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

千慮一得 means “1000 tries, one success,” or “[a] thousand tries [leads to] one success.”

This proverb is a humble way to express your success, ideas, or accomplishments. As if you are a fool who just got lucky in inventing or creating something.

Translations for this proverb include:
Even without any notable ability on my part, I may still get it right sometimes by good luck.
Even a fool may sometimes come up with a good idea.

Compare this to the English idiom, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

正精進 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Effort, along with Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, constitute the path to Concentration or Perfect Thought.

The proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake in each moment, the effort to overcome laziness and defilement, and the effort to make each activity of our daily meditation. This concept is about pursuing wholesome things that promote good karma.

Another definition: Cultivation of what is karmically wholesome and avoidance of what is karmically unwholesome.

This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also:  Buddhism | Enlightenment | Noble Eightfold Path

寧為玉碎 is the short version of a longer Chinese proverb which means “rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery.”

寧為玉碎 says the “rather be a broken piece of jade” part (the second half is implied - everyone in China knows this idiom).

A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the “broken” meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case, is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of; it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means “better to die with honor than to live in shame” or words to that effect.

This is often translated in English as “Death Before Dishonor,” the famous military slogan.

I would also compare this to the English proverb, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”

寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is the long version of a Chinese proverb that means “rather be shattered piece of jade than an unbroken piece of pottery.”

A little more explanation:
Death is implied with the “broken” meaning. Jade is one of the most precious materials in Chinese history, and in this case, is compared with one's honor and self-worth. Pottery is just something you eat off of, it has no deep value, just as a person who has lost their honor, or had none to begin with.
Thus, this means “better to die with honor than to live in shame” or words to that effect.

寧為玉碎不為瓦全 is often translated in English as “Death Before Dishonor,” the famous military slogan.

I would also compare this to the English proverb, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”

This is an idiom. It therefore doesn’t directly say exactly what it means. If you think about the English idiom, "The grass is always greener," it does not directly say "jealousy" or "envy" but everyone knows that it is implied.

デーア is the name Dea in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

迪德拉 is the name Deadra in Chinese (Mandarin).

デードラ is the name Deadra in Japanese (Katakana).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

迪肯 is the name Deaken in Chinese (Mandarin).

ディーケン is the name Deaken in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

迪恩 is the name Dean in Chinese (Mandarin).

ディーン is the name Dean in Japanese.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

迪納 is the name Deana in Chinese (Mandarin).

ディアナ is the name Deana in Japanese (Katakana).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

德安德魯 is the name Deandre in Chinese (Mandarin).

ディアンドレ is the name Deandre in Japanese (Katakana).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

迪安杰洛 is the name Deangelo in Chinese (Mandarin).

デアンジェロ is the name Deangelo in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

迪安娜 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the English name Deanna.

ヂイナ is the name Deanna in Japanese.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

ディアン is the name Deanne in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

寧死不屈 is often translated as “Death Before Dishonor.”

The literal translation is more like, “Better die than compromise.” The last two characters mean “not to bend” or “not to bow down.” Some might even say that it means “not to surrender.” Thus, you could say this proverb means “Better to die than live on my knees” or simply “no surrender” (with the real idea being that you would rather die than surrender).

可殺不可辱 almost directly matches the idea of “Death Before Dishonor” while also being an ancient Chinese proverb.

The direct meaning is, “[you] can die/kill [but you] cannot [allow] dishonor/disgrace [upon yourself].” Chinese grammar, and especially ancient grammar, is a little different than English. Not nearly as many articles are needed, and a lot is implied.

There are many ways to express ideas similar to “Death Before Dishonor” in Chinese, and I would rate this one in the top two.

士可殺不可辱 almost directly matches the military idea of “Death Before Dishonor,” while also being an ancient Chinese proverb.

The direct meaning is, “[A] soldier/warrior can die/kill [but he/she] cannot [allow] dishonor/disgrace [upon himself/herself].” Chinese grammar, and especially ancient grammar, is a little different than English. Not nearly as many articles are needed, and a lot is implied.

There are a lot of ways to express ideas similar to “Death Before Dishonor” in Chinese, and I would rate this one in the top two.

This is the original form of this proverb with the character for “soldier/warrior” at the beginning. Most of the time, this character is dropped, becoming a five-character proverb (the soldier/warrior part is implied, even without the character being present in the proverb). We also offer a shorter version.

不名誉より死 is the Japanese version of “Death Before Dishonor.”

Japanese grammar is a bit different than English, so this really means something like “Rather die than to be dishonored.” However, “dishonor” is the first three Kanji, and death is the last Kanji. There are two Hiragana (より) which indicate the preference is death when comparing dishonor to death.

