Question

[Henny]

Hi all, i have a question.

I would-be like to get a tattoo of a phrase from Brice lee on my fore arm.

The phrase is " knowledge will give you power, but character respect " why i want this tattoo well thats easy who hasnt got more respect then Bruce Lee himself by showing theworld what hè did by turning the whole martial arts upside down with his Jeet Kune Do. Thats why i would like to get this phrase in old chinese characters as a tattoo just because hè got more respect then any other martial artist ever.

Please will someone translate this for me, thank you very very much

[Kamille]

Looks like the original quote was in English but it seems that it's usually rendered as 知識會帶給你力量，但人品會帶給你尊重 in Chinese.

[li3wei1]

And getting a long tattoo in a language you don't understand will give you ______?

[Lu]

To my knowledge, most of Bruce Lee's sayings and wisdoms are originally in English, so consider getting this phrase tattooed in its original language - this way you'll be able to read it yourself as well.

If you really want a Chinese character tattoo, I think this phrase is not very suitable. It's rather long in Chinese, which will generally not look good as a tattoo. If you decide you really want this phrase, make sure you find a tattoo shop that knows how Chinese characters work. Better yet, bring someone good at writing characters with you. The chances of this going wrong are huge.

[Publius]

I agree with Lu. The Chinese version looks pretty lame in my opinion. It doesn't pack the same punch (no pun intended) as the original -- the ellipsis just doesn't work. All the Chinese translations I can find seem to come from bilingual texts targeting English learners, the kind of Chicken Soup for the Soul-type of articles. And they are too long for a tatoo.

[lips]

Sorter translations could be

知予力 品予敬

知为力 品成敬

知 力也 品 敬也

But I agree, not good for a tatoo.

[Henny]

Thank you all for youre ansewrs. I agree iTS to long for a tattoo.

Howabout the phrase " Being is more valued then doing "

Thank you in advance for youre help

[lips]

為勝於行