Custom Undaunted Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options to create artwork with Undaunted characters on a wall scroll or portrait.


  1. Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks

  2. Carry On, Undaunted

  3. Diligence

  4. Fear No Man / Fear Nothing

  5. Perseverance / Fortitude

  6. Indomitable / Persistence / Fortitude

  7. Indomitable / Unyielding

  8. Indomitable Spirit

  9. Never Give Up

10. No Fear

11. Perseverance

12. Taekwondo Tenets / Spirit of Taekwon-do


Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks

Persistence to overcome all challenges

 bǎi zhé bù náo
 hyaku setsu su tou
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll

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

Carry On, Undaunted

 qián fù hòu jì
Carry On, Undaunted Scroll

前赴後繼 is a Chinese proverb that figuratively means “to advance dauntlessly in wave upon wave.”

It suggests that you should or can carry on and have the strength to keep going.

While this proverb is a little bit militaristic, it suggests that despite a fallen comrade (or perhaps a loved one), you should keep going and work towards the goal they intended.

 qín
 kin
 
Diligence Scroll

勤 is a single character that means diligence or “sense of duty” in Chinese and Korean (also understood in Japanese but not commonly seen as a stand-alone Kanji).

As a single character on a wall scroll, this will only be seen with this meaning. However, it can also mean industrious, hardworking, frequent, regular, constant, energy, zeal, fortitude, or virility.

In Buddhism, this can represent vīrya (viriya), the idea of energy, diligence, enthusiasm, or effort. It can be defined as an attitude of gladly engaging in wholesome activities, and it functions to cause one to accomplish wholesome or virtuous actions. Some Buddhists may even define this as “manliness” (a definition from a hundred years ago, before equality).

If you or someone you know is a hard worker (or needs a reminder to be diligent), then this is the wall scroll to have in your/their office.


See Also:  Tenacity

Fear No Man / Fear Nothing

 wú suǒ wèi jù
Fear No Man / Fear Nothing Scroll

無所畏懼 means “fear nothing,” but it's the closest thing in Chinese to the phrase “fear no man” which many of you have requested.

This would also be the way to say “fear nobody” and can be translated simply as “undaunted.”

Perseverance / Fortitude

 jiǎn rěn
 ken nin
Perseverance / Fortitude Scroll

堅忍 means persistent, steadfast, fortitude, and/or perseverance.

The first character means strong, solid, firm, unyielding, or resolute.
The second character means to beat, endure, or tolerate.
Together they speak of the strength from within yourself. Some may also translate this as long-suffering in a more Biblical sense.

堅忍 is a common term in Chinese and Korean Hanja but a little less commonly used in modern Japanese Kanji. For that reason, this selection is best if your audience is Chinese or Korean.


忍忍 Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the second Kanji a little differently. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect the form where the little horizontal stroke crosses the vertical stroke. See differences in the images to the right. Technically, they are both the same character, and will be read the same in either language.

Indomitable / Persistence / Fortitude

 bù qū
 fukutsu
Indomitable / Persistence / Fortitude Scroll

不屈 is the short form of a longer Chinese word and also a word used in Korean and Japanese to express the idea of being indomitable. It literally means “will not bend,” “will not crouch,” “will not yield,” “will not flinch,” or “will not submit.”

Note: Some will translate this as “indomitable spirit”; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of “spirit” in this word.


See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength

Indomitable / Unyielding

 bù qū bù náo
 fu kutsu fu tou
Indomitable / Unyielding Scroll

不屈不撓 means “Indomitable” or “Unyielding.”

不屈不撓 is a long word by Chinese standards. At least, it is often translated as a single word into English. It's actually a proverb in Chinese.

If you want to break it down, you can see that the first and third characters are the same. Both mean “not” (they work as a suffix to make a negative or opposite meaning to whatever character follows).

The second character means “bendable.”

The last means “scratched” or “bothered.”

So this really means “Won't be bent, can't be bothered.” I have also seen it written as “Will not crouch, will not submit.” This comes from the fact that the second character can mean “to crouch” and the last can mean “to submit” (as in “to give in” such as “submitting to the rule of someone else”). This may explain better why these four characters mean “indomitable.”

Notes:
Some will translate this as “indomitable spirit”; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of “spirit” in this word.
Other translations include indefatigability, indomitableness, or unremitting tenacity.

The first two characters can be stand-alone words in Chinese.
In Japanese, this is considered two words (with very similar meanings). It's more common to see the word order flipped to 不撓不屈 in Japanese.
The same characters are used in old Korean Hanja. Just like in Japanese, the words are swapped to 不撓不屈 creating a word pronounced “불요불굴” in Korean.


See 不撓不屈


See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength

Indomitable Spirit

Korean Only

 bǎi shé bù qū
Indomitable Spirit Scroll

百折不屈 is a Korean proverb that means “indomitable spirit,” at least, that is the way it is commonly translated in martial arts circles (Taekwondo, Hapkido, etc.).

The literal translation is “[one] hundred [times] broken [still] don't succumb.”
Or more naturally translated, “Even if attacked/beaten one hundred times, still be undaunted/indomitable.”

Notes:
Some will say this is one long word rather than a proverb.
This is also a proverb/word in Chinese though rarely used in modern times.

Never Give Up

 yǒng bù fàng qì
Never Give Up Scroll

The first character means “eternal” or “forever,” and the second means “not” (together, they mean “never”). The last two characters mean “give up” or “abandon.” Altogether, you can translate this proverb as “never give up” or “never abandon.”

Depending on how you want to read this, 永不放棄 is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family, or friends.


