Buy a Tranquility Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

安 is used in a lot of compound words in the CJK world.

Alone, this character has a broad span of possible meanings. These meanings include relaxed, quiet, rested, contented, calm, still, to pacify, peaceful, at peace, soothing, or soothed.

安 and even the pronunciation was borrowed from Chinese and absorbed into both Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja. In all these languages, this character is pronounced like “an.”

太平 means “peace and tranquility” or “peace and security” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

The literal translation would be “very balanced” or “very peaceful.”

The first character means very, much, too much, or extremely.
The second character means balanced, peaceful, calm, equal, even, level, or smooth.

泰平 means peace and/or tranquility in Japanese and Korean (also understood but not as common in Chinese).

靜 and 謐 both mean quiet. Together, 靜謐 reinforces the meanings, almost creating a word that means “double quiet” or “perfect quiet.”

A good wall scroll for a library, reading room, or another quiet place.

See Also:  Peace | Harmony

平靜 is one of several ways to express “serenity” or “tranquility” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

It can also be translated as calm, serenity, tranquil, undisturbed, or serene.

See Also:  Peace

靜穏 is a Japanese-specific way to express “serenity” or “tranquility.”

Notes: The second Kanji is not a Chinese character - it was morphed or developed in Japan after Chinese characters were absorbed into the Japanese language during the 5th century.
The first character is slightly-simplified from the original Chinese form but still recognizable.

See Also:  Peace

寧靜致遠 is an ancient Chinese idiom that means “tranquility yields transcendence.”

This suggests pursuing a quiet life of profound study.

The first two characters mean tranquility. The last two characters mean “go far,” which suggests achieving much in your life or expanding beyond normal limits. The direct translation would read something like, “[With] tranquility [in your life, you'll] go far.”

Compare this to the English idiom: Still waters run deep.

寧靜 expresses the idea of tranquility and serenity in Chinese.

See Also:  Peace | Inner Peace | Harmony | Calm

平 is a single character that means balance in Chinese but it's not too direct or too specific about what kind of balance.

Chinese people often like calligraphy art that is a little vague or mysterious. In this way, you can decide what it means to you, and you'll be right.

平 is also part of a word that means peace in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.

Some alternate translations of this single character include: balanced, peaceful, calm, equal, even, level, smooth, or flat.

Note that in Japanese, this just means “level” or “flat” by itself (not the best choice for balance if your audience is Japanese).

永平 is a way to write “eternal peace” in Chinese and Japanese.

This may also refer to Yongping county in Dali Bai autonomous prefecture. 永平 is also a Japanese surname that romanizes as Nagahira.

信愛和 is a word list that reads, “Faith Love Peace.”

This is not a natural phrase in Chinese or Japanese, as it lacks a subject, verb, or object. But if this is what you want, here it is.

禪悅 is a title that refers to the inner bliss and peace you can achieve from meditation.

This term transcends a few religions, including Taoism and Buddhism. It can also be translated as “joy of the mystic trance” or simply “meditative bliss.”

Amazing that such a complex idea can be expressed in just two Chinese characters. Note that the first character is Chan/Zen (Chinese/Japanese), which means “meditation” in both languages.

內心平靜 is a Chinese and Japanese phrase that is a direct translation of the western idea of inner peace.

The first two characters contain the idea of “heart,” “innermost being,” or “deep in the/your inner mind.”

The last two characters mean “tranquil” and “serene.”

I have seen this phrase used as “inner peace” for art prints and even on the side of coffee cups. But I think the translation is too literal. It feels like a direct translation from English rather than a nicely composed Chinese or Japanese phrase. See my other entries for “inner peace.”

See Also:  Serenity | Simplicity | Peace

靜 is the simplest way to convey the meaning of inner peace and serenity.

靜 is often translated as “serenity.” It can also be used to express the ideas of still, calm, serene, quiet, silent, stillness, not moving, or tranquility.

In the old days, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean people might hang a wall scroll with this character in their reading room to bring about a sense of peace in the room.

While they once used the same character form in Japan, they now use a slightly-simplified version in modern Japan (after WWII). This version is shown to the right, and can be selected for your wall scroll by clicking on that Kanji instead of the button above.

See Also:  Peace

寧靜而致遠 is five characters from a longer ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.

诸葛亮 Zhuge Liang

The proverb means “Your inner peace/tranquility/serenity will help you see or reach far (into the world).”

The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.

安居樂業 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja proverb for “living in peace and working happily,” or “to live in peace and be content with one's occupation.”

