Custom Life Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

This means life, living, to live, or the state of being alive. It can also refer to your daily existence or livelihood.

This is also the term used in other titles such as "healthy living" or Lance Armstrong's "Livestrong" campaign (Chinese title for Livestrong only).

If you need a reminder that you are alive, and to take a breath, this might be the perfect wall scroll for you.

This Chinese word means "to be born" and "to give birth". Also it's often used to refer to life itself, and sometimes "to grow".

This character is used in a lot of compound words such as "yi sheng", which means "doctor" (literally "healer of life"), "sheng ri" which means "birthday" (literally "birth day") and "xue sheng" which means student (literally "studying life" or "learner [about] life"). Few Chinese people will think of the literal meaning when this use words like doctor and student - but it is interesting to note.

This character has the same root meaning in Korean Hanja and Japanese. However, in Japanese, there are many possible pronunciations, and this can be used to mean "raw" or "unprocessed" (as in draft beer). Therefore, not be the best if your audience is Japanese.

See Also...  Life Force | Vitality

This is the word that means alive, as in the state of living or being alive (Chinese only).

These are the last two words from John 3:16 in the Chinese Union Bible.
Although not specifically Christian, this is the way to express ever-lasting life or eternal life in Chinese.
In Japanese this can either mean eternal life or immortality.

See Also...  Eternity | Rebirth | Reincarnation | Immortality

This word can be used in many different ways. It is often used to express the next life (life in heaven or wherever your soul is bound for). So it does have a religious overtone. However, it can also be used to express your life in the future - perhaps during your present lifetime. It can also be translated as "the next world", "the next generation", "the time that is to come", "otherworld", or simply "posterity".

See Also...  Eternity | Rebirth | Reincarnation | Immortality

This simply means everyday life or regular life. You can also translate it as "Living day to day".

This is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago. The proverb 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.

See Also...  Serenity

Qi which is also Romanized as Chi in Chinese or Ki in Japanese, is a fundamental concept of traditional Asian culture. Qi is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in “life force” or “spiritual energy”. It is most often translated as “energy flow,” or literally as “air” or “breath”.

The character itself is a representation of steam (or breath) rising from rice.
This was apparently seen as the release of energy from the rice when this concept was first developed. To clarify, the character for rice is shown to the right. The Qi / Chi / Ki character is still used in compound words to mean steam or vapor.

The idea of Qi / Chi / Ki is really a philosophical concept. It's often used to refer to the “flow” of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings. Yet there is much debate that has continued for thousands of years as to whether Qi / Chi / Ki is pure energy, or consists partially, or fully of matter.

You can also see the character for Qi / Chi / Ki in common compound words such as Tai Chi / Tai Qi, Aikido, Reiki and Qi Gong / Chi Kung.

In the modern Japanese Kanji, the rice radical has been changed into two strokes that form an X.

The original and traditional Chinese form is still understood in Japanese, but we can also offer that modern Kanji form in our custom calligraphy. If you want this Japanese Kanji, please click on the character to the right, instead of the “Select and Customize” button above.

More language notes: This is pronounced like “chee” in Mandarin Chinese, and like “key” in Japanese.
This is also the same way to write this in Korean Hanja where it is Romanized as “gi” and pronounced like “gee”, but with a real G-sound, not a J-sound.
Though Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters in their daily language, this character is still widely known in Vietnam.

See Also...  Life Force | Vitality | Birth | Soul

This Chinese, Korean and Japanese word means "life force" or simply "life". The first character means "life" or "birth". The second means "life" or "fate". Together they create the meaning of "life force", though some will translate this as "existence" and sometimes "vitality".

See Also...  Vitality | Birth

No matter what happens, life goes on. For better or worse, life goes one. This is the basic idea behind this modern Chinese phrase which literally says "Life goes on" in these five characters.

A further explanation of this phrase can now be found on our forum here: Life Goes On in Chinese, explained.

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This means, "A life of happiness and prosperity" or "A life of happiness and success". It's a great and very positive and inspirational wall scroll selection.

See Also...  Prosperity

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This phrase means "Life is a Journey".

If this matches your philosophy, this might be the perfect Chinese calligraphy for you.

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This literally translates as: [Even a] hundred-year-old [person] is [just a] traveler passing by.

The simple message is, "Human life is short". Of course, there is an unspoken suggestion that you should make the best of the time you have here on earth.

This is a phrase that means "May you have good fortune as great as the eastern oceans, and may your life last as long as the southern mountains".

In ancient Chinese mythology, the eastern oceans and southern mountains are where God resides (basically it is the same as saying "heaven"). So it's like saying, "May your good fortune and life be as vast as the heavens".

There is also a longer, 14-character version of this phrase. Also, this can be cut into two scrolls (with half the phrase on each side - great for hanging on either side of a doorway). Just let me know if you'd like a special version (there is an additional cost).

Used as a noun, this word means "longevity" or "the ability to live long". It can also be an adjective meaning "long lived".