See Also:  No Fear | Hope

No Fear

(2 characters)

 wú wèi
 mui
No Fear Scroll

無畏 literally means “No Fear.” But perhaps not the most natural Chinese phrase (see our other “No Fear” phrase for a complete thought). However, this two-character version of “No Fear” seems to be a very popular way to translate this into Chinese when we checked Chinese Google.

Note: This also means “No Fear” in Japanese and Korean, but this character pair is not often used in Japan or Korea.

This term appears in various Chinese dictionaries with definitions like “without fear,” intrepidity, fearless, dauntless, and bold.

In the Buddhist context, this is a word derived from the word Abhaya, meaning: Fearless, dauntless, secure, nothing, and nobody to fear. Also, from vīra meaning: courageous, bold.


See Also:  Never Give Up | No Worries | Bravery | Courage | Fear No Man

Perseverance

 yì
 see note
 
Perseverance Scroll

毅 is the simplest way to express perseverance in Chinese and Korean Hanja.
This single-character version leaves a bit of mystery about what kind of perseverance you might want to convey.

In Korean, this is usually associated with “strength of character.”

In Japanese, this character can be pronounced in a dozen different ways (so we have left out the Japanese pronunciation guide that normally appears above). In Japanese, this Kanji would usually be translated as “strong” (perhaps strong-willed).


See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength

Taekwondo Tenets / Spirit of Taekwon-do

 tái quán dào jīng shén lǐ yì lián chǐ rěn nài kè jǐ bǎi zhé bù qū
Taekwondo Tenets / Spirit of Taekwon-do Scroll

跆拳道精神禮義廉耻忍耐克己百折不屈 is General Choi's writing that is often called “The Tenets of Taekwon-do.”

Taekwondo Tenets

The actual title would be translated as “Taekwondo Spirit” or “The Spirit of Taekwondo.” It was originally written in Korean Hanja (Chinese characters used in Korea for about 1600 years).

General Choi's original calligraphy is shown to the right. Your custom calligraphy will be unique, and not an exact match, as each calligrapher has their own style.

In modern times, the common form of written Korean is Hangul (a phonetic character set). The table below shows the text in Hangul and Hanja along with a pronunciation guide and a brief English translation:

Traditional Korean HanjaModern Korean HangulPronunciationEnglish
跆拳道精神태권도정신tae gweon do jeong sinTaekwondo Spirit
禮儀예의ye yiCourtesy / Etiquette / Propriety / Decorum / Formality
廉耻염치yeom ciIntegrity / Sense of Honor
忍耐인내in naePatience / Perseverance / Endurance
克己극기geug giSelf-Control / Self-Denial / Self-Abnegation
百折不屈백절불굴baeg jeor bur gurIndomitable Spirit (Undaunted even after repeated attacks from the opponent)
Note that the pronunciation is the official version now used in South Korea. However, it is different than what you may be used to. For instance, “Taekwon-do” is “tae gweon do.” This new romanization is supposed to be closer to actual Korean pronunciation.




This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...


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

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
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
Carry On, Undaunted前赴後繼
前赴后继
qián fù hòu jì
qian2 fu4 hou4 ji4
qian fu hou ji
qianfuhouji
ch`ien fu hou chi
chienfuhouchi
chien fu hou chi
Diligencekinqín / qin2 / qinch`in / chin
Fear No Man
Fear Nothing
無所畏懼
无所畏惧
wú suǒ wèi jù
wu2 suo3 wei4 ju4
wu suo wei ju
wusuoweiju
wu so wei chü
wusoweichü
Perseverance
Fortitude
堅忍
坚忍
ken nin / kenninjiǎn rěn / jian3 ren3 / jian ren / jianrenchien jen / chienjen
Indomitable
Persistence
Fortitude
不屈fukutsubù qū / bu4 qu1 / bu qu / buqupu ch`ü / puchü / pu chü
Indomitable
Unyielding
不屈不撓
不屈不挠
fu kutsu fu tou
fukutsufutou
fu kutsu fu to
bù qū bù náo
bu4 qu1 bu4 nao2
bu qu bu nao
buqubunao
pu ch`ü pu nao
puchüpunao
pu chü pu nao
Indomitable Spirit百折不屈bǎi shé bù qū
bai3 she2 bu4 qu1
bai she bu qu
baishebuqu
pai she pu ch`ü
paishepuchü
pai she pu chü
Never Give Up永不放棄
永不放弃
yǒng bù fàng qì
yong3 bu4 fang4 qi4
yong bu fang qi
yongbufangqi
yung pu fang ch`i
yungpufangchi
yung pu fang chi
No Fear無畏
无畏
muiwú wèi / wu2 wei4 / wu wei / wuwei
Perseverancesee note / seenote / se noteyì / yi4 / yii
Taekwondo Tenets
Spirit of Taekwon-do
跆拳道精神禮義廉耻忍耐克己百折不屈
跆拳道精神礼义廉耻忍耐克己百折不屈
tái quán dào jīng shén lǐ yì lián chǐ rěn nài kè jǐ bǎi zhé bù qū
tai2 quan2 dao4 jing1 shen2 li3 yi4 lian2 chi3 ren3 nai4 ke4 ji3 bai3 zhe2 bu4 qu1
tai quan dao jing shen li yi lian chi ren nai ke ji bai zhe bu qu
t`ai ch`üan tao ching shen li i lien ch`ih jen nai k`o chi pai che pu ch`ü
tai chüan tao ching shen li i lien chih jen nai ko chi pai che pu chü
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 in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary

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.


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.