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Buy a Custom Good fortune Chinese or Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options to create artwork with the Chinese characters / Asian symbols / Japanese Kanji for Good fortune on a wall scroll or portrait.
If you want to create a cool Good fortune Asian character tattoo, you can purchase that on our Chinese and Japanese Tattoo Image Service page and we'll help you select from many forms of ancient Asian symbols that express the idea of Good fortune.


Quick links to words on this page...




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Good Luck / Good Fortune

Mandarin:
Japanese: fuku
Korean:

福

This Character is pronounced "fu" in Chinese.

The character "fu" is posted by virtually all Chinese people on the doors of their homes during the Spring Festival (closely associated with the Chinese New Years).

One tradition from the Zhou Dynasty (beginning in 256 B.C.) holds that putting a fu symbol on your front door will keep the goddess of poverty away.

This character literally means good fortune, prosperity, blessed, happiness, and fulfillment.

See Also...  Lucky

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House of Good Fortune

Mandarin: fú zhái
Korean: 복택

福
宅

Perhaps the Chinese equivalent of "This blessed house" or perhaps "home sweet home". This phrase literally means "Good fortune house" or "Good luck household". It makes any Chinese person who sees it feel that good things happen in the home in which this calligraphy is hung.

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Good Luck

Mandarin: xìng yùn
Japanese: kou un
Korean: 행운

幸
運

This can be translated as "good luck", "fortunate", "lucky" and/or "good fortune" in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Occasionally, this is also translated as a type of happiness.

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Opportunity / Good Luck

Mandarin: jī yù
Korean: 기우

機
遇

This is the kind of opportunity that comes via good luck or good fortune.

This word is sometimes translated as "stroke of good luck".

While there are other ways to express "opportunity", I think this version is best for a calligraphy wall scroll or portrait.

Note: In Korean Hanja, this would also mean "Meeting someone under strange circumstances".

See Also...  Good Luck

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Year-In Year-Out Have Abundance

Mandarin:
nián nián yǒu yú

Korean: 년년유여

年
年
有
餘

This is a common phrase to hear around the time of Chinese New Years. Directly translated character by character it means, "Year Year Have Surplus". A more natural English translation including the deeper meaning would be "Every Year may you Have Abundance in your life".

On a side note, this phrase often goes with a gift of something related to fish. This is because the last character "yu" which means surplus or abundance has exactly the same pronunciation in Mandarin as the word for "fish".

This is also one of the most common titles for traditional paintings that feature koi fish.

In China, this phrase might make an odd wall scroll - a customer asked special for this common phrase which is why it appears here. See my other abundance-related words if you want a wall scroll that will seem more comfortable in Chinese culture.

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly-used term.

See Also...  Prosperity

Select

Abundance / Prosperous

Mandarin: fù yù
Japanese: yuuhuku
Korean: 부유

富
裕

This word means prosperous, having abundance, well-to-do, or well-off.

It's a simple word that suggests that "you have made it" in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.

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Abundance and Prosperity

Mandarin: fán róng fù yù
Japanese: hanei yuuhuku
Korean: 번영부유

繁
榮
富
裕

This is a strong way to say "Prosperity and Abundance".

The characters shown here present and reinforce the ideas of being prosperous, a booming economy, well-to-do, well-off, wealth, riches and opulence.

This is the ancient / traditional Chinese way to write this, but most Japanese can fully read and understand it. It's also the correct form of old Korean Hanja (though few Koreans of the current generation will be able to read this).


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Blessings and Good Wishes

Mandarin: zhù fú
Japanese: shukufuku
Korean: 축복

祝
福

This is a nice way to give good wishes to someone. It can be a general blessing, or used to congratulate someone for a special occasion or graduation.

This has a good meaning in Japanese, but more appropriate when expressed orally. This is not a natural selection for a wall scroll if your audience is Japanese.

Select

The Foundation of Good Conduct

Qoute from Confucius

Mandarin: zhì yú dào jù yú dé yī yú rén yóu yú yì

依
于
仁
遊
于
藝
誌
于
道
據
于
德


Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This quote from the Analects of Confucius translates as:

Resolve yourself in the Dao/Tao/Way.
Rely on Virtue.
Reside in benevolence.
Revel in the arts.

