Interested in a Chinese Tattoo?

So you are thinking about a Chinese tattoo?  Not a bad choice at all.  There are some interesting points to consider when getting any sort of tattoo, but perhaps even more so when considering a Chinese tattoo.  Let’s explore a few of those points together.

First, what is it about China or Chinese thought that interests you in the first place?  For many, Eastern philosophies and thoughts mark a sharp contrast to the ideas of the Western world.  Buddhism has a very different take on the world that the typical Judeo-Christian world views.  Very often this difference itself is enticing enough to generate the interest in Chinese symbolism. 

If this is the case, then from here where do your interests take you?  Are you interested in the Buddhist ideas that all life is suffering?  Will you take your Three Refuges in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha?  A Three Jewels tattoo fits this motif beautifully.  Will you express your belief that what comes around goes around, and to everything there is a season?  Then tattoos designed around a ying-yang symbol become great possibilities. 

If you have a favorite expression or phrase, and know someone who speaks Chinese, it might be a great idea to have that person writes out the phrase for you.  One word of caution, however, is that if you are told that a Chinese ideogram represents a particular word or meaning, confirm it.  Especially if you do not know this person well, do not just take their word for it.  If you cannot confirm with a trusted Chinese speaker, at least Google the phrase and make sure that the idiom they tell you means that phrase actually matches it.  You, or at least I, would not want to spend the rest of my life with Chinese tattoo markings that I thought meant “thank you”, and later find out that they really mean that I have a preference for intimacy with livestock.  

Once you have decided on the concept for your Chinese lettering tattoo, you still have some decisions to make. Where will you wear it? This can help you frame other decisions once you know the area that you have to work with. Will you blend this tattoo with others, or will it stand alone? What colors will you use, if any? And, perhaps most importantly, is your artist up to the task that you have selected