The Name Prudence in Japanese/Chinese on a Custom-Made Wall Scroll.

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  1. Prudence / Considerate

  2. Prudence

  3. Seeing is Believing

  4. Simplicity / Modesty

  5. Fix the roof before the rain; Dig the well before you are thirsty

  6. Ethics / Ethical / Morality

  7. Keep Your Feet on the Ground

  8. Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark

  9. Moderation / Temperance

10. Modesty

11. Moral and Virtuous

12. Do not take action until the time is right

13. Seeing is Believing


Prudence / Considerate

 shèn zhòng
 shin chou
Prudence / Considerate Scroll

慎重 conveys the idea of being considerate, having prudence, and being thoughtful when taking action.

慎重 can also mean cautious, careful, discreet, deliberate, or taking all things into consideration.

The general meaning is shared across languages. However, in Chinese, this is more about prudence, while in Japanese, this is more about being considerate.

Chinese Catholics use this word to represent “prudence” in the list of the Seven Heavenly Virtues.


慎慎 Note: Depending on your choice of Chinese or Japanese calligraphers, the first Kanji will vary slightly. It is technically the same character. Japanese tend to leave a space between the upper and lower portions of this particular Kanji. See sample images to the right.


See Also:  Moderation | Modesty | Chastity

Prudence

Transliterated Name

 pǔ lǔ dēng sī
Prudence Scroll

普魯登絲 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Prudence.

This sounds like “Prudence” but does not mean “prudence.”

Seeing is Believing

 hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu
Seeing is Believing Scroll

百聞は一見に如かず is the Japanese version of an ancient Chinese proverb that means “Seeing once is better than hearing one hundred times.”

It is the rough equivalent of “seeing is believing,” “one eye-witness is better than many hearsays,” or “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Sometimes it's simply more prudent to verify with your own eyes.


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


See Also:  Hearing a Hundred Times is Not as Good as Seeing Once

Simplicity / Modesty

 zhì sù
 shisso
Simplicity / Modesty Scroll

In Japanese, 質素 means “simplicity,” “modesty,” and/or “frugality.”

While these Japanese Kanji are also currently-used Chinese characters, they do not create a single word or idea in Chinese. Therefore, only select this if your audience is Japanese.


See Also:  Modesty | Prudence

Fix the roof before the rain; Dig the well before you are thirsty

 bǔ lòu chèn tiān qíng wèi kě xiān jué jǐng
Fix the roof before the rain; Dig the well before you are thirsty Scroll

补漏趁天晴未渴先掘井 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Mend the roof while the weather is fine, [and when you are] not yet thirsty, dig the well beforehand.

In simple terms, this means: Always being prepared in advance.


See Also:  Have a Walking Stick at the Ready Before You Stumble

Ethics / Ethical / Morality

 dào dé
 dou toku
Ethics / Ethical / Morality Scroll

道德 is a Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean word that can also be defined as “moral principles,” morality, ethics, ethical, morals, or virtue.

The first character is the same that is associated with Daoism / Taoism. This word is also used to express morality, virtue, or simply morals.


徳There is a slight deviation in the Japanese Kanji form. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the special Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note that the traditional Chinese form is still readable and understood by Japanese people.


See Also:  Chastity | Prudence

Keep Your Feet on the Ground

Be Down-to-Earth

 jiǎo tà shí dì
Keep Your Feet on the Ground Scroll

腳踏實地 is a four-character proverb that suggests that you should be practical, realistic, and grounded.

Some translate this as a suggestion to be down-to-earth.

The first character means “feet.”
The second means “step on” or “stand.”
The third means “solid,” “real,” or “true.”
The last character means “ground,” “earth,” or “terra.”

Literally, this means “[keep your] Feet Standing [on] Solid Ground.”

Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark

 jiān tīng zé míng, piān tīng zé àn
Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark Scroll

兼聽則明偏聽則暗 is an ancient Chinese proverb about getting all the information from all sides so that you truly understand a situation.

Wei Zheng

Wei Zheng

A man named Wei Zheng lived between 580-643 AD. He was a noble and wise historian and minister in the court of the early Tang Dynasty. The emperor once asked him, “What should an emperor do to understand the real-world situation, and what makes an emperor out-of-touch with reality?”

Wei Zheng replied, “Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; listen to only one side and you will be left in the dark.”

Then Wei Zheng went on to cite examples of leaders in history that were victorious after heeding both sides of the story, and other leaders that met their doom because they believed one-sided stories which often came from flattering lips.

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.

Moderation / Temperance

 jié zhì
 sessei
Moderation / Temperance Scroll

節制 means moderation or temperance in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

Moderation is creating a healthy balance in your life between work and play, rest and exercise. You don't overdo or get swept away by the things you like. You use your self-discipline to take charge of your life and your time.

節制 can also be translated as sobriety or self-restraint.

This is often used as part of the Seven Heavenly Virtues to represent sobriety and/or temperance.


See Also:  Prudence | Ethics | Humble | Humility

 qiān xùn
 kenson
Modesty Scroll

Depending on the context, 謙遜 can be translated as modesty, humbleness, or humility.