忍耐は心の平和をもたらす means “patience brings peace of mind,” in Japanese.

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

This ancient Chinese proverb can be translated as “Patience brings peace of mind,” “One who has patience finds peace,” and a few other ways.

安康 means just what it says. It's a word that expresses both the idea of being at peace and healthy at the same time.

Note: 安康 is a bonafide word in Chinese and Korean, and the characters will at least make sense in Japanese.

和 is the simplest form of peace and harmony.

和 can also be translated as the peaceful ideas of gentle, mild, kind, and calm. With a more harmonious context, it can be translated as union, together with, on good terms with, or on friendly terms.

Most people would just translate this character as peace and/or harmony. 和 is a very popular character in Asian cultures - you can even call it the “peace symbol” of Asia. In fact, this peace and harmony character was seen repeatedly during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (a major theme of the games).

In old Chinese poems and literature, you might see this used as a kind of "and." As in two things summed together. As much as you could say, "the sun and moon," you could say "the sun in harmony with the moon."

See Also:  Inner Peace | Patience | Simplicity

和平博愛 is the Chinese and Japanese way to express “Peace and Love.”

These are two separate words, so the calligrapher will put a slight space between the first two characters, which mean peace, and the last two, which represent universal love. This space is not shown on the sample character images for this phrase.

A special note: Word lists may seem okay in English but feel strange in Chinese and Japanese. We don't offer too many of them but this one is often-requested and feels okay in Chinese and Japanese, though a bit uncommon in Korean.

See Also:  Peace | Love

內心的寧靜 is the long way to express the idea of “peace of mind” in Chinese.

The first two characters mean heart or “innermost being.”
The middle character is a connecting modifier.
The last two characters mean peace, tranquility, or serenity.

Some may also translate this as “inner peace,” but I like our other inner-peace options for that idea.

This kind of makes sense in Korean but will have an archaic read - even by those who can understand Korean Hanja.

和平 is the Chinese order for these two characters, which means peace but can also be translated as amicability, specifically, or mildness. 和平 is often translated as a simple way to say “peace of mind.” This combination is used in Korean Hanja to mean “peace and harmony.”

Alone, the first character means peace and harmony.
The second character means balance when read by itself.

Note: 和平 are often seen in the opposite order in Japanese with the same meaning (You'll sometimes find them in this order in Japan, so either way is OK).

平和 is the Japanese and Korean order of these characters used most often to express the idea of peace, tranquility, and harmony.

It's just the reverse order of the Chinese. In this order in Chinese, it means takes the “mild” definition rather than “peace.” In Korean, the combination keeps the same meaning in either order.

The second character also means balance, so there is an element of harmony and balance along with peace.

安心 can be defined as relief, peace of mind, feeling at ease, to be relieved, to set one's mind at rest, and easiness.

安心 is a nice word that encompasses great meanings within just two characters. Some of the other meanings include pacifying, settling the mind, and peace of mind. It's also the idea of feeling a sense of security, safety, and confidence in your state of well-being.

This can be used by everyone, but some consider it to be a Buddhist concept (You'll find it in your Zen dictionary).

Note: Can be romanized as Anshin or Anjin in Japanese.

平和的武士 means “Peaceful Warrior” in Chinese. This does in fact sound like an oxymoron in Chinese - but many of you have asked for this special title.

Note this is not the same thing as “warrior for peace.”

See Also:  Peace

和平博愛幸福 is a word-list that means “peace, love, happiness,” in Chinese.

Word lists like this are not commonly-seen in China. Phrases with subject, verb, and object, or just single words are more natural for calligraphy artwork.

平和, 愛, 幸福 means “peace, love, happiness” in Japanese.

This is a word list, which is not the most natural kind of composition in Japanese (usually there is a subject, object, and verb - or a single word).

安禪 creates a title that means to reach peace and calm through meditation.

安禪 is an excellent wall scroll for your relaxation or meditation room.

This is also a Buddhist-related term that encompasses the idea of entering into dhyana meditation.

This is also used in Japanese, but in modern times, the second character has changed, so it's 安禅 now. If you want the modern Japanese version, just choose a Japanese calligrapher, and let me know when you place your order.

These Japanese Kanji, 安心立命, can be translated as “religious enlightenment” or “spiritual peace gained through faith.”

Other dictionaries define as “spiritual peace and enlightenment” or “keeping an unperturbed mind through faith.”

My Buddhist dictionary defines it as “spiritual peace and realization of enlightenment.”

In the Zen school, this is about settling one's body and life; attaining complete peace, and establishing one's course of life in accord with the ultimate reality.

