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Reading in Chinese / Japanese...

Buy a Reading calligraphy wall scroll here!

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


  1. Read / Reading

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

  3. Peacefulness / Tranquility / Perfectly Quiet

  4. Guide / Help / Cooperate

  5. Don’t Panic

  6. River of Literacy, Sea of Learning

  7. Love Yourself First

  8. Inner Peace / Silence / Serenity

  9. Chaos

10. Well-Disciplined / Orderly

11. Read

12. Student

13. Diligent Study Proverb

14. Appreciation and Love for Your Parents

15. Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity


Read / Reading

 yuè dú
Read / Reading Scroll

閱讀 is a Chinese word that refers to the act of reading or a suggestion to read (presumably books but could refer to any reading materials or text).

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.

Peacefulness / Tranquility / Perfectly Quiet

 jìng mì
 seihitsu
Peacefulness / Tranquility / Perfectly Quiet Scroll

靜 and 謐 both mean quiet. Together, 靜謐 reinforces the meanings, almost creating a word that means “double quiet” or “perfect quiet.”

A good wall scroll for a library, reading room, or another quiet place.


See Also:  Peace | Harmony

Guide / Help / Cooperate

 tí xié
 tei kei
Guide / Help / Cooperate Scroll

提携 varies a bit depending on which language you are reading it in.

提携 means to guide and help (younger people) in Chinese.
Cooperation or “working in concert” in Korean.
And cooperation, tie-up, joint business, and link-up in Japanese.

Don’t Panic

 bú yào kǒng huāng
Don’t Panic Scroll

If you need a strange homage to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this might be it.

不要恐慌 says “Don't Panic” in Chinese. A Chinese person who is not familiar with this masterpiece of a book, will not see the humor but that will be your chance to suggest reading some Douglas Adams (which has been translated into Chinese).

River of Literacy, Sea of Learning

 wén jiāng xué hǎi
River of Literacy, Sea of Learning Scroll

文江學海 is a Chinese proverb that reads, “river of literacy, a sea of learning”

This suggests that there is a lot to learn in the world, with an eternal amount of reading and things to study.

文江學海 is one way to translate the quote from Hippocrates, “ars longa, vita brevis,” meaning “it takes a long time to acquire and perfect one's expertise.”


See Also:  Learning is Eternal

Love Yourself First

 xiān ài nǐ zì jǐ
Love Yourself First Scroll

This directly translates as, “First, love yourself.”

Because this uses “yourself” instead of “myself,” this is a direction for those reading it. It could be the owner of the art or those who view it.

This would be weird as a tattoo, so please avoid it since for whom the tattoo is directed would be confusing.


See Also:  Love Myself First

Inner Peace / Silence / Serenity

 jìng
 shizu / sei
 
Inner Peace / Silence / Serenity Scroll

靜 is the simplest way to convey the meaning of inner peace and serenity.

靜 is often translated as “serenity.” It can also be used to express the ideas of still, calm, serene, quiet, silent, stillness, not moving, or tranquility.

In the old days, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean people might hang a wall scroll with this character in their reading room to bring about a sense of peace in the room.


静While they once used the same character form in Japan, they now use a slightly-simplified version in modern Japan (after WWII). This version is shown to the right, and can be selected for your wall scroll by clicking on that Kanji instead of the button above.


See Also:  Peace

 hùn dùn
 konton
Chaos Scroll

混沌 is the Japanese, Korean and Chinese word that means absolute confusion, disorder, and chaos.

This more directly refers to primal chaos or primeval chaos.

When reading something about Chinese mythology, you may find this term used to describe the formless mass before creation.

Chinese scientists sometimes use this word to refer to the nebulous state before the universe was formed or nebulosity.

In some contexts, this could mean “a state of confusion.”

Well-Disciplined / Orderly

Special Military Term

 yán zhěng
Well-Disciplined / Orderly Scroll

When reading an account of some battles in China, I came across the Chinese word, 嚴整. As it turns out, 嚴整 is only used in military circles to describe neat, orderly, and well-disciplined troops. Perhaps this is actually closer to the meaning I was taught while in the U.S. Marines.

