The Name Miles in Japanese/Chinese on a Custom-Made Wall Scroll.

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  1. Miles

  2. A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step

  3. Walking 100 Miles: Stopping at 90 miles, is the same as stopping half-way

  4. Read 10,000 Books, Travel 10,000 Miles

  5. A Journey of 1000 Miles Feels Like One

  6. Better to Travel 10,000 Miles than Read 10,000 Books

  7. Brought Together from 1000 Miles Away by Fate

  8. A Bright Future


 mài ěr sī
Miles Scroll

麥爾斯 is the name Miles in Chinese (Mandarin).

 mairuzu
Miles Scroll

マイルズ is the name Miles in Japanese.


Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step

 qiān lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià
A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step Scroll

千里之行始於足下 is a Chinese proverb that means “a thousand-mile journey begins with the first step.”

This proverb figuratively means “big accomplishments come from an accumulation of little achievements made one by one.”

A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step

senri no michi mo ippo kara

 sen ri no michi mo i-ppo ka ra
A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step Scroll

千里の道も一歩から is the Japanese version of an ancient Chinese proverb that means “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Some will also translate this as a 1000-mile road starts with one brick (a small amount).

In this case, the real measurement is an ancient Chinese “li” or 里, which is romanized as “ri” in Japanese. It's about half a kilometer, so three 里 would be a western mile. A journey of 333 miles begins with a single step, just doesn't sound as natural.


Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

Walking 100 Miles: Stopping at 90 miles, is the same as stopping half-way

 xíng bǎi lǐ zhě bàn jiǔ shí
Walking 100 Miles: Stopping at 90 miles, is the same as stopping half-way Scroll

行百里者半九十 is an old Chinese proverb that speaks to the act of giving up. This phrase suggests that no matter how close you are to finishing your task or journey, giving up just before you finish is just as bad as giving up halfway.

50% finished or 90% finished, the result is the same: “You are not finished.”

You can take what you want from this proverb, but I think it suggests that you should finish what you start, and especially finish that last 10% of your journey or project so that you can honestly say “it's finished.”

Some notes: The character, 里, that I am translating as “mile” is an ancient “Chinese mile” which is actually about half a kilometer - it just doesn't sound right to say “When walking 100 half-kilometers...”

Read 10,000 Books, Travel 10,000 Miles

 dú wàn juǎn shū, xíng wàn lǐ lù
Read 10,000 Books, Travel 10,000 Miles Scroll

讀萬卷書行萬里路 is a lifelong suggestion for expanding your horizons by gaining knowledge, experience, and seeing the world.

Of course, this was written long ago when it was hard to travel 10,000 miles (at least 1000 years before the invention of the airplane).
With air travel and the business I'm in, I often achieve that lifetime goal on a monthly basis.
However, I am a little behind in the book count.

Note: An ancient Chinese mile (里 or lǐ) referred to in this proverb is about a third of a British/American mile. However, at that time, this was a great distance to travel.

A Journey of 1000 Miles Feels Like One

 sen ri mo ichi ri
A Journey of 1000 Miles Feels Like One Scroll

千里も一里 is a Japanese proverb that states “A journey of a thousand miles feels like only one mile.” It is understood that in the proverb, this applies when going to see the one you love.

Note that the “mile” or 里 used in this proverb is an old Chinese “li” (pronounced “ri” in Japanese). It's not actually a mile, as the measurement is really closer to 500 meters (it would take 3 of these to get close to a western mile). Still, 1000里 (333 miles) is a long way.

Better to Travel 10,000 Miles than Read 10,000 Books

 xíng wàn lǐ lù shèng dú wàn juǎn shū
Better to Travel 10,000 Miles than Read 10,000 Books Scroll

行万里路胜读万卷书 translates a few ways:
To travel ten thousand miles beats reading ten-thousand books.
Better to travel ten thousand li than to read ten thousand books. (a “li” is an ancient Chinese mile)
Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books.

No matter how you slice it, this Chinese proverb is claiming that experience is more profound and meaningful than what you can get from a book. Go do it! Don't just read about it.

Brought Together from 1000 Miles Away by Fate

 yǒu yuán qiān lǐ lái xiāng huì
Brought Together from 1000 Miles Away by Fate Scroll

有緣千里來相會 means that fate or destiny has caused us to meet from a thousand miles away.

