Oriental Wisdom For Your Tattoo

In terms of Chinese tattoos, I have discussed the importance of their meaning in How to Get a Cool Chinese Tattoo? (Part One). In this post I’ll share with you a couple of Chinese idioms that are MAN enough to make a nice tattoo. If you are in search of Chinese characters with POWER for your tattoo, this is the post you MUST read. Ready ? Here we go.

No 1.

卧薪尝胆 literally means “sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall” . People use this to describe someone with an unyielding spirit and aspires to accomplish big ambitions. This Chinese idiom originated from a historical event. If you are interested, click here to check out the story.

If you aspire to achieve something BIG in the future, this idiom would be appropriate for you to wear as you will be filled with energy every time you see it on your body.

No 2.

忠肝义胆 literally means “with a loyal liver and a righteous gallbladder”. In Chinese, the word 肝(liver) and 胆(gallbladder) are usually linked with loyalty and courage, such as in the idiom 肝胆相照(to expose liver and gallbladdre to each other, intending to showing 100% loyalty) . Actually, 肝胆 could be compared with the word “gut”, which also implies courage.

忠肝义胆 describes someone with extraordinary loyalty and righteousness. You may use this one if you value these two qualities, which I think are critical for a MAN to acquire.

No 3.

智勇双全 means “possessing both wisdom and courage”.  This idiom may not seem so masculine at first sight, but it’s so obvious to everyone that courage without wisdom often leads to failure. Masculinity is not everything for one to become a real man. We’ve got to have wisdom.

No 4.

勇猛果敢 means “courageous and decisive in acting”. I think it’s kind of unnecessary for me to explain this any more. If you think courage and decisiveness means much to you, just use this one as your tat.

No 5.

破釜沉舟 literally means “breaking the cooking pot and sinking the boat”. It describes a situation when all you can do is GO FOR IT, with no way of turning back. This one also originates from a battle in the history, click here if you want to know more about it.

Choose this one as the Chinese version of “GO FOR IT” if you like.

No 6.

有志竟成 means “with a strong willpower, one can accomplish everything.” I believe willpower is pretty much where the successful and those who accomplish nothing differs. Strong willpower goes a long way and that’s what quality every man should be equiped with. 

If you choose this one as your tattoo, you will not be the only person that is inspired by it. People who see it will also be motivated by it, and I believe that would be a nice thing to do: influence others positively.

No 7.

勇往直前 means “to advance courageously”. It’s quite often used in showing determination against difficulties ahead. The way I see it, you may just see 勇往直前 as MOVE ON. Despite all the hardships, just move on with our lives. So what’s the big deal that we lose our jobs? What’s the big deal that our beloved ones leave us? Wipe up the tears and just go on with our lives. The only one that can take control over our lives is ourselves.

Choose this one as your tat if you figure it’s time for you to move on with your life. I believe it will give you enough power to hang on and make a big difference for the better.

No 8.

勇冠三军 literally means “one’s courage tops in the whole army”. Obviously, this idiom is used to describe someone that is outstandingly courageous. If you feel courage counts a lot to you, this one should be the most suitable choice. Up till now I haven’t found another Chinese idiom that contains more courage than this one.

No 9.

惩恶劝善 means “to discipline the evil person and to reward the righteous one”. From my point of view, 惩恶劝善 is pretty much what Zorro does in fictions and movies.

If you are the kind of person that value the saying “justice MUST be served” so much, I think this idiom is THE one that you choose as your tattoo.

No 10.

一飞冲天 literally means “to fly high into the sky instantly”. It’s used to describe someone not well-known that has suddenly achieved something significant.

In fact, no great achievements can be made out of the blue. It’s only because one doesn’t yak all the time and does his work diligently that makes the final achievement “sudden” to others. Personally I admire this kind of person a lot. It’ s not what one says counts, but the work.

If you think likewise and want to put this attitude into your life, 一飞冲天 should be the right tattoo for you. I’ll be looking forward to your big flight some day.

 If you think these idioms mean something to you, please let me know and I’ll be encouraged to produce more valuable stuff for you. In the future, I’ll cover more topics to explore the nice phrases, characters, and Chinese idioms as tattoos. Just stay tuned!