We have many options to create artwork with the Chinese characters / Asian symbols / Japanese Kanji for Dance on a wall scroll or portrait...
舞 is the simplest way to write dance in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
It can also be translated as to dance, to wield, to brandish, or to circle.
舞 reads more clearly as dance in Chinese than it does in Japanese (see our two-character word for dancing if you want to be absolutely clear in both languages).
舞踊 is the most proper term for dance or dancing in Japanese.
The first Kanji means “dance,” and the second means to jump or leap. Together, they are just a strong way to say “dance” (the second Kanji just clarifies the first - nobody will translate this as “dance jumping”).
舞蹈 is the clearest way to express the art of dancing in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
If you are a dancer or love the art of dance, this is the calligraphy selection for you.
Classic Chinese
Modern Chinese Version
Cho Wa
調和 is one of the several ways to express harmony in Chinese and Japanese.
Note: The first character means harmony but also suggests a musical meaning. It can also describe warriors marching in perfect cadence (in step) or to regulate something.
The second character carries the meaning of harmony and peace by itself.
Together, these characters create a word that can be defined as harmonious, to mediate, to reconcile, to compromise; mediation, temper, to mix, blend, blended, season, seasoning (getting the flavors of the food in balance), to placate, or be in harmonious proportion.
The meaning varies depending on the context. However, when hanging as a wall scroll, this will refer to the person (you) being balanced and in harmony while rational and under control simultaneously.
See Also: Musician
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Dance | 舞 | mai | wǔ / wu3 / wu | |
Dance | 舞踴 舞踊 | buyou / buyo | ||
Dance Dancing | 舞蹈 | butou / buto | wǔ dǎo / wu3 dao3 / wu dao / wudao | wu tao / wutao |
Dancer | 舞者 | wǔ zhě / wu3 zhe3 / wu zhe / wuzhe | wu che / wuche | |
Dancer | 舞蹈家 | wǔ dǎo jiā wu3 dao3 jia1 wu dao jia wudaojia | wu tao chia wutaochia |
|
Lion Dance | 舞獅 舞狮 | wǔ shī / wu3 shi1 / wu shi / wushi | wu shih / wushih | |
Lion Dance | 獅子舞 | shi shi mai shishimai | ||
Harmony Balance | 調和 调和 | chou wa / chouwa / cho wa | tiáo hé / tiao2 he2 / tiao he / tiaohe | t`iao ho / tiaoho / tiao ho |
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. |
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.