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1. Xuan
2. Xuan Wu / Genbu / Black Tortoise God
4. Benevolent and Skilled Doctor
5. Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks
6. Black Dragon
10. Mysterious
11. Choose Life
14. Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai
Surname
禤 is the most common character for a Chinese surname that romanizes as Xuan.
禤 is also a name in Korean that romanizes as Hwon or Hweon.
玄武 can refer to the Black Tortoise (an ancient Chinese constellation of stars- part of the seven mansions of the north sky).
In Daoism, this is the God of the North sky.
This also refers to a Black Tortoise god, said to rule over the northern heavens in Japanese. Can also be pronounced/romanized as genmu or when used as a personal name, Hirotake in Japanese.
This single Chinese character, old Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji means: to choose; to pick; to select; to elect; selection; choice; choosing; picking; election.
In Japanese, it can also be the male given name Hitoshi.
In the Buddhist context, it means to choose, or a myriad.
妙手仁心悬壶济世 is a phrase that celebrates the benevolence, skill, and service to his/her patients.
Here's a breakdown of the characters:
妙手 miào shǒu admirable skill in curing disease (when used in reference to doctors).
仁心 rén xīn kindheartedness, charity, benevolent heart.
悬壶济世 xuán hú jì shì practice medicine or pharmacy to help the people or the public.
Persistence to overcome all challenges
百折不撓 is a Chinese proverb that means “Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks.”
More directly translated, it reads, “[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching.” 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).
This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan, and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose the corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.
Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and the common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.
Near the end of his career, a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest, he resigned from his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.
His tombstone reads “Bai Zhe Bu Nao” which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.
My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as “keep on fighting despite all setbacks,” “be undaunted by repeated setbacks,” and “be indomitable.”
Our translator says it can mean “never give up” in modern Chinese.
Although the first two characters are translated correctly as “repeated setbacks,” the literal meaning is “100 setbacks” or “a rope that breaks 100 times.” The last two characters can mean “do not yield” or “do not give up.”
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.
See Also: Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence
Danger: Means prostitute in Japanese!
玄人 literally means “Mysterious Person/Woman.”
In Japanese, this is associated with a “geisha,” which matches this definition of a “mysterious woman.” However, this is the colloquial way to say “professional geisha” or “expert prostitute” in Japanese. It, therefore, might not be what you want on your wall.
Notes: This is a "Japanese only" term, though a Chinese person who sees these characters will think of a geisha or an alluring Japanese female musician.
While not often seen in Korean Hanja, this would mean a "dark woman," as in a woman that you cannot easily see through.
幽玄 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja word meaning dim, deep, mysterious, subtle grace, hidden beauty, mysterious profundity, elegant simplicity, or subtle and profound.
This can also be the Japanese personal name Yuugen or Yugen.
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.
失敗並非一種選擇 is probably the best way to say, “Failure is not an option,” in Chinese.
Just don't forget that some ancient Chinese proverbs suggest that failure is a learning opportunity that leads to success or innovation. So don't plan to fail but failure is only a waste if nothing is learned from the failure.
See Also: Failure is a Stepping Stone to Success | Failure is the Mother of Success
Japanese Genbu Karate Club
日本空手道玄武會 is the title for Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai.
A Japanese karate association of the Genbu school.
Note that while this title does make perfect sense in Chinese, it is really a Japanese title. In fact, the first word is “Japanese/Japan.”
If you’d like your martial arts school, dojo or club added to our calligraphy database for easy ordering of a custom calligraphy wall scroll, just contact me.
This text is the first chapter of the Daodejing / Tao Te Ching.
The text reads:
道可道、非常道。名可名、非常名。 無名天地之始 有名萬物之母。故常無欲以觀其妙、常有欲以觀其徼。此兩者同出而異名。同謂之玄。玄之又玄、衆妙之門。
This classical Chinese passage comes from the Mawangdui (馬王堆帛書) text.
This is a poem, including a title, that celebrates the tactics and virtues of the Shaolin Kung Fu Monks for future generations.