The first character literally means stern, serious, strict, or severe (it can also mean airtight or watertight.
The second character means exact, in good order, whole, complete, and orderly.
Together, these two characters multiply each other into a word that expresses the highest military level of discipline.


See Also:  Self-Control | Will-Power

 yuè
 
Read Scroll

閱 is a Chinese character that means to read. It can also refer to observing (the world, and learning from it), or gaining life experiences. 閱 is a good character to relay the idea of being “well-read,” which can include reading books, studying, and learning through experience.

The dictionary definition also includes: to inspect; to review; to peruse; to go through; to experience.

Technically, this is also a Japanese Kanji but only some Japanese Buddhists use it (most of the population will not recognize it).

In Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, this means examining, inspecting, and/or looking over.

 xué shēng
 gakusei
Student Scroll

學生 is how to write “student” in Chinese, pre-WWII Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

If you are a “student of life,” this might be an interesting wall scroll to hang in your reading room.

The first character means “study” or “learning.”
The second character means “life” or “birth.” Don't read too much into that second character unless you decide that this means “the birth of studies” or “the life of learning.” Everyone in China, Japan (and those who can read Hanja in Korea) will just read this word with the meaning of “student.”

If you put the character for “little” in front of this word, it becomes “elementary school student.” Prefixed with “middle,” it becomes “middle school student.” Prefixed with “big,” it becomes “university student” (though when these two characters for student are seen alone, it often suggests “university student”). The term “high school student” is written differently.


学There is a very common simplified version of the first character for this word. You will see this form in modern Japan and mainland China, Singapore, and other places. If you want this simplified version, please click on the character shown to the right instead of the "select and customize" button above.

Diligent Study Proverb

Drill a hole in the wall to get light to read by.

 záo bì tōu guāng
Diligent Study Proverb Scroll

鑿壁偷光 is a Chinese proverb that means “Bore a hole in the wall to make use of the neighbor's light to study.”

This is a nice gift for a very studious person.

Kuang Heng was born during the Western Han period. He has been very fond of reading ever since he was young. However, he could not attend school since his family was poor, and he had to borrow books from people to learn.

To borrow these books, he normally did chores for people who had them. When he became older, he had to work in the field from sunrise to sunset since his family's financial situation did not improve. Thus, he tried to study at night, but he had no lamp.

One day, he noticed the light from the neighbor's house coming through a crack in the wall. This made him very happy, so he dug a larger hole from the crack and read in the light that shone through. This diligent study eventually made him an accomplished person.

Appreciation and Love for Your Parents

 shuí yán cùn cǎo xīn bào dé sān chūn huī
Appreciation and Love for Your Parents Scroll

誰言寸草心報得三春暉 is the last line of a famous poem. It is perceived as a tribute or ode to your parents or mother from a child or children that have left home.

The poem was written by Meng Jiao during the Tang Dynasty (about 1200 years ago). The Chinese title is “You Zi Yin” which means “The Traveler's Recite.”

The last line as shown here speaks of the generous and warm spring sunlight which gives the grass far beyond what the little grass can could ever give back (except perhaps by showing its lovely green leaves and flourishing). The metaphor is that the sun is your mother or parents, and you are the grass. Your parents raise you and give you all the love and care you need to prepare you for the world. A debt that you can never repay, nor is repayment expected.

The first part of the poem (not written in the characters to the left) suggests that the thread in a loving mother's hands is the shirt of her traveling offspring. Vigorously sewing while wishing them to come back sooner than they left.
...This part is really hard to translate into English that makes any sense but maybe you get the idea. We are talking about a poem that is so old that many Chinese people would have trouble reading it (as if it was the King James Version of Chinese).

Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity

 bù shī
 fuse
Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity Scroll

布施 is the Buddhist practice of giving known as Dāna or दान from Pali and Sanskrit.

Depending on the context, this can be alms-giving, acts of charity, or offerings (usually money) to a priest for reading sutras or teachings.

