If you seek eternal life or long life artwork, we can create a custom wall scroll or portrait for you to complete your quest.
1. Eternal Life / Everlasting Life / Immortality
3. Optimism / Happy With Your Fate
4. Alive
6. Banzai
7. Beautiful Life / Life in Perfect Harmony
8. Birth / Life
9. The Tree of Enlightenment / The Bodhi Tree
11. Triple Truth of Japanese Buddhism
12. Carpe Diem / Seize the Day
13. Choose Life
16. Embrace Life / Embrace Living
17. Embrace Life
18. Enjoy Life
19. Eternal Beauty
20. Eternal Energy / Eternal Matter
21. Eternal Friendship / Friends Forever
24. Eternal Love
25. Eternal Peace
29. Eternity / Always and Forever
30. Everyday Life
31. Rise and Fall / Ups and Downs
32. Forever Love
33. Forever Young / Eternal Youth
35. Eternal Friendship / Friends Forever
36. The Good Life / Beautiful Life
38. Guan Shi Yin: Protector Of Life
39. The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering
40. Infinite Love
41. A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding
42. Jesus is My Life
43. Through the Ups and Downs of Life
45. Life in Harmony / Balanced Life
46. Life in Balance / Balancing Life
47. Life in Harmony / Balanced Life
48. Life Energy / Spiritual Energy
49. Life Force
51. Life Goes On
52. A Life of Happiness and Prosperity
56. Life is Good / Life is Beautiful
57. Life is Good
58. Life is Short
60. Life is What You Make of It
61. Journey of Life
64. Life of Love
65. Life of Serenity
66. Life with Love
67. Life is Fun
68. Life is Good
69. Live For The Day
70. Live For The Day / Seize The Day
72. Live Laugh Love
74. Longevity / Long Life Wishes
76. Eternal Love / Love Eternally
77. Love Forever / Love Eternal
78. Live Laugh Love
79. Love Life
80. Music is Life
82. New Beginning
83. New Life
84. Freedom from Anger and Worry Yields Longevity
85. No Regrets
86. There is No Royal Road to Learning
87. The Sea of Knowledge Has No Limits
88. Open the Minds of the Next Generation To Stimulate Thinking
89. Peach / Peaches
90. Better to sacrifice your life than your principles
92. River of Literacy, Sea of Learning
93. Sacrifice
94. The Single Life
95. Soul Mates
96. Such is Life
97. Such is Life / Such is Destiny
98. This is Life
99. Thug Life
100. Vitality
101. Way of Life / Art of Life
103. Prosperous Life
104. The two most important days in your life...
105. Reincarnation / Life in Flux
107. My life is complete because of you
108. Breath of Life
110. Life is a Dew Drop
永生 are the last two words from John 3:16 in the Chinese Union Bible.
Although not specifically Christian, this is the way to express ever-lasting life or eternal life in Chinese.
In Japanese, this can either mean eternal life or immortality.
See Also: Eternity | Rebirth | Reincarnation | Immortality
來世 is a word that can be used in many different ways.
It is often used to express the next life (life in heaven or wherever your soul is bound for). So it does have a religious overtone. However, it can also be used to express your life in the future - perhaps during your present lifetime.
It can also be translated as “the next world,” “the next generation,” “the time that is to come,” “otherworld,” or simply “posterity.”
See Also: Eternity | Rebirth | Reincarnation | Immortality
樂天 is about being optimistic and also making the best of whatever life throws at you.
This is hard to define. One dictionary defines this as “acceptance of fate and happy about it.” There is one English word equivalent, which is sanguinity or sanguinary.
You can also say that this means “Be happy with whatever Heaven provides,” or “Find happiness in whatever fate Heaven bestows upon you.” 樂天 suggests being an optimist in life.
Note: This is sometimes a given name in China.
Please note that Japanese tend to write the first character in a slightly-different form (as seen to the right). Let us know if you have a preference when you place your order.
