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Iron Sharpens Iron in Chinese / Japanese...

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Personalize your custom “Iron Sharpens Iron” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Iron Sharpens Iron” title below...

To cut and polish each other

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 xiāng qiē xiāng cuō
 sousetsu sousa
To cut and polish each other Scroll

相切相磋 means, “to cut and polish each other” or “mutual cutting and polishing.”

This is an original Chinese phrase (also known in Japan), though it matches the idea of “Iron sharpens iron; so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17).

This was derived at some point from the Chinese phrase, 切磋琢磨, which means “cutting, filing, carving, polishing.”

Cutting and Polishing

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 sessata kuma
 절차탁마
Cutting and Polishing Scroll

切磋琢磨 literally means “cutting, filing, carving, polishing” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

Originally describing polishing jade, 切磋琢磨 became a metaphor for people refining one another through study or interaction.

This can have the following interpretations:
To learn by exchanging ideas or experiences.
Mutual encouragement (to improve).
Cultivating one's character by studying hard.
Peers improving each other.
Mutual refinement.
Diligent application.

Intellectual sharpening.

In the context of self-reflection, it can mean discussing and pondering.

切磋琢磨 is probably the closest philosophical equivalent to “iron sharpens iron.”


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
To cut and polish each other相切相磋sousetsu sousa
sousetsusousa
sosetsu sosa		xiāng qiē xiāng cuō
xiang1 qie1 xiang1 cuo1
xiang qie xiang cuo
xiangqiexiangcuo		hsiang ch`ieh hsiang ts`o
hsiangchiehhsiangtso
hsiang chieh hsiang tso
Cutting and Polishing切磋琢磨sessata kuma
sessatakuma
sesata kuma


Dictionary

Lookup Iron Sharpens Iron in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


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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.


Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.

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