Foreigners With Chinese Tattoos

[GreenArrow45]

Hello,

I have looked at getting a tattoo here (haven't yet though for various reasons) and am just curious, what types of tattoos (ie: Tigers, Dragons, Phoenixes) do Chinese people find that they either just dislike seeing on foreigners or are overused and perhaps a bit silly?

[mcgau]

Hello,

I have looked at getting a tattoo here (haven't yet though for various reasons) and am just curious, what types of tattoos (ie: Tigers, Dragons, Phoenixes) do Chinese people find that they either just dislike seeing on foreigners or are overused and perhaps a bit silly?

a tiger, dragon and phoenix are good. Just not an upside down chinese character with weird meaning.

[Hofmann]

A phoenix or dragon is not good. Chinese characters are also not good unless there is a real reason for them to be there, e.g. "I belong in Alcatraz."

[Shi Tong]

TBH, I think it's a Western thing to have Chinese characters scrawled in tattoos on your body, plus I also think it's a generally western thing to have tattoos at all.

If you're determined to have a tattoo of something "Chinese"(y), then all I suggest is to make sure you dont get either badly written characters, or something rude written on your body. This can happen relatively frequently, since if it's a Westerner who's never learned Chinese in their life/ someone who doesn't know how to write Chinese, then it's hard to get the proportions of a Chinese character to look nice..

Most foreigners (even learners) struggle with this, as I do myself.

[Lu]

plus I also think it's a generally western thing to have tattoos at all.

You are aware of the Maoris? And the Yakuza? And some Taiwanese aboriginal tribes? Need I go on?

OP: for some ideas of what tattoo not to get, take a look at hanzismatter.com.

Personally I think that you should only get a tattoo when you are very sure of what you want a tattoo of, and that it would be better to start with thinking what you want tattooed, and then check with people whose opinion you care about if they don't have any objections to it. Opinions on tattoos in China vary quite a bit, I think, from considering it for criminals to viewing it as art. I don't think there will be many people who care what a foreigner gets tattooed, and if you do run into them, just cover it up.

[DDay]

Can u please tell me the meaning of this tatoo?

[renzhe]

http://www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/音乐家/68095

Anyway, tattoos are not that common or cool in China, and there is the additional problem that many people insist on tattooing things they do not understand on themselves.

[Shi Tong]

BTW- DDay, Renzhe used simplified characters for the second character in that word (le4), and yours was traditional characters.

Lu, obviously I'm not saying that nobody else has tattoos, but what I'm saying is that it seems like the reserve of gangsters in the east, along with some other smaller tribes and groups.

Of course, this is a generalisation and I have no proof, but I would have thought that more people who dont belong to gangs or unusual groups in the West have tattoos?..

[anonymoose]

BTW- DDay, Renzhe used simplified characters for the second character in that word (le4), and yours was traditional characters.

It's yue4, not le4

[Lu]

Lu, obviously I'm not saying that nobody else has tattoos, but what I'm saying is that it seems like the reserve of gangsters in the east, along with some other smaller tribes and groups.

Of course, this is a generalisation and I have no proof, but I would have thought that more people who dont belong to gangs or unusual groups in the West have tattoos?..

But you do actually say 'I also think it's a generally western thing to have tattoos at all'. To me, that seems to imply that you think that having tattoos is generally a western thing. Now I don't know a whole lot about tattoos, but from what I do know and from what I've seen, that seems pretty far from reality.

But actually, rather than have me argue about things I don't know all that much about, why don't you read up a little before you generalise more. You can start here, but feel free to expand.

[Shi Tong]

D'oh!!! *facepalm* I was thinking that the second character is a character with more than one pronunciation, and of course, this is supposed to be "yue4"

乐 yuè​ music

乐 lè​ happy / laugh / cheerful / surname Le

Just to clear things up for the OP.. sorry!!

But you do actually say 'I also think it's a generally western thing to have tattoos at all'. To me, that seems to imply that you think that having tattoos is generally a western thing. Now I don't know a whole lot about tattoos, but from what I do know and from what I've seen, that seems pretty far from reality.

But actually, rather than have me argue about things I don't know all that much about, why don't you read up a little before you generalise more. You can start here, but feel free to expand.

You seem pretty determined to get angry with me today Lu

renzhe also says that he thinks that tattoos are not all that common or cool in China as well, so, if you want to worry about generalisations, then we can let him know about your informative article too.

Sorry, but I've never personally met a Chinese or Taiwanes person who has a tattoo, and I believe I'm correct in say that tattoos tend to be associated with gangs in the East, hence why I think quite a lot of western people seem to have less of a problem with it (as a form of self expression).

In Japan, tattoos are strongly associated with the yakuza, particularly full body tattoos done the traditional Japanese way (Tebori). Certain public Japanese bathhouses (sentō) and gymnasiums often openly ban those bearing large or graphic tattoos in an attempt to prevent Yakuza from entering.

In the United States many prisoners and criminal gangs use distinctive tattoos to indicate facts about their criminal behavior, prison sentences, and organizational affiliation.[12] A tear tattoo, for example, can be symbolic of murder, with each tear representing the death of a friend. At the same time, members of the U.S. military have an equally well established and longstanding history of tattooing to indicate military units, battles, kills, etc., an association which remains widespread among older Americans. Tattooing is also common in the British Armed Forces.

Tattooing was also used by the Nazi regime in concentration camps to tag prisoners.

Insofar as this cultural or subcultural use of tattoos predates the widespread popularity of tattoos in the general population, tattoos are still associated with criminality. Although the general acceptance of tattoos is on the rise in Western society, they still carry a heavy stigma among certain social groups.

