We have many options to create artwork with the Chinese characters / Asian symbols / Japanese Kanji for Jesus on a wall scroll or portrait.
1. Jesus
4. Jesus Christ
6. Jesus
10. Jesus is Lord
11. Jesus Saves
12. Christ
This is simply the name “Jesus” transliterated into Chinese. 耶穌 hold a pronunciation in Mandarin that is closer to the real and original Hebrew Yeshua, instead of the incorrect way we have always pronounced Jesus in English with a hard “J” sound. While this name sounds like the real “Jesus” in Chinese, Christians in China are more likely to say “Christ” (Jidu) which holds more meaning than just sound.
If you are Latino and have been given the name “Jesus,” this is also how to write your name in Chinese.
ジーザス is the name Jesus in Japanese.
This is a common version that approximates pronunciation in English. However, there are many variations for writing Jesus in Japanese, and it's hard to come up with an absolute answer (transliteration of names is more art than science).
Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
耶穌是我的生命 means Jesus is my life in Chinese.
The first two characters are a transliteration of the name Jesus into Mandarin Chinese.
The third character means, is.
The fourth and fifth mean my or mine.
The last two characters mean life, as in lifespan, or from birth to death.
This is not a common phrase for Chinese Christians, but this is the best way to translate this idea from English to Mandarin Chinese.
基督 is how to write “Christ” in Chinese characters, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.
This is the word used in the Chinese Union Bible (the only readily-available translation of the Bible into Chinese that I know of - published about 100 years ago). For Chinese Christians, this is the most common way to refer to Jesus Christ.
This is also the way that “Christ” is written in Japanese. But since the Japanese language is very flexible about the sounds that can be assigned to various Kanji, these characters have been assigned a pronunciation that sounds a lot like “Christ” or actually closer to the original “Christos.” In Japanese (if you don't know how the Romaji shown above in the gray box works), it sounds like “key ree sue toe” using English words/sounds. Say those four words fast, and you'll get it.
It should be noted that only Japanese Christians will be familiar with this word.
This is best defined, read, and understood with the characters together, but if you take this word for Christ apart, the first character means “fundamentals” or “foundation.” The second character can mean “leader” or “boss.”
基督徒 is a very strong and direct word in Chinese for “Christian.”
The literal translation of the first two characters is “Christ.”
The last character means apprentice, follower, or disciple.
Altogether these three characters mean “Christ's Disciple” or “Christ's Apprentice.” 基督徒 is a pretty cool title to hang on your wall if you are a devout Christian.
Also used by Japanese Christians (but may be unfamiliar to non-Christian Japanese people).
See Also: Jesus Christ | God of Abraham
基督教徒 is the most verbose (longest) word for “Christian” in the Chinese and Japanese languages.
The literal translation of the first two characters is Christ.
The third Character means “Religion” or “Teaching.”
The last character means “apprentice” or “disciple.”
Altogether these three characters mean “Christ's Teaching Disciple” or “Christ's Religion Apprentice.”
Note: The last two characters are sometimes translated together as “follower (of a religion),” so you could also say it means “Follower of Christ.”
This four-character title makes it very clear what you are talking about in Chinese.
See Also: Jesus Christ | God of Abraham
基督教 is the Chinese, Japanese and Korean word for “Christianity.”
Just as in English, this word is often used to mean “Protestant” but includes Catholics in the true definition.
It is the word used to refer to the whole “Christian religion” or “Christian Faith,” and therefore, it can be translated as “Christianity.” However, used as an adjective in regard to a person, it would translate as “Christian.” But more like saying, “His religion is Christianity,” rather than a noun form.
If you break it apart, the characters mean Base/Foundation Leading/Supervising Religion/Teaching. It makes more sense in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. The first two characters together are translated as “Christ.” So you can also say this means “Christ's Religion” or “Christ's Teachings” when directly translated, or in reverse, “The Religion of Christ” or “The Teaching of Christ.”
Notes: The last character has a slight difference in one stroke - however, in calligraphic form, this will not be apparent. This entry can easily be read by any Korean person who knows Hanja characters (Chinese characters used in Korean).
See Also: Jesus Christ | God of Abraham
福音 is the Chinese, Korean and Japanese word for “Gospel” or “Word of God.”
福音 is a specifically Christian word in Asia (not used for any other religion).
The first character means blessing, good fortune, or good luck. This first character is a special character used throughout China to bring good tidings and fortune - especially during Chinese New Year. The second character means sound, noise, or news.