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Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your Xuan search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
禤 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
More info & calligraphy: Xuan |
選 选 see styles |
xuǎn xuan3 hsüan hitoshi ひとし |
More info & calligraphy: Choice / Choose / Select(n,n-suf) selection; choice; choosing; picking; election; (male given name) Hitoshi To choose; a myriad. |
幽玄 see styles |
yōu xuán you1 xuan2 yu hsüan yuugen / yugen ゆうげん |
More info & calligraphy: Mysterioussubtle |
旋風 旋风 see styles |
xuàn fēng xuan4 feng1 hsüan feng senpū つむじかぜ |
More info & calligraphy: Tornado / Whirlwindwhirlwind; (1) whirlwind; (2) commotion; sensation; hullabaloo whirlwind |
玄武 see styles |
xuán wǔ xuan2 wu3 hsüan wu hirotake ひろたけ |
More info & calligraphy: Xuan Wu / Genbu / Black Tortoise God(1) (See 四神) Black Tortoise (god said to rule over the northern heavens); (2) {astron} (See 二十八宿) seven mansions (Chinese constellations) of the northern heavens; (personal name) Hirotake |
精選 精选 see styles |
jīng xuǎn jing1 xuan3 ching hsüan seisen / sesen せいせん |
More info & calligraphy: Chosen / Handpicked(n,vs,vt,adj-no) careful selection |
伭 see styles |
xuán xuan2 hsüan |
variant of 玄[xuan2]; variant of 懸|悬[xuan2] |
儇 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
(literary) ingenious; (literary) frivolous |
吅 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
variant of 喧[xuan1] |
咺 see styles |
xuǎn xuan3 hsüan |
glorious; sob; weep |
喧 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan ken |
clamor; noise clamor |
嫙 see styles |
xuán xuan2 hsüan |
beautiful; fine |
嬛 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
used in 便嬛[pian2 xuan1] |
宣 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan yoshihiro よしひろ |
to declare (publicly); to announce (rare) (See 宣旨) imperial order; imperial decree; (personal name) Yoshihiro Proclaim; spread abroad; widespread. 宣流; 宣說. |
愃 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan yutaka ゆたか |
well-being (given name) Yutaka |
懸 悬 see styles |
xuán xuan2 hsüan kakeru かける |
to hang or suspend; to worry; public announcement; unresolved; baseless; without foundation (suf,adj-no) (1) -clad; (2) (kana only) in the midst of; (3) tenths (e.g. wholesale price, as tenths of retail price); (4) times (i.e. multiplied by); (5) able-to-seat (of a chair, etc.); (1) (abbreviation) credit; (2) money owed on an account; bill; (3) (abbreviation) (kana only) hot noodles in broth; (n,n-suf) (4) proportion (of wholesale price, as tenths of list price); (suffix) (5) in the midst of; (6) rest; rack; hanger; (personal name) Kakeru Suspend, hang. |
揎 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
to roll up one's sleeves; to slap with the palm |
旋 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan sen |
to whirl; immediately; variant of 鏇|镟[xuan4] Revolve, turn round, whirl. |
昡 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan |
long day; extended; relaxed |
晅 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
light of the sun; to dry in the sun |
暄 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan hinata ひなた |
