Chinese Tattoos have always been hugely popular. At one stage they were the realm of criminals and the mafia. Now it seems even Hollywood celebrities seem to have caught on to the mystery and allure of the Far East. While it is undeniable that classic Chinese tattoos have an attraction which can easily be appreciated regardless of whether one can understand the often subtle meanings or not.
Aesthetics should be the primary consideration when getting tattooed, and Chinese characters are very well suited to this purpose. While tattoos have always been conversation pieces, Chinese tattoos add another element, since the typical viewer will probably ask you the meaning, which allows the wearer to not only translate the characters, but to explain the story behind the decision to make such a lasting statement.
Meaning is an important question however and for this reason can make Chinese tattoos date very quickly. Often it is not quite what the wearer was told by the tattooist at the tattoo shop or the meaning can become irrelevant after a few years.
Hopefully the person being tattooed has done his or her research and consulted with a native Chinese speaker about the meaning before being inked. Some non Chinese speakers have unwittingly tattooed their bodies with Chinese symbols which when translated become meaningless.
The most common Chinese tattoos are ones that are supposed to represent ideas and qualities like love or strength. Keep in mind that the concepts are aimed at English speakers, and on that level "peace, love and happiness" are easily understandable.
But before you run off to the studio to get one done you should do your research. Selecting a Chinese tattoos deserves careful study and attention. It should have less to do with style and more to do with your character, work, and values. It's permanent, so it's a pretty important decision in your life. In the end, it is important to choose something of lasting appeal not something faddish.
Chinese Dragons
For centuries, the Chinese dragon has been a symbol of power and mystery. Depicted in countless legends, both Eastern and Western, the dragon has provoked man to fear and worship it. In medieval Europe, it was a bloodthirsty, fire-breathing figure. Its malevolence and ferociousness struck terror in all. However, in Asia, it is the contrary. The mighty dragon is a mythical beast long celebrated for its benevolence, intelligence and good will. The Chinese dragon has been a common symbol of identity for Far Eastern cultures.
In fact, Chinese people all over the world are affectionately known as "lung de chuan ren", or the "descendants of the dragon". There are several distinct species of Chinese dragons. The Horned Dragon is considered to be the mightiest. The Celestial Dragon supports the heavens and protects the Gods. The Earth Dragon rules all of the earth. The Spiritual Dragon controls the wind and rain. The Treasure Dragon is the keeper of precious metals and gems. The Winged Dragon is the only dragon with wings. The Coiling Dragon dwells in the ocean. The Yellow Dragon is a hornless dragon known for its scholarly knowledge.
Subscribe to Kinky Ink eZine FREE
![]() Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:05:30 GMT Stocks: A Terrible Thursday - BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek - Major US indexes each tumbled nearly 3% as worries intensified over the health of the economy. All eyes are on Friday's jobs report Market players were probably wondering Thursday why they bothered to come back from their summer vacations. Stocks Are Broadly Lower Tracking Falls on Wall Street Stocks slide on economic worries Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:53:27 GMT House committee widens probe of Vytorin safety - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - AP TRENTON, NJ: A House committee investigating the safety and effectiveness of the popular cholesterol drug Vytorin and one of its components is turning up the heat on the drug's makers. Many Questions About Vytorin Drug Scare Shenanigans Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:32:18 GMT UN warns of Haiti flooding crisis - BBC News
BBC News - Several hundred thousand people need help in Haiti, which is suffering severe flooding after being hit by a series of tropical storms, the UN says. Attempts to Aid Desperate Haitians Hindered by Floodwaters Storms line up to slam western Atlantic, southeastern US Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:05:26 GMT Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains - Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune - By Jeremy Gorner | Chicago Tribune reporter Rev. Jesse Jackson was being treated Thursday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after falling ill. Video: Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized Jesse Jackson hospitalized after stomach pains Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:00:48 GMT Tropical Storm Hanna aiming for Massachusetts - Boston Globe
