of hardness, indestructibility, power, the least frangible of minerals. It is one of the saptaratna 七寶. |
金剛乘 金刚乘 see styles |
jīn gāng shèng jin1 gang1 sheng4 chin kang sheng kongō jō |
More info & calligraphy: Vajrayana |
十金剛 十金刚 see styles |
shí jīn gāng shi2 jin1 gang1 shih chin kang jū kongō |
ten indestructible [minds] |
吸金剛 see styles |
kokongou / kokongo ここんごう |
Hevajra; Eternal Vajra (tantric Buddhist deity) |
周金剛 周金刚 see styles |
zhōu jīn gāng zhou1 jin1 gang1 chou chin kang Shū Kongō |
Zhou Jingang |
四金剛 see styles |
sì jīn gāng si4 jin1 gang1 ssu chin kang |
The four mahārājas, v. 四天王. |
執金剛 执金刚 see styles |
zhí jīn gāng zhi2 jin1 gang1 chih chin kang shū kongō |
vajra-dhara |
多金剛 see styles |
takongou / takongo たこんごう |
(place-name) Takongou |
持金剛 持金刚 see styles |
chí jīn gāng chi2 jin1 gang1 ch`ih chin kang chih chin kang ji kongō |
執全剛 Vajradhara' or Vajrapāṇi, a Bodhisattva who holds a vajra or thunderbolt, of these there are several; a name for Indra. |
觸金剛 触金刚 see styles |
chù jīn gāng chu4 jin1 gang1 ch`u chin kang chu chin kang Soku kongō |
Ucchuṣma |
金剛丸 see styles |
kongoumaru / kongomaru こんごうまる |
(surname) Kongoumaru |
金剛乗 see styles |
kongoujou / kongojo こんごうじょう |
(surname) Kongoujō |
金剛位 金刚位 see styles |
jīn gāng wèi jin1 gang1 wei4 chin kang wei kongō i |
adamantine stage |
金剛佛 金刚佛 see styles |
jīn gāng fó jin1 gang1 fo2 chin kang fo kongō butsu |
vajra-buddha. Vairocana, or 大日 the Sun-buddha; sometimes applied to Śākyamuni as embodiment of the Truth, of Wisdom, and of Purity. |
金剛内 see styles |
kongouuchi / kongouchi こんごううち |
(place-name) Kongouuchi |
金剛刹 金刚刹 see styles |
jīn gāng chà jin1 gang1 cha4 chin kang ch`a chin kang cha kongō setsu |
vajrakṣetra, a vajra or Buddhist monastery or building. |
金剛力 金刚力 see styles |
jīn gāng lì jin1 gang1 li4 chin kang li kongouriki / kongoriki こんごうりき |
superhuman (Herculean) strength vajra-power, irresistible strength; 金剛力 (or 金剛力士) is the 金剛神 q.v. |
金剛口 金刚口 see styles |
jīn gāng kǒu jin1 gang1 kou3 chin kang k`ou chin kang kou kongō ku |
Diamond mouth, that of a buddha. |
金剛喩 金刚喩 see styles |
jīn gāng yù jin1 gang1 yu4 chin kang yü kongō yu |
adamantine |
金剛地 金刚地 see styles |
jīn gāng dì jin1 gang1 di4 chin kang ti kongouchi / kongochi こんごうち |
(surname) Kongouchi adamantine stage |
金剛坂 see styles |
kongouzaka / kongozaka こんごうざか |
(place-name) Kongouzaka |
金剛堂 see styles |
kongoudou / kongodo こんごうどう |
(place-name) Kongoudou |
金剛天 金刚天 see styles |
jīn gāng tiān jin1 gang1 tian1 chin kang t`ien chin kang tien kongō ten |
The vajradevas twenty in number in the vajradhātu group. |
金剛子 金刚子 see styles |
jīn gāng zǐ jin1 gang1 zi3 chin kang tzu Kongōshi |
rudrākṣa, a seed similar to a peach-stone used for beads, especially in invoking one of the 金剛. Also a vajra son. |
金剛定 金刚定 see styles |
jīn gāng dìng jin1 gang1 ding4 chin kang ting kongō jō |
vajrasamādhi, 金剛喩定; 金剛三昧; 金剛滅定 diamond meditation, that of the last stage of the bodhisattva, characterized by firm, indestructible knowledge, penetrating all reality; attained after all remains of illusion have been cut off. |
金剛寺 see styles |
kongouji / kongoji こんごうじ |
(place-name, surname) Kongouji |
金剛山 金刚山 see styles |
jīn gāng shān jin1 gang1 shan1 chin kang shan kongouyama / kongoyama こんごうやま |
Kumgangsan Tourist Region in east North Korea (personal name) Kongouyama (or 金剛圍山 or金剛輪山) The concentric iron mountains about the world; also Sumeru; also the name of a fabulous mountain. Cf. 金山. |
金剛岩 see styles |
kongouiwa / kongoiwa こんごういわ |
(place-name) Kongouiwa |
金剛岳 see styles |
kongoudake / kongodake こんごうだけ |
(personal name) Kongoudake |
金剛峰 see styles |
kongoumine / kongomine こんごうみね |
(place-name) Kongoumine |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Adamantine King Kong | 金剛 金刚 | kongou / kongo | jīn gāng / jin1 gang1 / jin gang / jingang | chin kang / chinkang |
Diamond | 金剛 金刚 | kon gou / kongou / kon go | jīn gāng / jin1 gang1 / jin gang / jingang | chin kang / chinkang |
Vajrayana | 金剛乘 金刚乘 | kongou jou / kongoujou / kongo jo | jīn gāng shèng jin1 gang1 sheng4 jin gang sheng jingangsheng | chin kang sheng chinkangsheng |
Stay Strong Indestructible Unbreakable | 金剛不壞 / 金剛不壊 金刚不坏 | kon gou fu e kongoufue kon go fu e | jīn gāng bù huài jin1 gang1 bu4 huai4 jin gang bu huai jingangbuhuai | chin kang pu huai chinkangpuhuai |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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.