Old Japanese / Traditional Chinese & Korean
萬歲 is the traditional Chinese, Korean Hanja, and ancient Japanese way of writing banzai.
In modern times, the first character was simplified in Japan and China. So you might want to select the other entry for universal readability.
While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui,” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.
Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. 萬歲 is what all people would yell to their leader in respect.
So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.
Other translations include Cheers! (not the drinking kind), hurrah!, long live [name]!, and congratulations!
To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.
Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other.
Modern Japanese Version
万歲 is the modern Japanese way to write banzai.
We've made two almost identical entries for this word, with just a variation on the first character. In the last century, 萬 was simplified to 万 in Japan and China. The new generation will expect it to be written as 万 but the old generation can still read the more traditional 萬 form. You must make your determination as to what version is best for you. If your audience is mostly Japanese, I suggest 万歲.
While it has become a popular, if not an odd, thing to scream as you jump out of an airplane (preferably with a parachute attached), banzai is actually a very old Asian way to say “hooray.” The Japanese word “banzai” comes from the Chinese word “wan sui” which means “The age of 10,000 years.” It is actually a wish that the Emperor or the Empire live that long.
Imagine long ago when the Emperor made a rare public appearance. This is what all of the people would yell to their leader in respect.
So if you like it as a hooray, or you want to wish someone that they live for 10,000 years, this is the calligraphy for you.
To other things with banzai in their names, I am still waiting for the promised sequel to Buckaroo Banzai.
Other translations: hurrah, long life, congratulations, cheers, live long.
Notes: Sometimes people confuse banzai with bonsai. A bonsai is a miniature tree. They have nothing to do with each other. Further, Bonzai is not a word at all - although it would make a great name for a calcium supplement for older people.
和美 is a word that means “harmonious” or, “in perfect harmony.”
The deeper meaning or more natural translation would be something like, “beautiful life.”
The first character means peace and harmony.
The second character means beautiful. But in this case, when combined with the first character, beautiful refers to being satisfied with what you have in your life. This can be having good relations, good feelings, comfort, and having enough (with no feeling of wanting).
Note: In Japanese, this is often used as the name "Wami." This title is probably more appropriate if your audience is Chinese.
生 is a Chinese word that means “to be born” and “to give birth.”
Also, it's often used to refer to life itself, and sometimes “to grow.”
生 is used in a lot of compound words such as “yi sheng,” which means “doctor” (literally “healer of life”), “sheng ri” which means “birthday” (literally “birth-day”), and “xue sheng” which means student (literally “studying life” or “learner [about] life”). Few Chinese people will think of the literal meaning when this uses words like doctor and student - but it is interesting to note.
生 has the same root meaning in Korean Hanja and Japanese. However, in Japanese, there are many possible pronunciations, and this can be used to mean “raw” or “unprocessed” (as in draft beer). Therefore, not be the best if your audience is Japanese.
See Also: Vitality
菩提樹 is the full title of the Bodhi tree (a fig tree) under which Siddhartha Gautama (the legendary man who established the Buddhist religion), achieved enlightenment.
Sometimes this is referred to as “the tree of enlightenment.” If you don't have a Bodhi tree to sit under, maybe you can achieve enlightenment under a wall scroll with this title.
愛は全てを完全に結ぶ帯である is a Japanese phrase that suggests we (or a couple) are bound together by love.
I searched the web and found all of these English translation variations for this phrase:
Have love; The only way in which you may be completely joined together.
Love is the sash that perfectly binds us together.
Love is what binds us together
Love binds all things together in perfect unity.
This same Japanese phrase is used as part of Colossians 3:14 in at least one version of the Japanese Bible.
A few Biblical versions include:
...Charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (KJV)
...Love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (NIV)
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
人間性を再生するのは寛容な心親切な言葉奉仕と思いやりの精神 is known as the Triple Truth of Buddhism in Japanese.
The Buddha ordered that all should know this triple truth...
A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things that renew humanity.
