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Surname
關 is a surname in three languages.
In Chinese, it romanizes as Guan.
In Korean, it's Kwan (or Gwan).
In Japanese it's Seki.
The meaning of the character is mountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off; barrier; frontier.
靑濤館 is the Korean martial arts style, Chung Do Kwan, meaning “Blue Wave School.”
If you want this in modern Korean Hangul characters, click on the Hangul next to the Korean flag above instead of the button above.
Also Romanized as “Cheong Do Gwan” or “Ch'ŏng Do Kwan.”
This is the long or more formal version of this title
觀世音 is the longer and perhaps more formal title for the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The longer title of this bodhisattva is Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guanshi Yin, Kuan-shih Yin.
Japanese: Kanzeon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-se-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Thế Âm.
Thai: Prah Mae Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.
Please view our more common and shorter version, “Guan Yin” before you make a decision. Also, note that the first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.
觀音/観音 is the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion.
In Chinese, the proper name of this being is Guan Yin. There is some debate as to whether Guan Yin is female. The argument comes from some scripture that suggests Buddhist deities take on the male form. Others say that Guan Yin has no sex. And still, others are okay with the female representation of Guan Yin.
This bodhisattva is also known or Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guan Yin, Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin.
Japanese: Kannon, Kwannon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Âm.
Thai: Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.
Note: The first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.
See Also: Buddhism | Goddess | Namo Amitabha | Bodhisattva
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your Gwan search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
金桂冠 see styles |
jīn guì guān jin1 gui4 guan1 chin kuei kuan kimukegan キムケグァン |
Kim Kye-gwan (1943-), North Korean diplomat, first vice-foreign minister and chief negotiator 2010-2019 (person) Kim Kye-gwan |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Gwan | 冠 | guān / guan1 / guan | kuan | |
Gwan | グワン | guwan | ||
Guan Kwan Seki | 關 关 | seki | guān / guan1 / guan | kuan |
Chung Do Kwan | 靑濤館 | qīng tāo quǎn qing1 tao1 quan3 qing tao quan qingtaoquan | ch`ing t`ao ch`üan chingtaochüan ching tao chüan |
|
Goddess of Mercy and Compassion | 觀世音 观世音 | guān shì yīn guan1 shi4 yin1 guan shi yin guanshiyin | kuan shih yin kuanshihyin |
|
Goddess of Mercy and Compassion | 觀音 / 観音 观音 | kan non / kannon | guān yīn / guan1 yin1 / guan yin / guanyin | kuan yin / kuanyin |
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. |
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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.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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Gwan was last searched for by someone else on Mar 7th, 2025