Saw this on a Bruce Lee poster

[Lumbering Ox]

5 hours ago, Miahlee said:

1. I love Chinese culture, I've always been a huge fan and respect their history. 

 

 

Unless you mean one of the Chinese minority groups, of if you are a criminal fan boy this would be a reason *not* to get a tattoo.

 

http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/14Traditions9157.html

http://gbtimes.com/life/tattoo-culture-china

 

Not only does the culture you love look down on tattoos but if you ever want to move to and live in China or Japan for that matter it would make life a bit easier if you didn't have one.

 

Granted attitudes are slowing changing but still.

[lips]

This is 

 

上善若水

 

in the Chinese script caoshu (草书）.  It's from Laozi's Tao Te Ching , around 2,500 years ago.  It translates to "The highest good is like water".  If you only want "be like water", then the last two characters (the bottom two) would be the closest.  It is actually quite "poetic" IMHO, good to be on a hanging scroll or engraved on a paperweight on the desk, for example.  You can also have it engraved on a piece of jade and wear it as a pendant.

 

 

[Lu]

I absolutely agree that calligraphy is a beautiful art form. However, I also agree with the Ox that tattoos are (traditionally) considered bad in China. And that's even apart from the difficulty of translating a phrase that's actually English. Given all that, perhaps consider getting a scroll with this phrase (or the closest possible equivalent) in nice calligraphy. It does more justice to calligraphy as an art form, it will look nice in your home, and if at some point you find the translation isn't quite what you meant, you can just put it in a closet and/or get a new scroll.

[艾墨本]

2 hours ago, lips said:

You can also have it engraved on a piece of jade and wear it as a pendant.

 

This is a wonderful suggestion considering the significance of jade in Chinese culture. A great compromise and could allow for a more complex engraving. Some men out here in western China wear simple strings with a more intricately carved jade stones, often larger than an inch in length.

 

Another thing to consider is that many tattoo artists do a miserable job with inscribing Chinese. One incorrect "stroke" can completely alter the meaning of a character, often for the worse.

[zander1]

9 hours ago, Flickserve said:

actress

 

"actress"...

[陳德聰]

If you are looking for "be like water", 若水 is a "translation", but a tattoo of that would simply be nonsense.

 

Think of it this way: would you tattoo the words "like water" on yourself in English? If yes, then get a tattoo that says 若水 on it, and no one will ever know it was an intended Bruce Lee "reference" except you.

 

P.S. honestly I feel like getting the whole 上善若水 calligraphy piece tattooed on you by someone who can tattoo Chinese calligraphy well, that would be an aesthetically nice tattoo that is "close enough". You just can't say it has anything to do with Bruce Lee.

[imron]

That's the thing.  All the translations that convey the same/similar concept aren't going to be what Bruce Lee said, and if you translate exactly what Bruce Lee said then it comes off as awkward for a tattoo.

[lips]

No matter what, *do not* tattoo 上善若水 on your buttock. 

[Miahlee]

So, 上善若水 seems to be the best choice though it is not an exact quote and doesn't necessarily have any relation to what Bruce said...?  Because if that truly means, "the highest good is like water", I think that's a great quote and I can see how they could possibly have similar meanings.

 

Let me know what you think, I am wanting to get it done and I understand you can't directly translate without it sounding awkward. I just want something that will makes sense and will have a similar meaning to what Bruce said, not necessarily word for word. 

[imron]

 

19 minutes ago, Miahlee said:

I just want something that will makes sense and will have a similar meaning to what Bruce said, not necessarily word for word. 

 

上善若水 expresses a similar philosophical concept, but is talking about the nature and character of man should be like water.

 

水無常形 means 'water has no fixed form'  and is the quote I linked to earlier from the Art of War by Sun Tzu.  The full line is 兵無常勢，水無常形 which means 'Warfare, like water, has no fixed form.  It's talking about how in battle one should be like water and adapt to the situation at hand. See here for more background on the philosophical underpinnings of this statement.

 

Both statements contain elements of the same philosophical concepts Bruce Lee was talking about, and either would be more suitable as a tattoo than a direct translation.

[Miahlee]

Imron, that's perfect. That's exactly what I was trying to get at. I am going to think it over but I am pretty sure I will get 上善若水. It makes sense and I like the quote actually, it fits the meaning more of what I wanted. 

 

"The highest good is like water", the only answer or conclusion to that would to "be like water"...makes sense and I believe, like you said Imron, it has a similar phyilosophical concept as well.