That is the English translation most commonly used for this Japanese Buddhist phrase. You might have seen this on a coffee cup or tee shirt.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
選擇生活 can mean to choose life instead of death (or suicide) or to choose to live life to the fullest.
I think of it as the key phrase used by Renton (Ewan McGregor) in the movie Trainspotting. While Chinese people will not think of Trainspotting when they see this phrase, for me, it will always be what comes near the end of this colorful rant:
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin can openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on-hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.
死而無悔 is how to say “die with no regrets” in Mandarin Chinese.
This proverb comes from the Analects of Confucius.
See Also: No Regrets
喫喝玩樂及時行樂 is just about the closest proverb to match the western idea of “Eat, drink, and be merry.”
This is a Chinese proverb that more literally means “Eat, drink, play, be merry, enjoy everything as long as you can.”
It's basically a suggestion that you try to enjoy everything in life, as long as you live, or as long as you are able.
人生を楽しみにしている is one way to write “enjoy life” in Japanese.
The character breakdown:
人生 (jinsei) life (i.e. conception to death) human lifetime, living.
を (o) connecting particle.
楽しみ (tanoshimi) enjoyment; pleasure; anticipation; looking forward to.
に (ni) connecting particle.
し (shi) to do; to cause; to become; to make (into).
て (te) connecting particle.
いる (iru) indicates continuing action or resulting state.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
不來不去 is a Buddhist term, originally anāgamana-nirgama from Sanskrit.
This implies that things are neither coming into nor going out of existence.
This can also mean “all things are eternal,” or others will call this the Buddhist concept of the eternal conservation of energy.
This theory predates Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton.
Note: 不來不去 is not a well-known word for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, so not all will recognize it.
永遠の友 is a Japanese phrase about eternal friendship.
The first two characters mean eternal, eternity, perpetuity, forever, immortality, and permanence.
The third character is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “Love, of the eternal kind.”
The last character is “friend” or “Friendship.”
See Also: Best Friends
永遠の幸福 means “eternal happiness” in Japanese.
永遠 means eternal, eternity, perpetuity, forever, immortality, and permanence.
の is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “happiness, of the eternal kind.”
幸福 means happiness, though this word can be translated as truly blessed, joy, happy, welfare, well-being, or fortunate.
永恆的愛 is the best way to write “Eternal Love” in Chinese.
The first two characters mean eternal, eternally, everlasting, and/or perpetual.
The third character is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “Love of the eternal kind.”
The last character is “love.”
This version is best if your audience is Chinese. We also have a Japanese version of eternal love.
See Also: Forever Love | Eternal Love (Japanese)
永遠の愛 is a great way to write “Eternal Love” in Japanese.
The first two characters mean eternal, eternity, perpetuity, forever, immortality, and permanence.
The third character is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “Love, of the eternal kind.”
The last character is “love.”
Cultural note: Most of the time, it is taboo to use the word “love” in Japanese. For instance, a Japanese man will say, “I like you,” rather than, “I love you,” to his spouse/girlfriend. However, this entry for eternal love is acceptable because of the way it is composed.
This entry is only appropriate if your audience is Japanese. We also have a Chinese version of this eternal love.
This Chinese philosophy tells of how we continue to learn throughout our lives.
This proverb can be translated in a few ways such as “Study has no end,” “Knowledge is infinite,” “No end to learning,” “There's always something new to study,” or “You live and learn.”
The deeper meaning: Even when we finish school we are still students of the world gaining more knowledge from our surroundings with each passing day.
See Also: An Open Book Benefits Your Mind | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom
幸福永恆 is a short way to say eternal happiness in Chinese.
Breaking down the parts:
幸福 means happiness, happy, blessed, blessedness, joy, and/or well-being.
永恆 means eternal, everlasting, and/or forever.
Another way to write this is 永恆的幸福. It reverses the word order and adds a possessive article. I prefer the shorter version, which is slightly more natural in Chinese.
永恆 is the Chinese word for eternity.