和平武士 means “Warrior for Peace” (a warrior who fights for peace) in Chinese.

Note this is not the same thing as a “peaceful warrior.”

See Also:  Peace

世界和平 is the Chinese title for “world peace.”

世界平和 is the Japanese title for “world peace” or “peace of the world.”

啟盛世開太平 means “To bring flourishing peace and security to the world (our current era).”

It's a wish that a new door leading to peace and prosperity could be opened to mankind.

Character and word breakdown:
啟 to open; to start; to initiate; to enlighten or awaken.
盛世 a flourishing period; period of prosperity; a golden age.
開 to open; to start; to turn on.
太平 peace and security; peace and tranquility; peace; tranquility.
I don't like to do breakdowns like this, as the words altogether create their unique meaning (encompassed in the main title above).

大安穏 means great peace, great repose, nirvanic peace, or great tranquility.

四海升平 literally means “all four oceans at peace,” which is a way to express “world peace.”

安穩 can mean a steady, stable, sedate, and calm mind.

Other translations include “body and mind at rest,” or “peace and comfort.”

This proverb can be translated as the whole world at peace, peace and prosperity, peaceful and tranquil, peace reigns over the land, times of peace, peace and tranquillity, peaceful world, or from the Greek, times of halcyon.

Sometimes (rarely) written as 天下泰平 (variant 3rd character).

反戰 means antiwar, as in what a pacifist believes in.

China does plenty of saber-rattling but thankfully doesn't go to war very often, and Japan has embraced a pacifist ideology. Therefore, it's rare to need this word. However, this is the kind of word that war protesters would write on their signs.

There is a modern Japanese version of the second character which has become the standard in Japan after WWII. If you want your calligraphy written in the modern Japanese form, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note: Most Japanese and all Chinese people will recognize the form shown in the upper left.

冷靜 means calm and cool-headed in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Other translations: calmness, composure, coolness, serenity, tranquility.

冷靜 is a good wall scroll for someone that wants to remind themselves to stay calm and level-headed.

See Also:  Sober Calm

和諧 is a word that means harmonious, harmony, concordant, or balanced in Chinese.

In Korean Hanja, it sometimes means reconciliation or compromise.

See Also:  Peace

淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.

This is a Chinese proverb that means “Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world).”

What I have translated as “simple life” means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.

The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.

The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.

See Also:  Serenity

家內安全 is the Japanese way of saying “Family First.”

It's a Japanese proverb about the safety and well-being of your family and/or peace and prosperity in the household.

Some Japanese will hang an amulet in their home with these Kanji. The purpose is to keep your family safe from harm.

According to Shinto followers, hanging this in your home is seen as an invocation to God to always keep family members free from harm.

We were looking for a way to say “family first” in Japanese when this proverb came up in the conversation and research. While it doesn't say “family first,” it shows that the safety and well-being of your family is your first or most important priority. So, this proverb is the most natural way to express the idea that you put your family first.

See Also:  Peace and Prosperity

悠悠閑閑 means “life of serenity” in Japanese.

However, it can also have these meanings depending on how it's read: “composed and unhurried,” “easygoing and leisurely,” “in indolence,” or “life of idleness.”

非暴力 is fairly self-explanatory.

The first character means “not,” “non-,” or “un-”
The middle and last character together mean “violence,” “use of force,” or simply “violent.”

Together, these three characters would normally be translated as “nonviolence.” A great gift for your favorite peace-lover.

See Also:  Peace

忍耐 is patience, the quiet hope, and trust that things will turn out right.

You wait without complaining. You are tolerant and accepting of difficulties and mistakes. You picture the end in the beginning and persevere to meet your goals.

忍耐 can also mean “to endure,” “restrain oneself,” or “forbearance,” and in some contexts, it can mean “perseverance” or “endurance.”

忍耐 is also used as a tenet of Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, and other Korean martial arts where it's titled “Endurance” and romanized as “In Neh.”

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the first character in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this Kanji form (yes, it’s just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in the Japanese Kanji form).

See Also:  Peace | Harmony | Perseverance

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).”

This word means “safe and sound” in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Can also be translated as well-being, peace, tranquility, quietness, and calmness.

Note: There is also a longer four-character version in our calligraphy database.

See Also:  Peace

This is the serenity prayer, as used by many 12-step programs and support groups.

In Chinese, this says:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is a Japanese version of the serenity prayer, as used by many 12-step programs and support groups.

In Japanese, this says:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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

安息 means to rest, to go to sleep, to rest peacefully, or in repose, in Chinese characters, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.