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

尊厳死 is not a good choice for a wall scroll unless you have a very specific and personal reason.

This was added at the request of a customer.

尊厳死 means “death with dignity” or “natural death” (as opposed to extending one's life unnaturally with life support).

寧死不降 is an ancient Chinese proverb that can be translated as “Rather die than surrender,” “Prefer death over surrender,” “To prefer death to surrender,” or simply “No surrender.”

This is probably the closest proverb to the English proverb “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”

This ancient Japanese proverb can be translated as “The principle of honorable death and no surrender,” or simply “No surrender.”

If you directly translate this, you get something that means “Doctrine of suicide,” or “Ideology of honorable death.”

玉砕主義 is a specifically-Japanese proverb that embraces the long history of honorable suicide or self-sacrifice for honor in Japanese culture.

迪文 is the name Deaven in Chinese (Mandarin).

ディアブン is the name Deaven in Japanese (Katakana).

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

努力 means great effort; to strive; to try hard; great effort; great exertion; great endeavor (endeavour); great effort; to strive.

This “striving endeavor” word is valid in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

親愛的姥爺 is what you would call your maternal grandfather (mother's father) in Northern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的外祖父 is the formal way that people in Southern China usually call their mother's father (maternal grandfather) with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的外公 is an informal way to call your maternal grandfather (mother's father) in Southern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的爺爺 is the most common way for people in Northern China to refer to their father's father (paternal grandfather) with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的祖父 is how people in Southern China call their father's father (paternal grandfather) with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的姥姥 is the common way to refer to your mother's mother (maternal grandmother) in Northern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的外婆 is a common way to refer to your mother's mother (maternal grandmother) in Southern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

亲爱的外祖母 is the formal way to refer to your mother's mother (maternal grandmother) in Southern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

親愛的奶奶 is probably the most common way to refer to your father's mother (paternal grandmother) in northern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

The most common way to refer to your father's mother (paternal grandmother) in Southern China with the adjective/title “Dear” on the front.

死神 is the title of the mythological figure (often called the Grim Reaper in western culture) in charge of taking the souls of those who die.

This title can be translated directly as “god of death” or “spirit of death.” The first character literally means “death,” and the second means “spirit” or “god.”

死神 is a very strange title for a calligraphy wall scroll. I'm not even sure if my calligraphers will write it, as it has some bad superstitious feelings attached to it.

理念/理唸 means idea, notion, concept, principle, theory, philosophy*, or doctrine in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This word is OK for a wall scroll, although it's more commonly used as an oral/informal word in Asia.

* This is not the title for philosophy but rather is about having a certain philosophy or approach to something.

意念/意唸 means idea or thought in Chinese.

意見 means idea, thought, opinion, or view in Japanese.

This word also has a similar meaning in Chinese, just often used in China.

意 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for an idea, intention, meaning, thought, wish, desire, intention, feelings, and thoughts.

In Buddhism, this is the last of the six means of perception (the others are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, and this one represents the mind). It does not literally mean “mind,” but rather something more like mental powers, intellect, intelligence, faculty of thought, or understanding in the Buddhist context.

納迪阿里 is the name Nadeali in Chinese (Mandarin).

ナデアリ is the name Nadeali in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

絕處逢生 is a Chinese proverb/idiom that talks of coming back from death's door or an unexpected rescue from danger.

Figuratively, this can be to recover from a seemingly impossible situation or to find a way out of a predicament.

If you have survived a near-death experience or severe illness, this might be an appropriate wall scroll for you.

殺人剣 is a Japanese title for “Death Sword,” “Life Taking Sword,” or “satsujinken.”

This is the opposite of katsujinken or the “life-saving sword.” This title is not as commonly used in Japanese but pairs well when hung with katsujinken.

The first two Kanji are a word that translates as homicide, murder or kill (a person). 殺人剣 is specifically to kill a person (as the second character means person or human) as opposed to an animal, etc.

The last Kanji is the Japanese variant of the originally-Chinese character for a sword.

See Also:  Katsujinken

生老病死 means “to be born, to grow old, to get sick and to die” or “birth, aging, sickness, and death.”

This is an old somewhat-morbid Chinese proverb that is also used in Korean and Japanese. It figuratively means the fate of humankind (i.e. mortality) or suggests that we are all born to suffer.

In the Buddhist context, there are the “four inevitables in human life” or “four afflictions that are the lot of every human” known as “四苦” (literally “four afflictions”). Sometimes this proverb is written with that affliction character, 苦, at the end like 生老病死苦.

思想 means thought, thinking, or idea in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. Sometimes it can mean ideology, depending on context.

This can refer to someone's personality - like saying, “he is a thinker.”