The first character means always, forever, and perpetual. The second character holds the meaning of permanent. Together, they create a word that means eternal, eternally, or infinite time.
See Also: Immortality
永遠 is the Chinese, Korean and Japanese word for forever.
If we take this word apart, the first character means always, forever, or perpetual. While the second character means far or distant.
See Also: Immortality
日常生活 simply means everyday life or regular life.
You can also translate it as “Living day to day.”
Eiko-Seisui
This Japanese proverb can be translated as “flourish and wither, prosper and perish,” “life is full of fortune and misfortune,” or simply “vicissitudes of life.”
栄枯盛衰 / 榮枯盛衰 is about the rise and fall of human affairs or the ups and downs of life. Prosperity comes and goes, everything is fleeting and temporary, but like waves, another swell of prosperity may come.
Here's how the Kanji break down in this proverb:
栄 = prosper; thrive; flourish; boom.
枯 = wither; die.
盛 = prosperous; flourishing; thriving; successful; energetic; vigorous; enthusiastic.
衰 = become weaker; decline; get weak; die down; subside; abate; fail.
Notes: The original version of the first character looks like the image to the right. In modern Japan, they simplified that Kanji a bit into the version shown above. If you have a preference for which style is used for your calligraphy, please let me know when you place your order.
Apparently, with that original version of the first character, this is also used in Korean Hanja. However, I have not confirmed that
it’s
used in the same way or is widely-known in Korean.
永遠的愛 refers to love that will last forever.
The first two characters mean forever, eternal, eternity, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence.
The third character is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “The forever kind of love.”
The last character is “love.”
See Also: Eternal Love Always
永遠的朋友 means friends that are eternal or a friendship that will last forever - you will remain the best of friends as long as you live.
The first two characters mean forever, eternal, eternity, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence.
The middle character links the words (it's a possessive article).
The last two characters represent friendship, or simply “friends.”
淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.
This is a Chinese proverb that means “Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world).”
What I have translated as “simple life” means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.
The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.
See Also: Serenity
耶穌是我的生命 means Jesus is my life in Chinese.
The first two characters are a transliteration of the name Jesus into Mandarin Chinese.
The third character means, is.
The fourth and fifth mean my or mine.
The last two characters mean life, as in lifespan, or from birth to death.
This is not a common phrase for Chinese Christians, but this is the best way to translate this idea from English to Mandarin Chinese.
同甘共苦 is a Chinese proverb that talks of “shared delights and common hardships.”
This can be translated and understood in a few different ways, including...
To share life's joys and sorrows.
For better or for worse.
Through joys and sorrows of life.
Through all life's ups and downs.
To go through thick and thin.
To stick together through thick and thin.
To share the joys and sorrows of life.
To share pleasures and pains.
To partake in each other's joys and sorrows.
To take “for better or for worse.”
活人剣 is a Japanese title for “life-saving sword” or “katsujinken.”
This title suggests that a sword used for killing can also be used for saving or giving life.
See Also: Satsujinken
Harmonious Life
This 和諧生活 title suggests that you have, or want to get your life in balance.
The first two characters regard the idea of balance, harmony, and peace.
The second two characters mean “life.” More specifically this refers to your livelihood, career, and the daily activities that comprise your life or living. Some would translate those two characters as “one's daily existence.”
Note: We have a couple of titles for this idea. This version is more of a noun, thus "The Balanced Life" verses a verb form like "Balancing [Your] Life."
The art of balancing your life
This 平衡人生 title suggests that you are actively trying to keep your life in balance.
Think of this as the action verb of seeking or having a balanced life.
The first two characters mean balance, equilibrium, or keeping things equal.
The last two characters mean “life.” Literally “human life.”
調和生活 is a Japanese title that suggests that you have, or want to get your life in balance.
The first two Kanji mean harmonious or in harmony.
The second two Kanji mean “life.” More specifically this refers to your livelihood, career, and the daily activities that comprise your life or living.