Please note that Japanese use a simplified version of the second character of longevity - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version of this two-character longevity calligraphy.

Can be defined as "long life" or "longevity" in the simplest form.

Please note that Japanese use a simplified version of this character - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version.

This means "principles of life" or "The personal obligations and rules that you live by". For instance, if you were a vegetarian, the act of not eating meat fits into this category.
This could also be translated as "Way of living".

This title suggests that you have, or want to get your life in balance.

The first two characters regard the idea of balance, harmony, and peace.

The second two characters mean "life". More specifically this refers to your livelihood, career, and the daily activities that comprise your life or living. Some would translate those two characters as "one's daily existence".

Note: We have a couple of titles for this idea. This version is more of a noun, thus "The Balanced Life" verses a verb form like "Balancing [Your] Life".

This title suggests that you are actively trying to keep your life in balance. Think of this as being the action-verb of seeking or having a balanced life.

The first two characters mean balance, equilibrium or keeping things equal.

The last two characters mean "life". Literally "human life".

Note: This can be pronounced in Japanese, but this title has not been confirmed by our Japanese translator.

This is the closest and most natural way to express this idea in Chinese.

The first two characters mean "to seize" but can also be translated as "take control of".

The last two characters mean "today".

If you are into healthy living, this might be a great selection for a wall scroll to hang in your home. The first two characters speak of health, vitality, vigor and being of sound body. The second two mean living or life (daily existence).

See Also...  Strength | Vitality | Health

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This is a philosophic pondering by Han Yu, a Tang Dynasty essayist and philosopher (618–907 A.D.). It can be translated as, "Knowledge is not innate to man, how can we overcome doubt?" or, "We are not born with knowledge, how does one achieve maturity?".

This infers that we need the guidance of a teacher if we wish to learn, mature, and become better.

This is not really an eastern concept, so it does not translate into a phrase that seems natural on a wall scroll. However, if this is your philosophy, the characters shown here do capture your idea of living for today or living in the moment. These characters literally say "Live in today" and they are grammatically correct in Chinese.

Note: This kind of makes sense in Korean Hanja, but the grammar is Chinese, so it's not that natural in Korean.

This is how to say "live without regrets" in Mandarin Chinese. This also makes sense in Japanese, but I don't yet have the pronunciation info.

See Also...  Live For Today

This is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Living, along with Right Speech and Right Action constitute the path to Virtue.

Right Living means that a Buddhist should only take a job or pursue a career in a field that does no harm. Buddhists should not work in the arms trade, as pimps or in the field of prostitution, as a butcher or in a shop that kills or sells meat, in a laboratory that does animal research, or any other business that involves scheming or unethical behavior.

Another definition: Avoidance of professions that are harmful to sentient beings, such as slaugterer, hunter, dealer in weaponry or narcotics, etc.

This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also...  Buddhism | Enlightenment

This phrase means "Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks".

It 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 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 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 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 phrase 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 in spite of 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.

See Also...  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance

This is the Chinese word for rebirth. This can be used literally or metaphorically. As a metaphor, you could use this to say something like "We are watching the rebirth of New Orleans after the disaster of Katrina".

This is sometimes translated as "renaissance".

Note: This is not the Buddhist concept of reincarnation or re-birth.

See Also...  Reincarnation

This is the Chinese, Japanese and Korean word for resurrection or rebirth. Basically this means "return to life".

It is the term used in most Asian Bibles to refer to the resurrection of Christ. In Japanese, it is sometimes used to mean a Christian Revival. In some context it can mean resuscitation.

See Also...  Christianity | Jesus Christ | God Of Abraham

This means sacrifice in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

There is a suggestion in this word that this regards sacrificing your life.

This word can mean "vitality" or "libido". The first two characters mean "life" or "life force". The last character is a common word that means "strength". So together you get the meaning "life strength" which is the essence of vitality. Some will also translate this word as "good health".

See Also...  Life Force | Health

This word is hard to define. One dictionary defines this as, "acceptance of fate and happy about it". There is one rare English word equivalent which is sanguinity.

You can also say that this means, "Be happy with whatever Heaven provides", or "Find happiness in whatever fate Heaven bestows upon you". This is kind of a way to suggest being an optimist in life.

Note: This is sometimes used as a given name in China.

This Japanese phrase can be translated as "live for the day", "live for the moment", "seize the day", or "make the most of the present".

This suggests "Legendary Phoenix rises from the ashes". Literally, it means, "Legendary Phoenix [reaches] Nirvana".

There is a legend in China of a great bird which is reborn once every 500 years. This bird gathers all the ill-will, suffering, desire, and other negative things of the whole world. The bird then plunges into the fire to burn away all negative things, sacrificing itself in the process (achieving Nirvana, or perhaps allowing others the opportunity to reach Nirvana).

500 years later, the phoenix is reborn from the ashes again, and the cycle repeats.