According to Confucius, these are the tenets of good and proper conduct.

This was written over 2500 years ago. The composition is in ancient Chinese grammar and phrasing. A modern Chinese person would need a background in Chinese literature to understand this without aid of a reference.

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Courage to do what is right

Mandarin: jiàn yì yǒng wéi

見
義
勇
為

The title says it all.

This could also be translated as:
"Never hesitate to do what is right".

See Also...  Work Unselfishly For The Common Good | Justice | Bravery

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Destiny / Fate

(single character)

Mandarin: mìng yùn
Japanese: inochi / mei
Korean:

命

This character is often translated as "destiny". Sometimes this character is simply translated as "life", but more in terms of one's lot in life. In certain context, this can mean command or decree (generally from a king or emperor). Of course, such a decree are part of fate and lead you to fulfill your destiny.

In Chinese this word leans toward the fate or destiny definition.
In Korean, it is usually read simply as "life".
In Japanese, it can mean all definitions shown above, depending on context.

See Also...  Good Luck

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Fate / Chance Meeting

Mandarin: yuán fèn

緣
份

These two characters contain the ideas of fate. But this is specifically the fate or destiny that brings two people together.

This is like the chance meeting of two people that leads some time later to marriage.

This could also be the chance meeting of two business people, who become partners and build a huge and successful company.

Basically, this is an idea often associated with a fateful meeting leading to good fortune.

Some will define this word as, "The destiny brings you two together", or "Meant to be".

分 Note: Second character can also be written without the left radical, as shown to the right. If you have a preference, please let use know in the special instructions for your project. There is no difference in meaning or pronunciation, just two (alternate) ways to write the same character.

See Also...  Soulmates

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Destiny / Fate

(two characters)

Mandarin: mìng yùn
Japanese: mei un

命
運

These two characters contain the ideas of "fate", "destiny", "fortune" and "luck". You can also say that it means "what life throws at you" or "your lot in life" because the first character contains the idea of "life" or "living".

See Also...  Good Luck

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Destiny / Fate

Mandarin: mìng yùn
Japanese: un mei
Korean: 운명

運
命

These two characters contain the ideas of "fate", "destiny", "fortune" and "luck". This is often defined as "a person's fate" in various dictionaries.

These two characters can be put in either order with the same meaning in Chinese and Japanese. The character order shown here is more the more natural order for Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja.

See Also...  Good Luck

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Gentleness

Mandarin: wēn hòu
Japanese: on kou
Korean: 온후

溫
厚

This is a Chinese, Japanese and old Korean word for "gentle" or "gentleness". This can also mean "kindness" (more as an adjective like "kind person").

温The modern Japanese version of the first character looks like the one to the right. If you want this modern Japanese form, just click on that Kanji instead of the button above.

See Also...  Kindness | Caring

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Good Good Study, Day Day Up

Mandarin: hǎo hǎo xué xí tiān tiān xiàng shàng

好
好
學
習
天
天
向
上

This is a famous phrase by Chairman Mao Zedong that sounds really strange when directly translated into English. I include it in our database of phrases to illustrate how different the construction and grammar can be between Chinese and English. The direct translation is "Good Good Study, Day Day Up". In Chinese, a repeated character/word can often serve to reinforce the idea (like saying "very" or suggesting "a lot of"). So "good good" really means "a lot of good". While "day day" can be better translated as "day in day out". The idea of "up" has a meaning in China of "rising above" or "improving".

After understanding all of this, we come up with a slightly better translation of "With lot of good study, day in day out, we raise above".

The more natural translation of this phrase would be something like, "study hard, and keep improving".

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Good Health

Mandarin: jiàn kāng
Japanese: kenkou
Korean: 건강

健
康

This is the best way to express good health in Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

These characters also suggest the ideas of being solid, strong, sound, wholesome and at peace.

Can also be used to express "healthy", "vitality", or "well-being".

See Also...  Health | Vitality | Wellness

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Good Health / Healthy / Vigor

Also suggests being at peace

Mandarin: kāng
Japanese: kou
Korean:

康

This is a single character that means good health or vigor in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This character can also mean peaceful, at ease, or abundant in some contexts.

