何でもあり is a Japanese phrase meaning, no holds barred, anything goes, or no limits.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

寶 means precious thing or treasure.

This can also mean precious, a gem, a pearl, or anything valuable.

The version of this character shown to the left is the traditional Chinese and ancient/traditional Japanese version. In modern Japan and China, this character has been simplified. This simplified version is shown to the right. If you want this modern Japanese/simplified version, just click the Kanji on the right, instead of the button above. If your audience is Chinese or Korean, I recommend the ancient/traditional form. Only consider the simplified form if your audience is younger Japanese people.

お休み is how to write “good night” in Japanese.

It literally means “taking a rest.”

お休み is not a normal title for a calligraphy wall scroll. It might be appropriate for a hotel front desk, if anything.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

晚安 is how to write “good night” in Chinese.

This literally is a wish for an “evening of peace” or “night of calm.”

晚安 is not a normal title for a calligraphy wall scroll. It might be appropriate for a hotel front desk if anything.

正思唯 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Thought, along with the Right View, constitute the path to Wisdom.

In Buddhism, Right Thought, in simple terms, means to free yourself from having ill will towards anyone or anything. It also suggests that you remain harmless to other living creatures.

This can also be defined as “Resolve in favor of renunciation, goodwill, and non-harming of sentient beings.”

There is an ancient/alternate version of the third character for this selection. You can see that alternation third character to the right. If you want your selection to use that older character, just click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

Note: This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

The first character means confused, dirty, muddy, or mixed.

The second character means confusion and disorder.

Together, these characters mean chaos and sometimes extended to mean a type of anarchy.

This term is often used in a less-than-literal term to describe anything in disarray. Someone might use this word in a sentence like, “My kitchen is in a state of chaos” or “my life is so chaotic.”

Please note that Japanese use an alternate/simplified version of the second character of chaos - 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 chaos calligraphy.

白天不做亏心事夜半敲门不吃惊 literally translates as: [If one does] not do bad things in the daytime, one need not be alarmed at knocks on the door in the middle of the night.

The meaning is something like, “A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.” Basically, the message is, “don't commit crimes and you won't be jumpy every time the doorbell rings (so don't do anything wrong and your life will have fewer worries and you can sleep at night).”

安赫爾 is another common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Angel.

This one misses the mark too - It uses a hard “H” sound to simulate the “J” sound of the “G” in this name. I don't know who transliterated these first and how it became the standard.
Again, I recommend using the meaning of Angel above.

If anything, this is the more masculine form of Angel. This is also the form commonly used for the masculine Latin name Ángel.

動力 can be used for motivation - it can also mean power/motion/propulsion/force. It can be anything internal or external that keeps you going.

動力 is the safest way to express motivation in Chinese. If your audience is Japanese, please see the other entry for motivation. 動力 is a word in Japanese and Korean, but it means “motive power” or “kinetic energy” (without the motivation meaning that you are probably looking for).

See Also:  Enthusiasm | Passion

不能咬人就别龇牙 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: [if you] can't bite people, don't bare [your] teeth.

Figuratively, this means: Don't show your anger if you can't do anything about the situation.

Some will also say this means “Don't start a fight that you cannot win.” Others will say it means that you must be willing to back up your words (perhaps with your fists).

愚公移山 is the Chinese proverb (also somewhat known in Japan and Korea) for “the silly old man moves a mountain.”

Figuratively, this means “where there's a will, there's a way.”

Based on a fable of Lord Yu (愚公). He moved the soil of the mountain in front of his house. After years of effort, he finally moved the entire mountain (some versions of the story have God seeing how determined the man was, and sending two angels to whisk the mountains away).

The moral of the story: Anything can be accomplished if one works at it ceaselessly.

The Japanese version of this is 愚公山を移す (gu kou yama wo utsu su). But better to get the Chinese version, since this is originally a Chinese proverb.

See Also:  Nothing is Impossible

生き甲斐 is a Japanese word that means something one lives for, a reason for being, a purpose in life, or French, raison d'etre.

Everyone has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search for self. Finding your Ikigai is the way to also find satisfaction and meaning in life.

Your Ikigai could be almost anything. For some, it is running for president. For others, satisfaction is found in raising children.

Ikigai is why you get up in the morning; bringing meaning to your life and pursuing your Ikigai makes life worthwhile.

有志者事竟成 is an old Chinese proverb that has been translated many different ways into English. As you read the translations below, keep in mind that in Chinese, heart=mind.

Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
Nothing is impossible to a willing mind.
Nothing is difficult to a willing heart.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Nothing in the world is impossible if you set your mind to doing it.
A willful man will have his way.
If you wish it, you will do it.
A determined heart can accomplish anything.
All things are possible with a strong mind.

人為財死鳥為食亡 is a Chinese proverb that literally states that human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food.

Figuratively it means that man will do anything in his means to become rich. Personally, I think dying for food is a more noble cause.

Often translated as “Men die in pursuit of wealth, birds die in pursuit of food. The 人 in this proverb just means human, so “men” is a placeholder for human with that translation - an English language problem that we have no easy gender-neutral nouns.

This proverb is meant to serve as a warning about the follies of greed.

The 少林 or Shaolin monks of China have been practicing the art of Kung Fu for thousands of years. While there are many schools of Kung Fu in China, Shaolin are one of the more religiously devout and disciplined.

The title of Shaolin actually refers to a specific Buddhist monastery. It should be noted that the Shaolin were famous in China long before the Kung Fu TV show. Their fame in China is due to the monks' heroic and swift rescue of an emperor during the Tang Dynasty. Most Chinese people are not keenly aware of the Kung Fu TV show and have no idea who David Carradine is or anything about his character, Kwai Chang Caine.

Note: The literal meaning of 少林 is “little forest.”

The fame of the Shaolin has spread all over Asia, as even though this is a Chinese title, the same characters are used in Japanese with the same meaning.

Many things have opposite properties. The water you drink can also drown you. Pork may nourish you and keep you alive but under-cook it and it could kill you. Potassium nitrate is often used as a fertilizer to grow the food that sustains us but it's also been used as an explosive to topple buildings and destroy us.

This concept is easily associated with “yin yang” where an element has two opposite properties that are as different as night and day.

This proverb's meaning can be summed up this way: “Anything that can lead you to success may also contain great risks.”

This phrase is known in literary circles by Korean people (scholars or literature). It is therefore also a valid proverb in Korean Hanja, though most Koreans would not be able to make sense of it.

Please note that there is an unwritten rule when the same character appears twice in the same phrase, the calligrapher will alter the appearance so that no two characters are exactly alike in the same piece. This calligraphy has two repeating characters that will be written differently than they appear here.