The beginning of Chinese tattoos was not at all simple. In the past, the Chinese art of tattooing was not very common for many reasons. First of all, the Chinese traditionalist’s believed that one’s body should never be tattooed or maimed because it is sacred and violating it with a tattoo was a great shame for the parents. Secondly, in the past it was accustomed that convicted prisoners would be tattooed on their faces and banished to remote and desolate places – this was called “ci – pei”. By that we can learn that tattoos were not so common in China, even the term ‘tattoo’ in Chinese – “wen – shen” means to puncture the body!
Contents
Since the opening of China to the west many Chinese symbols were adopted by the westerns as designs to be tattooed or to base a tattoo upon.
Most commonly used are Chinese translations of names, it is a growing trend mainly because a lot of rock stars and sportsmen have them!
The Chinese tattoo is considered a mysterious and exotic tattoo design to have.
Nowadays the most majority of tattooed people in china are related to the crime world.
Many people would get a Chinese design just so others would have to stop and ask them about the meaning of the tattoo, the reason for this is probably that the person who has the tattoos wants to draw attention to himself, so Chinese designs are perfectly suitable for this matter. Not a lot of people understand the meaning of a Chinese design tattoo but do appreciate its beauty!
Here are some tips when getting a Chinese design:
Try not to simply translate your name into Chinese instead try to find similar names in Chinese, the direct translation to English from Chinese would not always make any sense!
- Always refer to a tattoo artist who can speak and write Chinese.
- Consult with a native Chinese person about the different fonts.
Gallery with Chinese Tattoos