Chi Energy: Essence of Life / Energy Flow
This 氣 energy flow is a fundamental concept of traditional Asian culture.
氣 is romanized as “Qi” or “Chi” in Chinese, “Gi” in Korean, and “Ki” in Japanese.
Chi is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in “life force” or “spiritual energy.” It is most often translated as “energy flow” or literally as “air” or “breath.” Some people will simply translate this as “spirit,” but you must consider the kind of spirit we're talking about. I think this is weighted more toward energy than spirit.
The character itself is a representation of steam (or breath) rising from rice. To clarify, the character for rice looks like this:
Steam was apparently seen as visual evidence of the release of “life energy” when this concept was first developed. The Qi / Chi / Ki character is still used in compound words to mean steam or vapor.
The etymology of this character is a bit complicated. It's suggested that the first form of this character from bronze script (about 2500 years ago) looked like these samples:
However, it was easy to confuse this with the character for the number three. So the rice radical was added by 221 B.C. (the exact time of this change is debated). This first version with the rice radical looks like this:
The idea of Qi / Chi / Ki is really a philosophical concept. It's often used to refer to the “flow” of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings. Yet there is much debate that has continued for thousands of years as to whether Qi / Chi / Ki is pure energy or consists partially or fully of matter.
You can also see the character for Qi / Chi / Ki in common compound words such as Tai Chi / Tai Qi, Aikido, Reiki, and Qi Gong / Chi Kung.
In the modern Japanese Kanji, the rice radical has been changed into two strokes that form an X.
The original and traditional Chinese form is still understood in Japanese, but we can also offer that modern Kanji form in our custom calligraphy. If you want this Japanese Kanji, please click on the character to the right instead of the “Select and Customize” button above.
More language notes: This is pronounced like “chee” in Mandarin Chinese, and like “key” in Japanese.
This is also the same way to write this in Korean Hanja where it is Romanized as “gi” and pronounced like “gee” but with a real G-sound, not a J-sound.
Though Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters in their daily language, this character is still widely known in Vietnam.
See Also: Energy | Life Force | Vitality | Birth | Soul
This Chinese, Korean and Japanese word means “life force” or simply “life.”
The first character means “life” or “birth.” The second means “life” or “fate.” Together they create the meaning of “life force,” though some will translate this as “existence” and sometimes “vitality.”
生活在繼續 means “No matter what happens, life goes on” or “For better or worse, life goes on.”
生活在繼續 is kind of modern Chinese proverb, but the meaning is generational.
生活 = to live; life; livelihood.
在 = (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress).
繼續 = to continue; to proceed with; to go on with.
人生は続く is a Japanese phrase that expresses, “Life Goes On.”
The first two characters mean “life” (literally “human life”).
The third character is a particle that connects the ideas in this phrase.
The last two characters mean “to continue,” “to last,” “to go on,” and “to occur again and again.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
幸福成功的一生 means “A life of happiness and prosperity” or “A life of happiness and success.”
It's a very positive and inspirational wall scroll selection.
See Also: Prosperity
幸福と繁栄の人生 is a Japanese proverb that means “A life of happiness and prosperity” or “A life of happiness and success.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Prosperity
生活中的每一次呼吸 means “life in every breath” in Chinese.
This phrase is more like “every breath in life” as if it's a quantity of breaths that makes up your life.
There are many ways to understand this phrase in English, so this is one of a few ways it could be translated into Chinese. If you’re looking for a different meaning, please contact me.
吐く息一つにも生命が宿り means “life in every breath” in Japanese.
This phrase is more like “every single breath as you live and dwell.”
The characters breakdown this way:
吐く息 (hakuiki) to breathe; exhaled air; one's breath; breathing.
一つ (hitotsu) one; only; just.
にも (nimo) also; too; as well; even.
生命 (seimei) life; existence; living.
が (ga) particle.
宿り (yadori) to lodge; to dwell; lodging; abode; shelter.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
人生は素晴らしい means “life is good,” “life is great,” or “life is beautiful” in Japanese.
