Custom Longevity Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

Can be defined as "long life" or "longevity" in the simplest form.

Please note that Japanese use a simplified version of this character - 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.

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.

These 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

This word 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

This is a wish for long life for someone. The first part of this Japanese phrase is, "Nan Zan", which literally means "south mountain". This mountain is one of 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".

This 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).

This means immortal or immortality in Chinese, Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja.

The literal translation is "without decay" or "never rotting". Basically this title speaks of something or someone who never dies and thus never rots or decays.

This can also be translated as everlasting, eternal or imperishable.

We've made two almost identical entries for this word. This is the modern Japanese way to write banzai. In the last century, the first character was simplified in Japan and China. The new generation will expect it to be written this way, but the old generation can still read the more traditional form. You must make your own determination as to what version is best for you. If your audience is mostly Japanese, I suggest this form.

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 as 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 is 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.

This is a famous bird of China. Known in China to be a very spiritual creature, the crane is a symbol of both longevity, and the journey of souls and spirits of ancestors.

Note: This character can mean crane or stork in Japanese.

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This is referred to as passage or chapter 33 of the Dao De Jing (often Romanized as "Tao Te Ching"). These are the words of the philosopher Laozi (Lao Tzu).

The following is one translation of this passage:
To know others is wisdom;
To know oneself is acuity/intelligence.
To conquer others is power,
To conquer oneself is strength.
To know contentment is to have wealth.
To act resolutely is to have purpose.
To stay one's ground is to be enduring.
To die and yet not be forgotten is to be long-lived.

Another translation:
To understand others is to be knowledgeable;
To understand yourself is to be wise.
To conquer others is to have strength;
To conquer yourself is to be strong.
To know when you have enough is to be rich.
To go forward with strength is to have ambition.
To not lose your place is to be long lasting.
To die but not be forgotten -- that's true long life.

A third translation of the second half:
He who is content is rich;
He who acts with persistence has will;
He who does not lose his roots will endure;
He who dies physically, but preserves the Dao will enjoy a long after-life.

Notes:

During our research, the Chinese characters shown here are probably the most accurate to the original text of Laozi. These were taken for the most part from the Mawangdui 1973 and Guodan 1993 manuscripts which pre-date other Daodejing texts by about 1000 years.

Grammar was a little different in Laozi's time. So you should consider this to be the ancient Chinese version. Some have modernized this passage by adding, removing, or swapping articles and changing the grammar (we felt the oldest and most original version would be more desirable). You may find other versions printed in books or online - sometimes these modern texts are simply used to explain to Chinese people what the original text really means.

This language issue can be compared in English by thinking how the King James (known as the Authorized version in Great Britain) Bible from 1611 was written, and comparing it to modern English. Now imagine that the Daodejing was probably written around 403 BCE (2000 years before the King James Version of the Bible). To a Chinese person, the original Daodejing reads like text that is 3 times more detached compared to Shakespeare's English is to our modern-day speech.

Extended notes:

While on this Biblical text comparison, it should be noted, that just like the Bible, all the original texts of the Daodejing were lost or destroyed long ago. Just as with the scripture used to create the Bible, various manuscripts exist, many with variations or copyist errors. Just as the earliest New Testament scripture (incomplete) is from 170 years after Christ, the earliest Daodejing manuscript (incomplete) is from 100-200 years after the death of Laozi.

The reason that the originals were lost probably has a lot to do with the first Qin Emperor. Upon taking power and unifying China, he ordered the burning and destruction of all books (scrolls/rolls) except those pertaining to Chinese medicine and a few other subjects. The surviving Daodejing manuscripts were either hidden on purpose or simply forgotten about. Some were not unearthed until as late as 1993.

We compared a lot of research by various archeologists and historians before deciding on this as the most accurate and correct version. But one must allow that it may not be perfect, or the actual and original as from the hand of Laozi himself.

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".

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 phrase.

This 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

This is the simplest form of eternity. This character can sometimes mean forever, always, or perpetual, depending on context.

Note: Not often seen as a single Kanji in Japanese. Best if your audience is Chinese.

See Also...  Forever | Ever Lasting

This 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

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

This is a special phrase that we composed for a "family by adoption" or "adoptive family".

It's the dream of every orphan and foster child to be formally adopted and find their "forever family".

The first two characters mean forever, eternal, eternity, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence. The third character connects this idea with the last character which means "family" and/or "home".

See Also...  Family

This is exactly what the title suggests. This 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".

This is the Chinese and Korean word meaning "infinity", "eternity", "infinitude", or simply "endless". In some contexts it can mean "immortality".

The first character means "never" or "not". The second means "exhausted", "finished", or "ending".

Note: This is a Japanese word, but rarely used in modern Japan.

The first character here means "love".

The last two mean forever, eternity, eternal, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence.

This 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). This is a great title for a romantic book, title of a movie, name of a perfume, or even a name for a store.

See Also...  Eternal Love | Forever Love

This suggests "Legendary Phoenix rises from the ashes". Literally, it means, "Legendary Phoenix [reaches] Nirvana".

There is a legend in China of a great bird which is reborn once every 500 years. This bird gathers all the ill-will, suffering, desire, and other negative things of the whole world. The bird then plunges into the fire to burn away all negative things, sacrificing itself in the process (achieving Nirvana, or perhaps allowing others the opportunity to reach Nirvana).

500 years later, the phoenix is reborn from the ashes again, and the cycle repeats.

This is the Chinese word for rebirth. This can be used literally or metaphorically. As a metaphor, you could use this to say something like "We are watching the rebirth of New Orleans after the disaster of Katrina".

This is sometimes translated as "renaissance".

Note: This is not the Buddhist concept of reincarnation or re-birth.

See Also...  Reincarnation

This is the Buddhist idea of reincarnation or transmigration.

Other definitions of this term: "Attainer of Nirvana from within the desire realm", "A practitioner who enters directly into Nirvana from the desire realm, without traversing the form and formless realms. One of the 27 kinds of Hinayana sages", or simply, "to return again to this life".

This is also a Japanese title, but the first Kanji was slightly simplified after WWII. Just let us know if you want the modern Japanese version when you order.

See Also...  Buddhism | Rebirth

This is a universal word in Japanese and Chinese that expresses the Buddhist idea of "reincarnation", "transmigration of souls" or "the eternal cycle of birth and death". In some context, this can also mean "karma".

The first character means wheel, ring, turn, circle, loop or rotate.
The second character can be thought of as a suffix meaning "-times". This second character can also refer to something that revolves, returns, goes back, or a counter for the number of occurrences of some event.
Together the sum supersedes the parts and it means reincarnation. But knowing the seeing the essence of each character may help you understand some of the meaning behind the word.

If you request this selection from our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect that the second Kanji will look like the one shown to the right. This is the more common way to write this in Japanese. It's an alternate form of this character in Chinese (so neither way is technically wrong in either language).

See Also...  Buddhism | Rebirth