Please note that this is rarely seen alone in Japanese Kanji. In Japanese, it is used both for health-related compound words and to denote the kouhou through koushou eras of Japan.

In Korean, this can also be the family name "Kang" (caution: not the only family name romanized as Kang in Korean).

See Also...  Health | Vitality | Wellness

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Goodness / Good Deed

Mandarin: shàn
Japanese: zen
Korean:

善

This word means goodness, virtue, good deed, charitable, benevolent, well-disposed, nice, pleasant, kind, or simply, "good".

This is the kind of good that applies to someone's good character, or a good person in general.

Referring to someone with this word means that they have a well-aimed moral compass, are charitable, giving, wise, and honest. Basically this is a blanket statement for every good trait a human can have, or all the things that makes someone good.

In other context, it can mean to improve or perfect something or refer to someone who is good at something.

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Lucky / Auspicious

Mandarin:
Japanese: kichi
Korean:

吉

A simple way to express the state of being lucky. Also used in conversation to hope that all is well with someone. This is more often seen as part of a compound word with a lucky association (especially in Korean).

Not as often used in Japanese, but still means "good luck" but can also mean "joy" in Japanese.

See Also...  Good Luck

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A House Might be Worth 1 Million Dollars,
But Good Neighboors are Worth 10 Million.

Mandarin: bǎi wàn mǎi zhái qiān wàn mǎi lín

韆
萬
買
鄰
百
萬
買
宅


Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This literally translates as:
[It may cost a] million to buy a house, [but] ten million to find [good] neighbors.

Figuratively, this means:
Good neighbors are hard to find.
Good neighbors are even more important than the quality of one's house.

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Peace and Good Health

Mandarin: ān kāng
Korean: 안강

安
康

This means just what it says. It's a word that expresses both the idea of being at peace and healthy at the same time.

Note: This is a bona-fide word in Chinese and Korean, and the characters will at least make sense in Japanese.

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Personal Fate or Destiny

Mandarin: yùn mìng
Japanese: un mei
Korean: 운명

運
命

These two characters can be reversed (written in either order) and yield roughly the same meaning. Either way it's about your "fate", "destiny", "fortune" and "luck".

This character order happens to be more common in old Korean and less common in modern Chinese.

See Also...  Good Luck

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Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial

Mandarin: dà gōng wú sī
Korean: 대공무사

大
公
無
私

This is comes from an old story from some time before 476 BC. About a man named Qi Huangyang, who was commissioned by the king to select the best person for a certain job in the Imperial Court.

Qi Huangyang selected his enemy for the job. The king was very confused by the selection, but Qi Huangyang explained that he was asked to find the best person for the job, not necessarily someone that he personally liked or had a friendship with.

Later, Confucius commented on how unselfish and impartial Qi Huangyang was by saying "Da Gong Wu Si" which if you look it up in a Chinese dictionary, is generally translated as "Unselfish" or "Just and Fair".

If you translate each character, you'd have something like,

"Big/Deep Justice Without Self".

Direct translations like this leave out a lot of what the Chinese characters really say. Use your imagination, and suddenly you realize that "without self" means "without thinking about yourself in the decision" - together, these two words mean "unselfish". The first two characters serve to really drive the point home that we are talking about a concept that is similar to "blind justice".

One of my Chinese-English dictionaries translates this simply as "just and fair". So that is the short and simple version.

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly-used term.

See Also...  Selflessness | Work Unselfishly For The Common Good | Altruism | Confucius

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Wealth / Fortune / Riches / Abundance

Mandarin:
Japanese: tomi
Korean:

富

The title says it all; this word is clearly understood in Chinese and Japanese as well as Korean Hanja.

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Wealth / Riches / Fortune

Mandarin: cái fù
Korean: 재부

財
富

This means wealth or riches in Chinese.

Hanging this on your wall will label you as a "lover of money" or a "greedy person". Order this, only if you don't mind being seen in this light.