genial and warm (surname) Hinata warm |
暶 see styles |
xuán xuan2 hsüan |
(literary) bright; (literary) beautiful; good-looking |
楥 楦 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan |
(wooden) shoe last; variant of 楦[xuan4] |
楦 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan |
to block (a hat); to stretch (a shoe) |
泫 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan |
weep |
渲 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan |
wash (color) |
漩 see styles |
xuán xuan2 hsüan |
whirlpool; eddy; also pr. [xuan4] |
炫 see styles |
xuàn xuan4 hsüan |
to dazzle; to boast; to show off; (slang) cool; awesome |
烜 see styles |
xuǎn xuan3 hsüan |
brilliant |
煊 see styles |
xuān xuan1 hsüan |
variant of 暄[xuan1] |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Xuan | 禤 | xuān / xuan1 / xuan | hsüan | |
Xuan Wu Genbu Black Tortoise God | 玄武 | genbu | xuán wǔ / xuan2 wu3 / xuan wu / xuanwu | hsüan wu / hsüanwu |
Choice Choose Select | 選 选 | sen | xuǎn / xuan3 / xuan | hsüan |
Benevolent and Skilled Doctor | 妙手仁心懸壺濟世 妙手仁心悬壶济世 | miào shǒu rén xīn xuán hú jì shì miao4 shou3 ren2 xin1 xuan2 hu2 ji4 shi4 miao shou ren xin xuan hu ji shi | miao shou jen hsin hsüan hu chi shih | |
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks | 百折不撓 百折不挠 | hyaku setsu su tou hyakusetsusutou hyaku setsu su to | bǎi zhé bù náo bai3 zhe2 bu4 nao2 bai zhe bu nao baizhebunao | pai che pu nao paichepunao |
Black Dragon | 玄龍 玄龙 | xuān lóng xuan1 long2 xuan long xuanlong | hsüan lung hsüanlung |
|
Chosen Handpicked | 精選 精选 | seisen | jīng xuǎn jing1 xuan3 jing xuan jingxuan | ching hsüan chinghsüan |
Whore Mysterious Woman | 玄人 | kurouto / kuroto | xuán rén / xuan2 ren2 / xuan ren / xuanren | hsüan jen / hsüanjen |
Tornado Whirlwind | 旋風 旋风 | tsumujikaze | xuàn fēng xuan4 feng1 xuan feng xuanfeng | hsüan feng hsüanfeng |
Mysterious | 幽玄 | yū gen / yūgen | yōu xuán / you1 xuan2 / you xuan / youxuan | yu hsüan / yuhsüan |
Choose Life | 選擇生活 选择生活 | xuǎn zé shēng huó xuan3 ze2 sheng1 huo2 xuan ze sheng huo xuanzeshenghuo | hsüan tse sheng huo hsüantseshenghuo |
|
Choose Your Own Destiny | 選擇自己的命運 选择自己的命运 | xuǎn zé zì jǐ de mìng yùn xuan3 ze2 zi4 ji3 de ming4 yun4 xuan ze zi ji de ming yun xuanzezijidemingyun | hsüan tse tzu chi te ming yün | |
Failure in Not an Option | 失敗並非一種選擇 失败并非一种选择 | shī bài bìng fēi yì zhǒng xuǎn zé shi1 bai4 bing4 fei1 yi4 zhong3 xuan3 ze2 shi bai bing fei yi zhong xuan ze | shih pai ping fei i chung hsüan tse | |
Nippon Karate-Do Genbu-Kai | 日本空手道玄武會 日本空手道玄武会 | ni ppon kara te dou gen bu kai nipponkaratedougenbukai ni pon kara te do gen bu kai | rì běn kōng shǒu dào xuán wǔ huì ri4 ben3 kong1 shou3 dao4 xuan2 wu3 hui4 ri ben kong shou dao xuan wu hui | jih pen k`ung shou tao hsüan wu hui jih pen kung shou tao hsüan wu hui |