The first two characters mean “life” (as in your or a human lifespan).
The third character kind of means “is.”
The last five characters are a long adjective that means wonderful, splendid, and/or magnificent. In the context of life, it reads more like good or beautiful.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
A 100-year-old is but a traveler passing through this life
人生は短い is “life is short” in Japanese.
The character breakdown:
人生 (jinsei) life (i.e., conception to death); human life, living, lifetime.
は (ha/wa) particle (means “is” in this case).
短い (mijikai) short.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
If you believe that life is a journey, this is a nice Japanese title for your wall.
人生行路 means “journey of life” in Japanese Kanji. The actual word order is more like “life (人生) journey (行路)” as Japanese grammar is a bit different than English.
Note: The “journey” part can also be translated as “road,” so this is also how to say “the road of life.”
生活 means life, living, to live, or the state of being alive. It can also refer to your daily existence or livelihood. It can also be a suggestion to just “Live life.”
生活 is also the term used in other titles such as “healthy living” or Lance Armstrong's “Livestrong” campaign (Chinese title for Livestrong only).
If you need a reminder that you are alive and to take a breath, this might be the perfect wall scroll for you.
愛情生活 is the Chinese proverb for “Loving Life.” Some also translate this as “[your] Loving Life” or “Life full of Love.”
This is about being a loving person (to your spouse and/or family) during your life. This is not the same as loving the state of being alive - not “love of living” but rather “being a loving person during your life.”
Note: Korean pronunciation is included above, though use of this proverb in Korean has not been verified.
This proverb can be understood in Japanese but
it’s
primarily a Chinese proverb (it will "feel" Chinese to a Japanese person).
活在今天 is not an eastern concept, so it does not translate into a phrase that seems natural on a wall scroll.
However, if this is your philosophy, the characters shown here do capture your idea of living for today or living in the moment. 活在今天 says “Live in today,” and they are grammatically correct in Chinese.
Note: This kind of makes sense in Korean Hanja but the grammar is Chinese, so it’s not that natural in Korean.
今を生きる is a Japanese phrase that can be translated as “live for the day,” “live for the moment,” “seize the day,” or “make the most of the present.”
You can think of this as the Japanese version of “Carpe Diem.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
人生謳歌 means “live for what you love” in Japanese.
The first two characters mean “human life” or simply “living.” The last two characters mean “merit,” “prosperity,” or “what you enjoy.” This phrase can suggest working or staying busy for your own goals (in your career).
See Also: Prosperity
In English, the word order shown in the title is the most natural or popular. In Chinese, the natural order is a little different:
The first character means laugh (sometimes means smile).
The second character means love.
The last two characters mean “live” as in “to be alive” or “pursue life.”
Please note: 笑愛生活 is not a normal phrase in that it does not have a subject, verb, or object. It is a word list. Word lists are not common in Asian languages/grammar (at least not as normal as in English). We only added this entry because so many people requested it.
We put the characters in the order shown above, as it almost makes a single word with the meaning “A life of laughter and love.” It's a made-up word, but it sounds good in Chinese.
We removed the Japanese pronunciation guide from this entry, as the professional Japanese translator deemed it "near nonsense" from a Japanese perspective. Choose this only if your audience is Chinese and you want the fewest-possible characters to express this idea.
In Korean, this would be 소애생활 or "so ae saeng hwar" but I have not confirmed that this makes sense in Korean.
生而無悔 is how to say “live without regrets” in Mandarin Chinese.
Note: There is some debate about whether this makes sense in Japanese. It would be read, "nama ji mu ke," and be understood in Japanese. But, a Japanese person will probably think it’s Chinese (not Japanese).
See Also: Live for Today
人生悔い無し is how to say “live without regrets” in Japanese.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Live for Today
A wish for a long and prosperous life
福如東海壽比南山 is a phrase that means “May you have good fortune as great as the eastern oceans, and may your life last as long as the southern mountains.”