Some will put Dāna in these two categories:
1. The pure or unsullied charity, which looks for no reward here but only in the hereafter.
2. The sullied almsgiving whose object is personal benefit.
The first kind is, of course, the kind that a liberated or enlightened person will pursue.

Others will put Dāna in these categories:
1. Worldly or material gifts.
2. Unworldly or spiritual gifts.

You can also separate Dāna into these three kinds:
1. 財布施 Goods such as money, food, or material items.
2. 法布施 Dharma, as an act to teach or bestow the Buddhist doctrine onto others.
3. 無畏布施 Courage, as an act of facing fear to save someone or when standing up for someone or standing up for righteousness.

The philosophies and categorization of Dāna will vary among various monks, temples, and sects of Buddhism.

Breaking down the characters separately:
(sometimes written ) means to spread out or announce, but also means cloth. In ancient times, cloth or robs were given to the Buddhist monks annually as a gift of alms - I need to do more research, but I believe there is a relationship here.
means to grant, to give, to bestow, to act, to carry out, and by itself can mean Dāna as a single character.

Dāna can also be expressed as 檀那 (pronounced “tán nà” in Mandarin and dan-na or だんな in Japanese). 檀那 is a transliteration of Dāna. However, it has colloquially come to mean some unsavory or unrelated things in Japanese. So, I think 布施 is better for calligraphy on your wall to remind you to practice Dāna daily (or whenever possible).




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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Read
Reading
閱讀
阅读
yuè dú / yue4 du2 / yue du / yueduyüeh tu / yüehtu
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
Peacefulness
Tranquility
Perfectly Quiet
靜謐
静谧
seihitsujìng mì / jing4 mi4 / jing mi / jingmiching mi / chingmi
Guide
Help
Cooperate
提携tei kei / teikeití xié / ti2 xie2 / ti xie / tixiet`i hsieh / tihsieh / ti hsieh
Don’t Panic不要恐慌bú yào kǒng huāng
bu2 yao4 kong3 huang1
bu yao kong huang
buyaokonghuang
pu yao k`ung huang
puyaokunghuang
pu yao kung huang
River of Literacy, Sea of Learning文江學海
文江学海
wén jiāng xué hǎi
wen2 jiang1 xue2 hai3
wen jiang xue hai
wenjiangxuehai
wen chiang hsüeh hai
wenchianghsüehhai
Love Yourself First先愛你自己
先爱你自己
xiān ài nǐ zì jǐ
xian1 ai4 ni3 zi4 ji3
xian ai ni zi ji
xianainiziji
hsien ai ni tzu chi
hsienainitzuchi
Inner Peace
Silence
Serenity

shizu / seijìng / jing4 / jingching
Chaos混沌kontonhùn dùn / hun4 dun4 / hun dun / hundunhun tun / huntun
Well-Disciplined
Orderly
嚴整
严整
yán zhěng
yan2 zheng3
yan zheng
yanzheng
yen cheng
yencheng
Read
yuè / yue4 / yueyüeh
Student學生
学生
gakuseixué shēng
xue2 sheng1
xue sheng
xuesheng
hsüeh sheng
hsüehsheng
Diligent Study Proverb鑿壁偷光
凿壁偷光
záo bì tōu guāng
zao2 bi4 tou1 guang1
zao bi tou guang
zaobitouguang
tsao pi t`ou kuang
tsaopitoukuang
tsao pi tou kuang
Appreciation and Love for Your Parents誰言寸草心報得三春暉
谁言寸草心报得三春晖
shuí yán cùn cǎo xīn bào dé sān chūn huī
shui2 yan2 cun4 cao3 xin1 bao4 de2 san1 chun1 hui1
shui yan cun cao xin bao de san chun hui
shui yen ts`un ts`ao hsin pao te san ch`un hui
shui yen tsun tsao hsin pao te san chun hui
Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity布施fusebù shī / bu4 shi1 / bu shi / bushipu shih / pushih
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 Reading 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.

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

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