Together, these characters create a word that means “The Good News” or “The Sound of Good Fortune.”
When read by a Chinese or Japanese person, this word is always perceived as “The Christian Gospel,” “Word of God,” or even “The Voice of God.”
See Also: Christianity | Jesus Christ | God of Abraham
復活 is the Chinese, Japanese and Korean word for resurrection or rebirth.
復活 literally means “return to life.”
It is the term used in most Asian Bibles to refer to the resurrection of Christ. In Japanese, it is sometimes used to mean a Christian Revival. In some contexts, it can mean resuscitation.
See Also: Christianity | Jesus Christ | God of Abraham
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Jesus | 耶穌 耶稣 | yé sū / ye2 su1 / ye su / yesu | yeh su / yehsu | |
Jesus Christ is my Savior | 耶穌基督是我救主 耶稣基督是我救主 | yē sū jī dū shì wǒ jiù zhǔ ye1 su1 ji1 du1 shi4 wo3 jiu4 zhu3 ye su ji du shi wo jiu zhu yesujidushiwojiuzhu | yeh su chi tu shih wo chiu chu yehsuchitushihwochiuchu |
|
Jesus Christ is My Savior | イエスキリストは私の救い主です | Iesu kirisuto wa watashi no sukuinushi desu | ||
Jesus Christ | 耶穌基督 耶稣基督 | yē sū jī dū ye1 su1 ji1 du1 ye su ji du yesujidu | yeh su chi tu yehsuchitu |
|
Jesus is my Savior | 耶穌是我救主 耶稣是我救主 | yē sū shì wǒ jiù zhǔ ye1 su1 shi4 wo3 jiu4 zhu3 ye su shi wo jiu zhu yesushiwojiuzhu | yeh su shih wo chiu chu yehsushihwochiuchu |
|
Jesus | ジーザス | jiizasu / jizasu | ||
Jesus | イエス | iesu | ||
Jesus | イエズス | iezusu | ||
Jesus is my Savior | イエスは私の救い主です | iesu wa watashi no sukuinushi desu | ||
Jesus Christ is Love | 耶穌基督是愛 耶稣基督是爱 | yē sū jī dū shì ài ye1 su1 ji1 du1 shi4 ai4 ye su ji du shi ai yesujidushiai | yeh su chi tu shih ai yehsuchitushihai |
|
Jesus is My Life | 耶穌是我的生命 耶稣是我的生命 | yē sū shì wǒ de shēng mìng ye1 su1 shi4 wo3 de sheng1 ming4 ye su shi wo de sheng ming yesushiwodeshengming | yeh su shih wo te sheng ming yehsushihwoteshengming |
|
Jesus is Lord | 耶穌是主 耶稣是主 | yē sū shì zhǔ ye1 su1 shi4 zhu3 ye su shi zhu yesushizhu | yeh su shih chu yehsushihchu |
|
Jesus is Lord | イエスは主である | Iesu wa omodearu Iesuwaomodearu | ||
Jesus Saves | イエスが救う | Iesu ga sukuu Iesugasukuu Iesu ga suku | ||
Jesus Saves | 耶穌拯救 耶稣拯救 | yē sū zhěng jiù ye1 su1 zheng3 jiu4 ye su zheng jiu yesuzhengjiu | yeh su cheng chiu yehsuchengchiu |
|
Christ | 基督 | kirisuto | jī dū / ji1 du1 / ji du / jidu | chi tu / chitu |
Christian Disciple of Christ | 基督徒 | kirisuto | jī dū tú ji1 du1 tu2 ji du tu jidutu | chi tu t`u chitutu chi tu tu |
Disciple of Christianity | 基督教徒 | kirisutokyouto kirisutokyoto | jī dū jiào tú ji1 du1 jiao4 tu2 ji du jiao tu jidujiaotu | chi tu chiao t`u chituchiaotu chi tu chiao tu |
Christianity Christian | 基督教 | kirisutokyou kirisutokyo | jī dū jiào ji1 du1 jiao4 ji du jiao jidujiao | chi tu chiao chituchiao |
Word of God The Gospel | 福音 | fukuin | fú yīn / fu2 yin1 / fu yin / fuyin | |
Resurrection Re-Birth | 復活 复活 | hukkatsu / hukatsu | fù huó / fu4 huo2 / fu huo / fuhuo | |
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. |
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.