In ancient Chinese mythology, the eastern oceans and southern mountains are where God resides (basically it is the same as saying “heaven”). So it's like saying, “May your good fortune and life be as vast as the heavens.”
There is also a longer, 14-character version of this phrase. Also, this can be cut into two scrolls (with half the phrase on each side - great for hanging on either side of a doorway). Just let me know if you'd like a special version (there is an additional cost).
南山之壽 is a wish for long life for someone. The first part of this Japanese phrase is “Nan Zan,” which means “south mountain.” This mountain is one of the good wishes, good fortune, and prosperity. The title is often used as a salutation of good wishes.
The third Kanji is just a connector, and the last Kanji means long life or longevity.
I guess you could translate this phrase as “May your life be as long as Nan Zan is tall.”
Used as a noun, this word means “longevity” or “the ability to live long.”
It can also be an adjective meaning “long-lived.”
Please note that Japanese use a simplified version of the second character of longevity - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version of this two-character longevity calligraphy.
愛永恆 is the shortest way to express the idea of “love eternally” in Chinese.
The first character here means “love”
The last two mean eternal, eternally, everlasting, and/or perpetual.
See Also: Love Forever
The first character here means “love.”
The last two mean forever, eternity, eternal, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence.
愛永遠 is the shortest and most universal way to express this idea in Chinese and Japanese.
Japanese note: This sound more like a title than a phrase in Japanese (if that makes any sense). 愛永遠 is a great title for a romantic book, the title of a movie, the name of a perfume, or even a name for a store.
See Also: Eternal Love | Forever Love
Because a word list of “Live Laugh Love” is not natural in Japanese, this takes the concept and incorporates it into a proper phrase.
愛と笑いの生活 can be translated as “A life of love and laughter” or “Live life with love and laughter.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
熱愛生命 is the Chinese phrase for “Love Life” or “Love of Life.”
If you love your life or want a reminder on your wall to keep you loving your life each day, this is the selection for you.
To clarify, this is different than “A life full of love,” or “love while you live.” With this phrase, you are loving the state of being alive.
Note: Korean pronunciation is included above, though use of this phrase in Korean has not been verified.
My life, I call the shots
我的生活我做主 is a Chinese phrase that can be translated as “My life, my rules,” or “My life, I call the shots.”
The first four characters say, “my life.”
The fifth character is I, me, and/or my.
The last two characters can be interpreted in a variety of ways, just as to make the decision, to take charge of, to call the shot, or to make the rule.
伊始 is a short version of “new beginning” or simply “beginning” in Chinese characters.
You can also translate this as “from this moment on,” “starting now,” or “henceforth.”
In the day-to-day speech, this word can apply to starting a new job, beginning a new career, entering a new chapter of your life, or taking a new position (in politics, scholarship, etc.).
新たな始まり is a Japanese word that means “new beginning” or “new start.”
Here's the character breakdown:
新た (arata) = new; fresh; novel; newly; freshly; or this can be like the prefix “re-” like “re-start” or “reset.”
な (na) is kind of a connecting article. This glues “new” to “beginning.”
始まり (hajimari) = origin; beginning.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
新生 literally means “new life” or “new birth” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Depending on the context, this word can also mean newborn, new student, rebirth, new birth, or nascent.
In Japanese, this can be the given name Wakaki.
Note: This is not the most common word selection for a calligraphy wall scroll. But if you’re a westerner, you can bend the rules a bit.
This literally means “new life” or “new livelihood” in Japanese Kanji.
新生活 is most appropriate if you are starting a new career or otherwise are starting a new chapter in your life or a new beginning.
Note: This is not the most common word selection for a calligraphy wall scroll. But if you’re a westerner, you can bend the rules a bit.
無悔 is how to say “no regrets” in Mandarin Chinese.
This also makes sense in Japanese, though not the most common way to express “no regrets” in Japanese.
See Also: Live for Today
求學無坦途 is a Chinese proverb that translates as “There is no royal road to learning.”