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Work Unselfishly for the Common Good

Mandarin:
kè jǐ fèng gōng

Korean: 극기봉공

克
己
奉
公

This can also mean: "Place Strict Standards on Oneself in Public Service".
This Chinese phrase is often used to express how one should act as a government official. Most of us wish our public officials would hold themselves to higher standards. I wish I could send this scroll, along with the meaning to every member of Congress, and the President (or if I was from the UK, all the members of Parliament, and the PM)

The story behind this ancient Chinese idiom:
A man named Cai Zun was born in China a little over 2000 years ago. In 24 AD, he joined an uprising led by Liu Xiu who later became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Later, the new emperor put Cai Zun in charge of the military court. Cai Zun exercised his power in strict accordance with military law, regardless of the offender's rank or background. He even ordered the execution of one of the emperor's close servants after the servant committed a serious crime.

Cai Zun led a simple life, but put great demands on himself to do all things in an honorable way. The emperor rewarded him for his honest character and honorable nature by promoting him to the rank of General and granting him the title of Marquis.

Whenever Cai Zun would receive an award, he would give credit to his men and share the reward with them.
Cai Zun was always praised by historians who found many examples of his selfless acts that served the public interest.
Sometime, long ago in history, people began to refer to Cai Zun as "ke ji feng gong".

See Also...  Unselfish | Selflessness | Altruism

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Dragon and Phoenix Brings Luck

Mandarin: lóng fèng chéng xiáng

龍
鳳
呈
祥

This is often seen at weddings and other celebrations in China. It suggests that he dragon and phoenix will bring you auspicious tidings.

The first character is dragon.
The second is phoenix.
The third is presents or brings.
And the last means auspicious, propitious, or luck.

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Happiness / Fortune / Lucky

Mandarin: xìng
Japanese: saki
Korean:

幸

This can mean happiness, good fortune, good luck, and in the old days, good harvest or bounty.

Note: From Japanese, this character is sometimes romanized as "sachi", and is often pronounced "kou" when used in compound words with other Kanji.


Wall scroll artwork shown on this page is priced as follows:

1 character $29.88 each

2-3 characters $39.88 each

4 characters $49.88 each

5-10 characters $59.88 each

11 or more characters $69.88 each


We dispatch any size order to any country worldwide for a flat rate US$9.80 P&P

After you select your calligraphy, our website will take you through the process of customizing your artwork.

Options for other mounting such as portraits are available for $13 less.

We also offer the services of a famous master calligrapher for a $40 fee on any scroll if you are looking for investment-quality calligraphy.

If you chose our famous master-calligrapher, you also get more choices for silk and paper colors and the option for larger artwork.



All of our calligraphy is completely done by hand in the ancient way.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to our 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.

Therefore, allow at least 3 weeks for delivery from the time you place your order.

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 scroll that I am holding in this picture is a "regular size"
4-character wall scroll.
As you can see, it is a great size to hang on your wall.
(We also offer custom wall scrolls in larger sizes)

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.



See: Our list of specifically Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls. And, check out Our list of specifically old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.



The following table is only helpful for those studying Chinese (or Japanese), and perhaps helps search engines to find this page when someone enters Romanized Chinese or Japanese