The first character means modesty, while the second means yielding. Together, it could be stated as “yielding modesty.”


See Also:  Chastity | Prudence | Moderation

Moral and Virtuous

 dé
 toku
 
Moral and Virtuous Scroll

德 is the simple way to express the ideas of having virtue, morals, kindness, benevolence, goodness, etc.

德 also happens to be the first character of the Chinese word for Germany.


徳There is a slight deviation in the Japanese Kanji form. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the special Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note that the traditional Chinese form is still readable and understood by Japanese people.


See Also:  Ethics | Chastity | Prudence | Benevolence | Morality

Do not take action until the time is right

 bù dào huǒ hou bù jiē guō
Do not take action until the time is right Scroll

不到火候不揭锅 translates as: Don't take the lid off the pot until the food is done.

Figuratively, this means: Don't take action until the time is right.

You can take this as a call to be patient or pick just the right time to do something (not too early, not too late).

Seeing is Believing

 bǎi wén bù rú yí jiàn
Seeing is Believing Scroll

百聞不如一見 is a proverb that means “Better to see something once rather than hear about it one hundred times” or “Telling me about something 100 times is not as good as seeing it once.”

In English, we have the similar proverb of “Seeing is believing” but this has a bit of the “A picture paints a thousand words” meaning too.

Sometimes it's simply more prudent to verify with your own eyes.


The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Prudence
Considerate
慎重shin chou / shinchou / shin choshèn zhòng
shen4 zhong4
shen zhong
shenzhong
shen chung
shenchung
Prudence普魯登絲
普鲁登丝
pǔ lǔ dēng sī
pu3 lu3 deng1 si1
pu lu deng si
puludengsi
p`u lu teng ssu
pulutengssu
pu lu teng ssu
Seeing is Believing百聞は一見に如かずhyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu
hyakubunwaikkennishikazu
hyakubun wa iken ni shikazu
Simplicity
Modesty
質素
质素
shisso / shisozhì sù / zhi4 su4 / zhi su / zhisuchih su / chihsu
Fix the roof before the rain; Dig the well before you are thirsty補漏趁天晴未渴先掘井
补漏趁天晴未渴先掘井
bǔ lòu chèn tiān qíng wèi kě xiān jué jǐng
bu3 lou4 chen4 tian1 qing2 wei4 ke3 xian1 jue2 jing3
bu lou chen tian qing wei ke xian jue jing
pu lou ch`en t`ien ch`ing wei k`o hsien chüeh ching
pu lou chen tien ching wei ko hsien chüeh ching
Ethics
Ethical
Morality
道德
道德 / 道徳
dou toku / doutoku / do tokudào dé / dao4 de2 / dao de / daodetao te / taote
Keep Your Feet on the Ground腳踏實地
脚踏实地
jiǎo tà shí dì
jiao3 ta4 shi2 di4
jiao ta shi di
jiaotashidi
chiao t`a shih ti
chiaotashihti
chiao ta shih ti
Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, Listen to One Side and be in the Dark兼聽則明偏聽則暗
兼听则明偏听则暗
jiān tīng zé míng, piān tīng zé àn
jian1 ting1 ze2 ming2, pian1 ting1 ze2 an4
jian ting ze ming, pian ting ze an
chien t`ing tse ming, p`ien t`ing tse an
chien ting tse ming, pien ting tse an
Moderation
Temperance
節制
节制
sessei / seseijié zhì / jie2 zhi4 / jie zhi / jiezhichieh chih / chiehchih
Modesty謙遜
谦逊
kensonqiān xùn / qian1 xun4 / qian xun / qianxunch`ien hsün / chienhsün / chien hsün
Moral and Virtuous
tokudé / de2 / dete
Do not take action until the time is right不到火候不揭鍋
不到火候不揭锅
bù dào huǒ hou bù jiē guō
bu4 dao4 huo3 hou bu4 jie1 guo1
bu dao huo hou bu jie guo
budaohuohoubujieguo
pu tao huo hou pu chieh kuo
putaohuohoupuchiehkuo
Seeing is Believing百聞不如一見
百闻不如一见
bǎi wén bù rú yí jiàn
bai3 wen2 bu4 ru2 yi2 jian4
bai wen bu ru yi jian
baiwenburuyijian
pai wen pu ju i chien
paiwenpujuichien
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.


Dictionary

Lookup Prudence in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary

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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.
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.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

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.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

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.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

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.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

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.


Some people may refer to this entry as Prudence Kanji, Prudence Characters, Prudence in Mandarin Chinese, Prudence Characters, Prudence in Chinese Writing, Prudence in Japanese Writing, Prudence in Asian Writing, Prudence Ideograms, Chinese Prudence symbols, Prudence Hieroglyphics, Prudence Glyphs, Prudence in Chinese Letters, Prudence Hanzi, Prudence in Japanese Kanji, Prudence Pictograms, Prudence in the Chinese Written-Language, or Prudence in the Japanese Written-Language.