Amazing Shocking Astonished in Chinese / Japanese...

愕然 is a Chinese and Japanese word meaning amazing, shocking, astonishment, shock, or amazement.

アメイジング・グレイス is the Japanese Katakana for Amazing Grace.

This phonetically sounds like the English, “Amazing Grace” but does not hold that meaning since it is a transliteration versus a translation.

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

奇異恩典 is the title, “Amazing Grace” in Chinese.

The first two characters can also mean amazing, fantastic, exotic, astonishing, odd, strange, wonderful, extraordinary, uncommon, or rare.

The last two characters mean “grace,” as in “grace or favor of/from God.”

The meaning of 藏龍臥虎 is that both the tiger and dragon have amazing talents, but if they are out of view, you may not have discovered them.

This old Chinese idiom/proverb is appropriate for someone with an amazing ability that keeps that ability hidden.

You might think this title is in reverse, but actually, this is the original Chinese proverb.
The movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, popularized this alternate version.

內秀 is an interesting word in Chinese that simultaneously means inner beauty and inner wisdom.

Some will translate it as “intelligent but unassuming.”
It's about having amazing abilities or traits on the inside which are not immediately obvious on the outside.

殺戮 is how to write “kill” or “massacre.”

殺戮 is an absolutely shocking word to have on a wall scroll. It will bewilder, scare, and perhaps offend any Chinese, Korean or Japanese person who sees it. I do not in any way recommend this for a piece of calligraphy artwork. This entry is only here because our calligraphy search engine received many requests for “kill” and “massacre.”

You are all a bunch of sick puppies!

復讐 can be translated as revenge, avenge, reprisal, or vengeance in Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja.

復讐 is a very odd selection for a calligraphy scroll. This would be unusual, if not shocking, to a Japanese or Korean person that views such calligraphy artwork.

We do not recommend this for a wall scroll - it is here for educational and reference purposes only.

殺 is how to write “to kill” or “killing.”

殺 is an absolutely shocking word to have on a wall scroll. It will bewilder, scare, and perhaps offend any Chinese, Korean, or Japanese person who sees it. I do not in any way recommend this for a piece of calligraphy artwork. This entry is only here because our calligraphy search engine received so many requests for “kill.”

Note: In Korean Hanja, this character is not often used alone - see the other two-character entry for “kill.”

These two characters can be translated as revenge, avenge, reprisal or vengeance.

This is actually a very odd selection for a calligraphy scroll. This would be unusual, if not shocking, to a Japanese or Chinese person that views such calligraphy artwork. Also, my Japanese translator has indicated this word is rather obscure in modern Japanese (see our Japanese version of this bad word).

We do not recommend this for a wall scroll - it is here for educational and reference purposes only.

禪悅 is a title that refers to the inner bliss and peace you can achieve from meditation.

This term transcends a few religions, including Taoism and Buddhism. It can also be translated as “joy of the mystic trance” or simply “meditative bliss.”

Amazing that such a complex idea can be expressed in just two Chinese characters. Note that the first character is Chan/Zen (Chinese/Japanese), which means “meditation” in both languages.

In China, 哄堂大笑 is a proverb that is used in response to a good joke or witty comment.

The story goes that Mr. Feng and Mr. He were both senior officials in the Song Dynasty (about a thousand years ago). One day, Mr. Feng walked into their shared office wearing a new pair of boots. The boots caught the eye of Mr. He who said, “New boots! - how much were they?.” Mr. Feng lifted one of the boots off the ground as if to show it off and responded, “900 coins.”
Astonished, Mr. Feng explained, “900? How can that be? - I paid 1800 coins for my boots!.” Mr. Feng then lifted his other foot off the ground and said, “This boot was also 900 coins.”

It is said that the whole room was shaking from the laughter of all that heard Mr. Feng's joke on Mr. He.

龍馬精神 is an old proverb that is used to wish someone good health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is “The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse.” These four characters are often accompanied by four more which mean “...and the power and prestige of the tiger.” Here we are just offering the first part which is considered the short version.

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have an amazing quality. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse would seem to also be in good health.

Note: In Japanese, this would be read as the spirit of 坂本龍馬 (Sakamoto_Ryōma), a beloved rebel who help abolish the old Japanese feudal system. This can be confusing, so I am declaring this proverb to be Chinese only.

真如 comes from the Sanskrit and Pali word often romanized as “tathata” or “tathatā.” Originally written, “तथता.”

It's a Buddhist term often translated as “thusness” or “suchness,” but this does not explain it.
A better explanation may be “the ultimate nature of all things” or “ultimate truth.” However, this gives it too strong of a feeling. This concept is sometimes described as being in awe of the simple nature of something - like a blade of grass blowing in the wind or ripples on water. It is what it is supposed to be, these things follow their nature. Amazing in their mundane simplicity.

Every sect of Buddhism will have a slightly different flavor or explanation, so don't get fixated on one definition.

Notes: Sometimes Buddhists use the word dharmatā, a synonym to tathatā.

In Japan, this can also be the female given name Mayuki, or the surname Majo.