Boston Globe - By Andrew Ryan and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to churn up the Atlantic coast and lash Massachusetts this weekend with winds gusting up to 50 mph near the coast and up to four inches of rain. Video: Hanna Nears US, but Stronger Ike Looms Area departments gearing up for Hanna's arrival Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:23:14 GMT Kilpatrick's rise and fall - Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press - BY BILL McGRAW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • September 5, 2008 Kwame Kilpatrick entered the mayor's office with extraordinary gifts -- charisma, savvy, flair, pedigree, connections, ambition and chutzpah -- everything a 31-year-old needed to make a ... Video: A Timeline of Detroit Mayor's Text Scandal Detroit’s Mayor Will Leave Office and Go to Jail Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:27:50 GMT Arthritis Drugs Linked to Risks From Infection - New York Times
New York Times - By AP WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration ordered stronger warnings Thursday on four medications widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses, saying they can raise the risk of possibly fatal fungal infections. Deaths Heighten Arthritis Drugs Warning Nation Digest 4 arthritis drugs get tougher warnings Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:38:34 GMT Amazon Associate Software |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... This morning when I got out of bed, I had... Read More Collecting art can be one of the most enjoyable ways... Read More CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: - It seems a mystery to most academics... Read More Radio was the big communicator, back when I was a... Read More The Shwedagon Paya is much more than just another temple.... Read More Women have been given the greatest gift of creativity there... Read More There are many ways to interpret the symbolism found in... Read More For the first time in history, there are four generations... Read More There are many ways to interpret the symbolism found in... Read More Between 603 and 702 AD. a truly marvelous temple was... Read More I: - A vowel that didn't appear in sacerdotal alphabets... Read More This is one entry in my Heroes and Villains Volume... Read More My ancestry includes Colonel Miles (or Myles) Keough (or Keogh)... Read More If you have been following gymnastics for any length of... Read More They inhabit self-imposed ghettoes, subject to derision and worse, the... Read More A true love story"So, was it an eyes-meet-across-the-room-thing and you... Read More Lord Renfrew, Disney Professor of Archaeology at Cambridge University states:... Read More The creative mind is a gift to humanity; but unfortunately... Read More Can We Pass The Test?American CitizenshipI'm the daughter of an... Read More It is not my purpose to claim to know all... Read More If we think about it at this juncture, clearly there... Read More My name is Luksi Humma, I am Choctaw or, Chahta,... Read More The River Wandle is sourced from the North Downs above... Read More Ephesus had a shrine to the Anatolian mother-goddess and the... Read More Myth One: Mexicans are lazy, good-for-nothings.I mention this one first... Read More
Adsense
websites
Mexican Living: Issues of Life
Smart Art Investments - Buy What You Love!
Christopher Columbus
When We Was Kids In Chicago
The Dazzling Beauty of the Shwedagon Paya
Art, Women, and Creativity
Tarot Cards Demystified: The Suit of Cups
Working With The Generations
Tarot Cards Demystified: The Suit of Pentacles
King Tuts Tomb was No Better - Found in America
I, Ego, and Power
Is America Still Racist?
Crazy Horse
Carly Patterson: What Makes A Champion?
Europes New Jews
Can You Hear My Secret Calling
The Dating Game
Bad Mouthing Fellow Authors
American Citizenship
The Life of Nikola Tesla - Intro
Human Cultural Evolution
Native American Life After Prophetstown
The Wandle Trail - Announced Regeneration Project
The Origin of Americas Corporate Elite (BC)
Mexican Living: Myth Busting
In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have nearly... Read More
LifeI paint with an emphasis on expressing LIFE (the spirit... Read More
OGHAM:As any reader of my work knows by now, Ogham... Read More
Unlike Inuit sculpture, art prints from the Canadian Arctic are... Read More
Feng shui (say "fung shway"), often called the art of... Read More
I hate to break it to you, but humans are... Read More
They were fierce hill tribes in what is now Scotland,... Read More
They inhabit self-imposed ghettoes, subject to derision and worse, the... Read More
Amber, the gem of a stone that's not really a... Read More
I am sick. I don't know what's wrong nor if... Read More
A decade that stands out above the rest of our... Read More
Canada is an emancipated country in the relative scheme of... Read More
The North South Hemisphere Question:The question of whether or not... Read More
The FoolMy first direct experience of the fool in masking... Read More
* Make sure you set your browser encoding correctly to... Read More
To the online artist, it might seem a paradox, at... Read More
Leo Some tragic news hits you hard and makes you... Read More
Celebrity stalking has become the way for the socially inept... Read More
With western eyes we tend to view a tribal mask... Read More
At the end of Part 3 in this series I... Read More
Have you ever thought?What is the best way out of... Read More
The thunderbird has been one of the most dominant icons... Read More
"Game" TheoryThis article was inspired by Mick Napier's book ?Improvise:... Read More
This article is from the pen of a New Zealander... Read More
I cannot emphasize enough the dearth of information, or the... Read More
Humanities |