A tattoo is forever

[Cristy26]

hi I have been planning this tattoo for a few years. It is all coming together with an appt with an artist for next month. I'm getting 孙女. I'm mixing it with symbols and art representing the state of New Mexico. It honors my most important family relationship.

I'm getting the tattoo in a spot that will be seen about 10% of the time in public.

My question is...... I came up with what I thought was an awesome idea at first but now I'm having second thoughts. I decided to have the mirror image of the character tattooed on so when I look in the mirror it's like BAM! I can read it. This tattoo is all for me and my love for my grandmas and where I live and learning Chinese. I really want to see the characters and since I don't know anyone personally who can read Chinese characters I thought why do I care, the tattoo is for me and they can't read the characters anyway.

Then I had a thought tonight. Well over half of the world can read those characters. And even mirror imaged they are obviously Hanzi. While the characters will only be visible a small amount of the time do I want tons of people staring at it thinking, look at that idiot who can't read Hanzi look what she had tattooed? It's backwards!!!

I really want to keep my original idea of having it mirror imaged. As it helps keep it private and special but I just want to think this through.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[Jeremy Andrews]

Well, I'm not really the type of person who would ever get a tattoo, because... well, it's permanent, and it often looks really bad when you get older and your skin loosens. Plus there's a risk of infection from the needle, etc... it's just not something I'd do for me. But I know a lot of great people who have tattoos, and I don't think any less of them for having them. To me, it's no different than if they had a scar or an unusual skin tone.

That said, I think that it really depends on how important this is to you. At the end, you say something about wanting to keep it more private than public. In that case, what a lot of people might do is get the tattoo on a part of their body that they won't ever show in public. That way, you have to worry about public opinion less.

If it's going to be on a more visible part of the body, though, you do have to think about how people will perceive it. Some people might judge you for having tattoos at all (the biggest worry), and possibly some people would notice that it was backwards (which is unlikely unless you live in China or Taiwan).

But in the end, what really matters is what you think of yourself. If the tattoo means a lot to you, will motivate you in life, and you're capable of dismissing those who don't understand... then definitely get it. Just don't get it on a whim, or because it seems "cool" or "fun." Those are the kind of people that regret getting tattoos most often.

I would say that if you aren't sure about it, wait 6 months to a year and think about it carefully. You'll have the tattoo for the rest of your life, so there's no need to rush the decision. If you still want it after a long time, and the positives still seem to outweigh the negatives, then that means you should get it. If you change your mind, then it might have just been an idea or a passing mood.

Another thought... if you decide against the tattoo, perhaps you could use the design idea for a shirt, a piece of jewelry, embroidery, etc. There are a lot of things you can do with symbolic value, tattoos aren't the only option. Don't feel trapped or anything, if any part of you feels uncomfortable with the idea.

[Guest realmayo]

There are lots of examples online of people who get Chinese character tattoos done wrong: one such mistake is to have them written backwards or mirrored. So yes, people will assume you didn't know enough about your tattoo to do it right.

[ouyangjun]

as realmayo states, here is a blogsite completely dedicated to people getting Chinese character tattoos done wrong:  http://hanzismatter.blogspot.com

[Lu]

Looks like you've already given it a lot of thought, and the characters you picked mean what you're intending (granddaughter [of your father's mother]). Anyone who can read them will assume you got it mirrored accidentally, so that is something to consider. Since you can't read Chinese, perhaps get it the right way around after all. When you look in the mirror, you see the tattoo with all the meaning you put into it, and since you can't read it anyway, it doesn't matter that it's mirrored; others see the tattoo and if they can read it, they see it's the right way around.

 

Just make sure you find a tattooist who can make some decent calligraphy.