This suggests that the path of learning can never be smooth, there will be difficulties and troubles along the way.
See Also: Learning is Eternal
學海無涯 is a Chinese proverb that reads, “sea of learning, no horizon.”
Colloquially, it means there are no limits to what one still has left to learn.
This would be the Chinese equivalent to 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
This word is often used to describe the idea of opening the minds of the young or the new generation.
See Also: Wisdom | Learning is Eternal | Learn From Wisdom
桃 means peach or peaches (Prunus persica) in Chinese, old Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.
In Chinese culture, the peach represents longevity or long life.
This can also be the Japanese surname, Momosaki.
捨生取義 is a Chinese proverb that comes from the philosopher Mencius.
It can be translated in a few different ways:
To give up life for righteousness.
To choose honor over life
Better to sacrifice one's life than one's principles.
生活信條 is a Chinese proverb that means “principles of life” or “The personal obligations and rules that you live by.”
For instance, if you were a vegetarian, the act of not eating meat fits into this category.
This could also be translated as a “Way of living.”
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
犧牲 means sacrifice in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
There is a suggestion in this word that this regards sacrificing your life.
Note: Depending on the context, this can also mean victim or scapegoat in Japanese.
In original and ancient Chinese, this word referred to sacrificial animals. It can still have this meaning in a Buddhist context.
The version of the first character used in modern Japan looks like the image to the right. If you order this from the Japanese master calligrapher, it will be written in this Japanese version.
Dokushin-Kizoku
独身贵族 is a Japanese proverb that means “Single Aristocrat” or “Single Noble.”
The understood meaning is that single people can live freely without a spouse or kids to support them. To put it in an old cliché, they are footloose and fancy-free.
If you are a bachelor or bachelorette with few responsibilities and just a thirst for freedom and a worry-free life, this could be your title.
靈魂伴侶 is the literal translation of “Soul Mates.”
This is kind of the western way to express “soul mates” but translated into Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
The first two characters mean “soul” or “spirit.”
The second two characters mean “mate,” “companion” or “partner.”
Although not the most common title, these characters have good meaning and will be received well in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. It's a universal title!
暴徒生活 is probably the best way to say “Thug Life” in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
It's a strange title, to be sure, so expect native Asian people to be confused when they see your Thug Life calligraphy.
The first two characters mean bandit, thug, ruffian, insurgent, rioter, or mob.
The last two characters mean life, live, or living.
生命力 can mean “vitality” or “libido.”
The first two characters mean “life” or “life force.” The last character is a common word that means “strength.” So together, you get the meaning of “life strength” which is the essence of vitality.
Some will also translate this word as “good health.”
See Also: Life Force | Health
生活法 is a Japanese and Chinese title meaning “art of living” or “way of life.”
This can also be translated in a few other ways, such as “rule of life” and “the act of living.”
The “art” title kind of comes from the fact that the last character is the same as the book, “The Art of War.” So when you write your book, this is the title for “The Art of Life,” in Chinese and Japanese.
法輪 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja title, “The Eternal Wheel of Life,” in Buddhism.
Also known as the wheel of the law, or Buddha-truth, which can crush all evil and all opposition. It is likened to Indra's wheel, which rolls on from man-to-man, place-to-place, age-to-age.
Colloquially used in some sects to mean preaching or spreading Buddha-truth.
人生で一番大事な日は二日ある。生まれた日と、なぜ生まれたかを分かった日 is Mark Twain's quote, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” in Japanese.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
永久 is a Japanese, Chinese, and old Korean word that means everlasting, perpetual, lasting, forever, permanent, eternity, perpetuity, and/or immortality.
This can also be a female given name Haruku in Japan.
人生朝露 is a proverb that means “human life is like morning dew.”
Figuratively, this suggests the ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence.
Also translated as:
Man's life vanishes like a drop of dew.
A person's life is as fleeting as morning dew.
Life is as transient as morning due.
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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.
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.