Daodejing Tao Te Ching - Chapter 1 | 道可道非常道名可名非常名無名天地之始有名萬物之母故常無欲以觀其妙常有欲以觀其徼此兩者同出而異名同謂之玄玄之又玄衆妙之門 道可道非常道名可名非常名无名天地之始有名万物之母故常无欲以观其妙常有欲以观其徼此两者同出而异名同谓之玄玄之又玄众妙之门 | dào kě dào fēi cháng dào míng kě míng fēi cháng míng wú míng tiān dì zhī shǐ yǒu míng wàn wù zhī mǔ gù cháng wú yù yǐ guān qí miào cháng yǒu yù yǐ guān qí zhēng cǐ liǎng zhě tóng chū ér yì míng tóng wèi zhī xuán xuán zhī yòu xuán zhòng miào zhī mén dao4 ke3 dao4 fei1 chang2 dao4 ming2 ke3 ming2 fei1 chang2 ming2 wu2 ming2 tian1 di4 zhi1 shi3 you3 ming2 wan4 wu4 zhi1 mu3 gu4 chang2 wu2 yu4 yi3 guan1 qi2 miao4 chang2 you3 yu4 yi3 guan1 qi2 jiao3 ci3 liang3 zhe3 tong2 chu1 er2 yi4 ming2 tong2 wei4 zhi1 xuan2 xuan2 zhi1 you4 xuan2 zhong4 miao4 zhi1 men2 dao ke dao fei chang dao ming ke ming fei chang ming wu ming tian di zhi shi you ming wan wu zhi mu gu chang wu yu yi guan qi miao chang you yu yi guan qi jiao ci liang zhe tong chu er yi ming tong wei zhi xuan xuan zhi you xuan zhong miao zhi men | tao k`o tao fei ch`ang tao ming k`o ming fei ch`ang ming wu ming t`ien ti chih shih yu ming wan wu chih mu ku ch`ang wu yü i kuan ch`i miao ch`ang yu yü i kuan ch`i chiao tz`u liang che t`ung ch`u erh i ming t`ung wei chih hsüan hsüan chih yu hsüan chung miao chih men tao ko tao fei chang tao ming ko ming fei chang ming wu ming tien ti chih shih yu ming wan wu chih mu ku chang wu yü i kuan chi miao chang yu yü i kuan chi chiao tzu liang che tung chu erh i ming tung wei chih hsüan hsüan chih yu hsüan chung miao chih men |
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Shaolin Generational Poem | 嵩山少林寺曹洞正宗傳續七十字輩訣福慧智子覺了本圓可悟周洪普廣宗道慶同玄祖清靜真如海湛寂淳貞素德行永延恆妙體常堅固心朗照幽深性明鑒崇祚忠正善禧祥謹志原濟度雪庭為導師引汝歸鉉路 嵩山少林寺曹洞正宗传续七十字辈诀福慧智子觉了本圆可悟周洪普广宗道庆同玄祖清静真如海湛寂淳贞素德行永延恒妙体常坚固心朗照幽深性明鉴崇祚忠正善禧祥谨志原济度雪庭为导师引汝归铉路 | sōng shān shào lín sì cáo dòng zhèng zōng chuán xù qī shí zì bèi jué fú huì zhì zǐ jiào le běn yuán kě wù zhōu hóng pǔ guǎng zōng dào qìng tóng xuán zǔ qīng jìng zhēn rú hǎi zhàn jì chún zhēn sù dé xíng yong song1 shan1 shao4 lin2 si4 cao2 dong4 zheng4 zong1 chuan2 xu4 qi1 shi2 zi4 bei4 jue2 fu2 hui4 zhi4 zi3 jiao4 le5 ben3 yuan2 ke3 wu4 zhou1 hong2 pu3 guang3 zong1 dao4 qing4 tong2 xuan2 zu3 qing1 jing4 zhen1 ru2 hai3 zhan4 ji4 chun2 zhen1 su4 de2 xing2 yong song shan shao lin si cao dong zheng zong chuan xu qi shi zi bei jue fu hui zhi zi jiao le ben yuan ke wu zhou hong pu guang zong dao qing tong xuan zu qing jing zhen ru hai zhan ji chun zhen su de xing yong | sung shan shao lin ssu ts`ao tung cheng tsung ch`uan hsü ch`i shih tzu pei chüeh fu hui chih tzu chiao le pen yüan k`o wu chou hung p`u kuang tsung tao ch`ing t`ung hsüan tsu ch`ing ching chen ju hai chan chi ch`un chen su te hsing yung sung shan shao lin ssu tsao tung cheng tsung chuan hsü chi shih tzu pei chüeh fu hui chih tzu chiao le pen yüan ko wu chou hung pu kuang tsung tao ching tung hsüan tsu ching ching chen ju hai chan chi chun chen su te hsing yung |
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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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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.
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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.
Some people may refer to this entry as Xuan Kanji, Xuan Characters, Xuan in Mandarin Chinese, Xuan Characters, Xuan in Chinese Writing, Xuan in Japanese Writing, Xuan in Asian Writing, Xuan Ideograms, Chinese Xuan symbols, Xuan Hieroglyphics, Xuan Glyphs, Xuan in Chinese Letters, Xuan Hanzi, Xuan in Japanese Kanji, Xuan Pictograms, Xuan in the Chinese Written-Language, or Xuan in the Japanese Written-Language.
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