The 有緣 part suggests something that is connected as if by a thread due to fate, destiny, or karma.

This romantic phrase is seen in Chinese greeting cards. It relays the idea that your love was meant to be and that you were destined to meet (regardless of what distance or obstacles might have made such a meeting unlikely).


See Also:  Red Thread

A Bright Future

Incredible 10,000-Mile Flight of the Peng

 péng chéng wàn lǐ
A Bright Future Scroll

鵬程萬里 is an ancient Chinese proverb used in modern times to wish someone a long and successful career.

It's really about the 10,000 Flight of the Peng (Peng, also known as Roc is a mythical fish that can turn into a bird and take flight).

Zhuangzi

莊子
Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu

Breaking down each character:
1. Peng or Roc (a kind of bird).
2. Journey (in this case, a flight).
3. 10,000 (Ten Thousand).
4. Li is a unit of distance often referred to as a “Chinese Mile,” though the real distance is about half a kilometer.

Direct Translation: “Peng's Journey [of] 10,000 Li.”
Literal meaning: “The 10,000-Li Flying Range Of The Roc.”
Perceived meaning: “To have a bright future” or “To go far.”

This proverb/idiom comes from the book of Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu. It tells the tale of a huge fish that could turn into a gigantic bird. This bird was called a “peng” and was many miles long. This legendary size allowed the Peng to fly from the Northern Sea to the Southern Sea in a single bound.

Wishing someone “a Peng's Journey of 10,000 Li” will imply that they can travel far without stopping and will have great success, a long career, and a prosperous future.


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Miles麥爾斯
麦尔斯
mài ěr sī
mai4 er3 si1
mai er si
maiersi
mai erh ssu
maierhssu
Milesマイルズmairuzu
A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step千里之行始於足下
千里之行始于足下
qiān lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià
qian1 li3 zhi1 xing2 shi3 yu2 zu2 xia4
qian li zhi xing shi yu zu xia
qianlizhixingshiyuzuxia
ch`ien li chih hsing shih yü tsu hsia
chien li chih hsing shih yü tsu hsia
A Journey of 1000 Miles Begins with a Single Step千里の道も一歩からsen ri no michi mo i-ppo ka ra
senrinomichimoi-ppokara
sen ri no michi mo i-po ka ra
Walking 100 Miles: Stopping at 90 miles, is the same as stopping half-way行百里者半九十xíng bǎi lǐ zhě bàn jiǔ shí
xing2 bai3 li3 zhe3 ban4 jiu3 shi2
xing bai li zhe ban jiu shi
xingbailizhebanjiushi
hsing pai li che pan chiu shih
hsingpailichepanchiushih
Read 10,000 Books, Travel 10,000 Miles讀萬卷書行萬里路
读万卷书行万里路
dú wàn juǎn shū, xíng wàn lǐ lù
du2 wan4 juan3 shu1 xing2 wan4 li3 lu4
du wan juan shu xing wan li lu
duwanjuanshuxingwanlilu
tu wan chüan shu hsing wan li lu
A Journey of 1000 Miles Feels Like One千里も一里sen ri mo ichi ri
senrimoichiri
Better to Travel 10,000 Miles than Read 10,000 Books行萬里路勝讀萬捲書
行万里路胜读万卷书
xíng wàn lǐ lù shèng dú wàn juǎn shū
xing2 wan4 li3 lu4 sheng4 du2 wan4 juan3 shu1
xing wan li lu sheng du wan juan shu
hsing wan li lu sheng tu wan chüan shu
Brought Together from 1000 Miles Away by Fate有緣千里來相會
有缘千里来相会
yǒu yuán qiān lǐ lái xiāng huì
you3 yuan2 qian1 li3 lai2 xiang1 hui4
you yuan qian li lai xiang hui
youyuanqianlilaixianghui
yu yüan ch`ien li lai hsiang hui
yu yüan chien li lai hsiang hui
A Bright Future鵬程萬里
鹏程万里
péng chéng wàn lǐ
peng2 cheng2 wan4 li3
peng cheng wan li
pengchengwanli
p`eng ch`eng wan li
pengchengwanli
peng cheng wan li
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 Miles in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary

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.


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