Ten Years ago I got my first tattoo with a friend. We got matching Chinese Characters for 'friendship.' I was like everyone else who got a tattoo like this without really knowing what it meant. Now that I've been studying Mandarin for two years I know that it actually means 'Neutrality' or 'person in the middle,' or 'China person.' This isnt as bad as some Ive heard about-.
Why did I like the characters without even knowing what they meant? Maybe its like having a secret code written on yourself that only a few people know about.
I think though that my obsession with hanzi goes deeper. The beauty and history involved in the character are intriguing and a language is symbolic of an entire culture. I am certainly not alone in my fascination of 'eastern cool.' This trend, of using hanzi, may have started with Bruce Lee and Kung Fu movies but it keeps growing. Here are some examples:
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