The prevalence of women in the tattoo industry, along with larger numbers of women bearing tattoos, appears to be changing negative perceptions. A study of "at-risk" (as defined by school absenteeism and truancy) adolescent girls showed a positive correlation between body-modification and negative feelings towards the body and self-esteem; however, also illustrating a strong motive for body-modification as the search for "self and attempts to attain mastery and control over the body in an age of increasing alienation."[13]

[GreenArrow45]

Ha, yea, I know from a Japanese perspective at least, tattoos are more often than not associated with criminal activity. I have also been told by several Chinese people here that in older generations especially, Chinese people may feel the same way. I guess what I am more curious about is what hofmann mentioned, ie: phoenixes and dragons aren't necessarily good to get.

If i get a tattoo (each idea I have come up with the past couple years I wait a month or two, and see if I still think I would want that on me the rest of my life...each time it has been a no), I want it to be something unique that reflects my life...but in the event it has some animal or mythical beast, I wouldn't want it to be something that people would simply see as another westerner getting _____ tattooed on them.

[anonymoose]

From my observation in Shanghai, tattoos are not uncommon on Chinese people - perhaps not as common as in the west, but certainly not an unusual sight. However, rarely do they have Chinese writing. Occasionally they have western text. From memory, I'd say that things like dragons and pheonixes are fairly common.

[renzhe]

but in the event it has some animal or mythical beast, I wouldn't want it to be something that people would simply see as another westerner getting _____ tattooed on them.

If you come from the west, and get something "exotic" tattooed on yourself, which includes dragons and Chinese characters, people will inevitably see you as another westerner getting ____ tattoed on him.

If you want to tattoo something that really expresses what you are all about and which has deep meaning for you, it is generally a good idea if you choose something where you don't need an interpreter with a degree in Chinese to describe to you what it is. If you can't understand it without a translator, then it probably doesn't accurately express what you want.

renzhe also says that he thinks that tattoos are not all that common or cool in China as well, so, if you want to worry about generalisations, then we can let him know about your informative article too.

I do think that getting fashionable tattoos because it makes you cool is more prevalent in Europe and the Americas than in the far east.

Of course many cultures have a tradition of using tattoos, and sometimes (yakuza) it has cultural meaning, but you don't get Maoris coming to Chinese forums asking for the Chinese symbol for "great love from the void of nirvana for Jessica".

[Shadowdh]

Who cares if they are western, eastern, tribal or some people dont like them... as long as you make really really sure its a good one for you and you really want one then do it... I have one and will probably get at least one more but it took me about 16 years or so to find the one I really liked and even then I had to design it myself using chinese characters, yin yang symbol, bagua symbol and a couple of dragons (not Chinese or western but a mixture if you like)... the characters mean mind body spirit... have meaning for me and I dont really care what anyone else thinks... I didnt do it for them but for me... my next one will be considerably bigger though, and the one regret I have is that I didnt get the first bigger... most people who I show it too like it...

[Shi Tong]

as long as you make really really sure its a good one for you and you really want one then do it

I kind of agree with this anyway.. it's your life, as long as you like it, it's your choice.

The only thing I would say though is that I agree with renzhe when he said you'll look like another westerner with ______ tattooed on himself, because that's exactly what it looks like to Chinese people.

You have to remember that (as far as I'm aware) the Chinese think it's pretty hilarious when either people have wrong characters, or they have something rude written on them.. in fact, if someone can dig it out, there are even websites devoted to it. In fact I remembered myself:

Hanzi Smatter

they also have a new URL: so.. just beware! ;)

And make sure that whatever you get on yourself isn't embarrasing, badly written or rude!

[Lu]

Shi Tong, I'm not 'determined to get angry at' you, I just try to correct you when you make statements that make no sense, like that only westerners get tattoos. I realize this is an uphill battle, though.

From what I've seen, tattoos are actually not that rare in Taiwan, or in Taipei at least. Especially in the bars & clubs circuit many girls have small tattoos on their hands. Now that's something I hardly ever see in the west, most people with tattoos here get them in places that can be easily covered up.

[Shi Tong]

Shi Tong, I'm not 'determined to get angry at' you, I just try to correct you when you make statements that make no sense, like that only westerners get tattoos. I realize this is an uphill battle, though.

From what I've seen, tattoos are actually not that rare in Taiwan, or in Taipei at least. Especially in the bars & clubs circuit many girls have small tattoos on their hands. Now that's something I hardly ever see in the west, most people with tattoos here get them in places that can be easily covered up.

Hahaha ;)

Well, I've never seen a Taiwanese person with a tattoo, but then, I dont go to many clubs! ;)

Put it this way.. I dont think that my statement was actually that rediculous, and it seems that a few other people agree with me.

I'm not actually trying to state that Easterners of any description or creed or class never have tattoos, and Westerners always have them for fashion, what I actually said was that there is (I personally feel) a tendency for Westerners to have tattoos for fashion, and I feel like it is probably more fashionable and common in the West than the East.

[DDay]

thanks renze! tat meant a lot to me...

appreciate it.

[trien27]

Can u please tell me the meaning of this tatoo?

= "Musician" in Traditional Chinese.

音樂家[Traditional Chinese] = 音乐家[simplified Chinese] = yīnyuèjiā

音樂 = yīnyuè = Music

家, here, doesn't refer to "home/family". Here, it's short for "專家/专家", meaning "expert" or someone experienced in a certain field or subject.

樂/乐 = "yuè", if and only if, and when referring to music. In other cases, it's "lè".