關公 is a Chinese title, Guan Gong, that means Lord Guan (The warrior saint of ancient China).

While his real name was Guan Yu / 關羽, he is commonly known by the title of Guan Gong (關公).

Some Chinese soldiers still pray to Guan Gong for protection. They would especially do this before going into battle. Statues of Guan Gong are seen throughout China.

聖母 is the title for the Holy Mother, Madonna, or Virgin Mary used by Catholic Chinese, Korean, and Japanese people.

I think this would be a very cool wall scroll for a devout Catholic who also appreciates Asian artwork and language.

Note: Koreans often put a third character after these two, which creates a title that means “Hail Mary”; however, this character is not added or used in the same way in Japanese or Chinese. If you want that Korean title, just let me know, and we'll add that character for you. The two-character title shown to the left is universal, so I think it's the best choice.

Nothing could be more true. When I was in the Marine Corps, we trained for years for combat that often lasts only hours.

養兵千日用兵一時 is a Chinese proverb that, also reminds me of a common phrase used in the military to describe combat: “Weeks of total boredom, punctuated with five minutes of sheer terror.”

This may have some roots in Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Though I can not find this passage in his writings.

On the subject of the Art of War, if you have a favorite passage, we can create a custom calligraphy scroll with that phrase.

聖 is the simple, single-character religious form of “saint” in Chinese (also holds the same meaning in Japanese and Korean, though rarely used alone like this).

This can also mean holy, sage, master, or priest.
Note: 聖 is often used in compound words (words of more than one character) to create further meanings. In compounds, it can mean holy, sacred, or divine.

聖 is also used as the first word for Spanish and English place names such as “San Diego” and “St. Louis” in Chinese (not Japanese).

In the Buddhist context, this can represent ārya or sādhu. And mean a sage; wise and good; upright, or correct in all his character; sacred, holy, or saintly.

聖者 is the religious way to express the idea of “Saint” in Chinese, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

Some may translate this as “Holy man” or “Holy person.”

聖人 can mean saint, sage, or holy man.

Note: There is more than one way to express this idea. This one really matches “Holy man” because the second character means “human” or “person” (therefore, this could equally mean “Holy woman”).

克己 can be translated as “self-denial,” “self-abnegation,” “self-restraint,” “self-discipline,” “self-mastery,” or selflessness.

As a tenet of Korean taekwondo, and other martial arts, this is often used with the title “self-control.”

剣聖 can be translated as “Sword Saint,” “God of the Sword,” or “Saint of the Sword.” This is an ancient Japanese title bestowed on a master with the greatest of skills in swordsmanship.

Keep in mind that this is an antiquated term. It will only be understood in the context of martial arts. The pronunciation “kensei” also applies to other words like “constitutional government” and power (these words have different kanji and are completely unrelated).

Notes: This is sometimes Romanized as “kensei,” “ken sei,” and incorrectly as “Kensai.”

Chinese Note: This title is pronounceable in Chinese but seldom, if ever, used in Chinese. Also, the first character is an alternate character form for a sword, currently only used in Japan.

圖桑 is the name Toussaint in Chinese (Mandarin).

トゥーサン is the name Toussaint in Japanese Katakana.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

神龍庇護 is not the most common thing to say in Chinese, but it is grammatically correct and a cool title.

The first character means “supernatural or saintly.” The second is “dragon.” The last two mean protection. You could also translate this as something like “Protected by the Dragon God” or more closely “Holy Dragon.”

This Chinese title, Wusheng, means Saint of War.

武聖 is usually a reference to Guan Yu (關羽), also known as Guan Gong (關公).

Some Chinese soldiers still pray to Wusheng for protection. They would especially do this before going into battle.