The Chinese writing system is fascinating and beautiful. As a result, it has become quite popular for people to get tattoos of Chinese symbols. However, because tattoo artists and clients are often unfamiliar with the Chinese language, mistakes both small and significant are constantly made.
These mistakes can be as seemingly minor as imperfect composition, but can also be as serious as bad translations, mistaken meanings, or illegible characters. How can people interested in getting Chinese character tattoos avoid inking permanent mistakes onto their bodies?
Make Sure The Meanings of The Chinese Characters are Correct
Choosing a word in English and finding a Chinese equivalent will not always necessarily result in a good translation. This is because a word can have multiple meanings and connotations. As an example, imagine that a person wants a tattoo of the Chinese character for "peace". There are several translations for the word "peace", including: he, an, ping, heping, and taiping.
Each of these translations has multiple and sometimes nuanced meanings. For example, the Chinese character "he" can mean "peace", but it can also mean "gentle", "sum", "and", "join in the singing", "mix powder with water", and "Japanese related". Likewise, the character "ping" can mean "peace", but also "flat", "level", "equal", or "to draw or tie (score)".
Given the nature of language, it is possible for tattoo artists and clients to choose characters with unintended or ambiguous meanings. As such, the only truly safe option when choosing a Chinese character tattoo is to consult with someone who has a good understanding of both Chinese and English. Such a person can ensure that good and correct characters are chosen.
Choose Meaningful Chinese Characters
There is a reason why words such as "love", "beautiful", and "peace" are tattooed onto bodies more often in Chinese than in English. This is because Chinese characters are visually beautiful, and especially intriguing to a foreigner's eyes. As a needless result, more emphasis can be placed on getting a Chinese symbol tattoo because of its visual quality rather than the meaning of the character itself.
But a good Chinese character tattoo should be both visually beautiful and meaningful on a personal level. This means that tattoo art should be selected in a thoughtful way so that a tattoo is both unique and personal. This can best be achieved by avoiding the pre-created tattoo designs that can be found in many tattoo parlors, and having an expert help select characters for tattoos.
Make Sure Chinese Symbols are Composed Correctly
That the Chinese writing system is complicated is no secret. People who are not familiar with the composition of Chinese characters will naturally find it difficult to write characters properly. Imagine someone writing English words for the first time. It is easy for such a person to write awkward and badly-shaped letters. At worst, the writing can even be completely illegible.
Even though it is true that tattoo artists generally have the ability to copy the shape and composition of a Chinese symbol in an aesthetically pleasing way, without an understanding of the compositional nature and aesthetics of Chinese characters and calligraphy, they can potentially create badly composed characters.
To ensure that only well-composed characters are inked into one's skin, a character should be drawn, or at least double-checked, by someone with knowledge of Chinese calligraphy. Choosing high quality Chinese calligraphy or even contracting a calligrapher can help assure quality tattoos.
Choose a Good Tattoo Artist
Through personal investigation, a client should be able to find and hire a professional and respected tattoo artist in their city. By asking the relevant people for opinions and recommendations, and studying the portfolios of tattoo artists, competent and trustworthy tattoo artists can be discovered.
Perhaps most importantly, a tattoo artist's experience giving or designing Chinese symbol tattoos should be considered. A trustworthy tattoo artist should be experienced in giving Chinese tattoos, but also honest about their ability to tattoo Chinese characters and their knowledge of Chinese. Through consultation, a tattoo artist and a client can create strategies for assuring the highest quality Chinese character tattoos are created.
Good tattoos can be obtained by ensuring Chinese characters with correct and unambiguous meanings are selected. Also important is assuring that symbols are accurately and expertly composed, that meaningful and unique characters are chosen, and that the best tattoo artist for the job is hired.
Chinese symbol tattoos may be popular, but that does not mean they have to be cliché or casually chosen. With a little research, thoughtfulness, and an eye for quality, great tattoos of Chinese character can be created.
Readers might be interested in learning more about common Chinese character tattoo mistakes and how to create interesting Chinese character tattoo designs.
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