Title
 
Characters
Simplified
Traditional
Japanese Romaji
(Romanized Japanese)
Various forms of Hanyu-Pinyin
(Romanized Chinese)
Good Luck / Good Fortune
fuku
fu
fu2
fu
House of Good Fortune福宅
福宅
n/afú zhái
fu zhai
fu2 zhai2
fuzhai
Good Luck幸运
幸運
kou un
kouun
ko un
xìng yùn
xing yun
xing4 yun4
xingyun
Opportunity / Good Luck机遇
機遇
n/ajī yù
ji yu
ji1 yu4
jiyu
Year-In Year-Out Have Abundance年年有馀
年年有餘
n/anián nián yǒu yú
nian nian you yu
nian2 nian2 you3 yu2
niannianyouyu
Abundance / Prosperous富裕
富裕
yuuhuku
yuhuku
fù yù
fu yu
fu4 yu4
fuyu
Abundance and Prosperity繁荣富裕
繁榮富裕
hanei yuuhuku
haneiyuuhuku
hanei yuhuku
fán róng fù yù
fan rong fu yu
fan2 rong2 fu4 yu4
fanrongfuyu
Blessings and Good Wishes祝福
祝福
shukufukuzhù fú
zhu fu
zhu4 fu2
zhufu
The Foundation of Good Conduct志于道据于德依于仁游于艺
誌于道據于德依于仁遊于藝
n/azhì yú dào jù yú dé yī yú rén yóu yú yì
zhi yu dao ju yu de yi yu ren you yu yi
zhi4 yu2 dao4 ju4 yu2 de2 yi1 yu2 ren2 you2 yu2 yi4
Courage to do what is right见义勇为
見義勇為
n/ajiàn yì yǒng wéi
jian yi yong wei
jian4 yi4 yong3 wei2
jianyiyongwei
Destiny / Fate
inochi / mei
inochi/mei
mìng yùn
ming
ming4
ming
Fate / Chance Meeting缘份 / 缘分
緣份 / 緣分
n/ayuán fèn
yuan fen
yuan2 fen4
yuanfen
Destiny / Fate命运
命運
mei un
meiun
mìng yùn
ming yun
ming4 yun4
mingyun
Destiny / Fate运命
運命
un mei
unmei
mìng yùn
yun ming
yun4 ming4
yunming
Gentleness温厚
溫厚
on kou
onkou
on ko
wēn hòu
wen hou
wen1 hou4
wenhou
Good Good Study, Day Day Up好好学习天天向上
好好學習天天向上
n/ahǎo hǎo xué xí tiān tiān xiàng shàng
hao hao xue xi tian tian xiang shang
hao3 hao3 xue2 xi2 tian1 tian1 xiang4 shang4
Good Health健康
健康
kenkou
kenko
jiàn kāng
jian kang
jian4 kang1
jiankang
Good Health / Healthy / Vigor
kou
ko
kāng
kang
kang1
kang
Goodness / Good Deed
zenshàn
shan
shan4
shan
Lucky / Auspicious
kichi
ji
ji2
ji
A House Might be Worth 1 Million Dollars, But Good Neighboors are Worth 10 Million.百万买宅千万买邻
百萬買宅韆萬買鄰
n/abǎi wàn mǎi zhái qiān wàn mǎi lín
bai wan mai zhai qian wan mai lin
bai3 wan4 mai3 zhai2 qian1 wan4 mai3 lin2
Peace and Good Health安康
安康
n/aān kāng
an kang
an1 kang1
ankang
Personal Fate or Destiny运命
運命
un mei
unmei
yùn mìng
yun ming
yun4 ming4
yunming
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial大公无私
大公無私
n/adà gōng wú sī
da gong wu si
da4 gong1 wu2 si1
dagongwusi
Wealth / Fortune / Riches / Abundance
tomi
fu
fu4
fu
Wealth / Riches / Fortune财富
財富
n/acái fù
cai fu
cai2 fu4
caifu
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good克己奉公
克己奉公
n/akè jǐ fèng gōng
ke ji feng gong
ke4 ji3 feng4 gong1
kejifenggong
Dragon and Phoenix Brings Luck 龙凤呈祥
龍鳳呈祥
n/alóng fèng chéng xiáng
long feng cheng xiang
long2 feng4 cheng2 xiang2
longfengchengxiang
Happiness / Fortune / Lucky
sakixìng
xing
xing4
xing
If you have not set up your computer to display Chinese, the characters in this table probably look like empty boxes or random text garbage.
This is why we spent hundreds of hours making images so that you could view the characters in the "Good fortune" listings above.
If you want your Windows computer to be able to display Chinese characters you can either head to your Regional and Language options in your Win XP control panel, select the [Languages] tab and click on [Install files for East Asian Languages]. This task will ask for your Win XP CD to complete in most cases. If you don't have your Windows XP CD, or are running Windows 98, you can also download/run the simplified Chinese font package installer from Microsoft which works independently with Win 98, ME, 2000, and XP. It's a 2.5MB download, so if you are on dial up, start the download and go make a sandwich.


All custom calligraphy items are made-to-order in our little Beijing artwork-mounting workshop.
Normal delivery isjust over 3 weeksfor these handmade items.


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