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English Tattoos Becoming Popular Among Chinese

 
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htrain



Joined: 24 May 2007

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:40 pm    Post subject: English Tattoos Becoming Popular Among Chinese Reply with quote

I was reading the other thread and I remembered an article about the increasing popularity of English tattoos in China. It seems to be mirroring the West's obsession with Chinese character ink.

Chinese Youths Crazy for English Alphabet Tattoos
By Jeff Lyons on Oct 1, 2005 in News


�The guy at the tattoo shop told me this means brave and proud warrior in English,� said beaming Beijing teenager Hao Tsang as he pointed to the letters GARF freshly inked onto his left bicep. �It�s perfect for me because I am very bold and confident, yet spiritual.�

Tsang�s friend Yuan Chi Hao also went under the needle for some English language characters. �Mine simply says FRUNK. The letters are so beautiful and flow so smoothly into each other. The word actually means old soul with young spirit in English. How cool is that?�

Apparently, very cool.

Throngs of Chinese youths are flocking to tattoo parlors looking to colorfully emboss their bodies with �meaningful� English language words.

�I couldn�t decide between CRYMPH or DLECH,� said Chengdu high school student Mingmei Lee. �I know they both mean beautiful flower dancing in the wind in American, but I can�t decide what looks prettier.�

This strange trend mirrors a popular body art movement in the US where many Americans � especially professional basketball players and young celebrities � get Chinese language characters tattooed on their bodies. Many believe the Chinese characters add an air of spirituality to their beings and help present them as enlightened individuals who respect and admire foreign cultures.

A.J. McLean of the man-band Backstreet Boys proudly displayed his fresh ink after leaving a popular LA tattoo parlor. �Check it out,� said the very excited singer as he pointed to the characters on his left forearm. �My man just hooked me up with some mad asian ink! He says it means wise wolf that guards the pack. That�s totally me dawg� I take care of my boys. Cool dat!�

Upon further investigation, the characters were found to actaully mean dog ass.

�Listen, these Hollywood hotshots come in here every night wanting something foreign and deep. I only know how to do about twenty Chinese characters and I have no idea what they mean. But who the hell cares? They just look neat. I make up meanings like precious gem floating in pond. Dumb chicks hopped up on ex really go for that one,� said burly ex-marine tattoo artist Jake McNaughton with a hearty laugh.

Beijing tattoo artist Johnny Chang echoed the sentiments of his American counterpart, �Kids are stupid. Funny nonsense tattoos make me laugh ha ha. I take letters from American soda cans and candy wrappers and rearrange them into words. GWIPO is my number one favorite. TWARP is also pretty lucky good!�


http://www.usedwigs.com/tattoos/
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RACETRAITOR



Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's obviously satire, but well written nonetheless.
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Bailsibub



Joined: 22 Dec 2006

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This about says it all:

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Bailsibub



Joined: 22 Dec 2006

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

oops!
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genezorm



Joined: 01 Jul 2007
Location: Mokpo

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

this is solid...

in contrast to an earlier post filled with people complaining that korean people wear english t-shirts



byunhosa wrote:
Of course Koreans have a choice. They wear English t-shirts because they think it looks cool, and not because they have no alternatives. They could easily wear shirts with no logos or words on them, or someone, anyone, could actually print up t-shirts with Korean words on them (why this is not done, I have no idea).
Honestly, I do not think I have ever since a t-shirt with Korean words on them. Not one. I find that really odd.


http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=96965&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
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Funky Chunk



Joined: 29 Sep 2007
Location: Haebangchon, Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LOL -- I guess you get what you get without proper research. I have a kanji but I pulled it from a dictionary and then re-checked it in a couple other dictionaries to be sure. As an additional precaution, I chose something that can easily be hidden, or changed to something else if I grew tired of the meaning.
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whatever



Joined: 11 Jun 2006
Location: Korea: More fun than jail.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OMFG! I can't wait until this hits the Korea!

"Superior Vintagee Quality You Love I Love Stick Together Tomorrow Come Sunshine Crew Another Victorious"
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htrain



Joined: 24 May 2007

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I once saw a guy with 土 tattooed on his arm. I asked him what it meant pretending I didn't know. He said "brave warrior or soldier," which is actually 士. His said "land" or "dirt." It can also mean very country, an adjective describing someone who is a redneck.

I just said cool and then walked away.
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Qinella



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

htrain wrote:
I once saw a guy with 土 tattooed on his arm. I asked him what it meant pretending I didn't know. He said "brave warrior or soldier," which is actually 士. His said "land" or "dirt." It can also mean very country, an adjective describing someone who is a redneck.

I just said cool and then walked away.


That sucks. Probably the tattoo artist didn't realize a longer or shorter base can totally change the meaning. It's just a plus sign with a foot either way, right?


Anyway I wonder how many people read the article and thought it was real. Probably most everyone here who read it.
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htrain



Joined: 24 May 2007

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Qinella wrote:
htrain wrote:
I once saw a guy with 土 tattooed on his arm. I asked him what it meant pretending I didn't know. He said "brave warrior or soldier," which is actually 士. His said "land" or "dirt." It can also mean very country, an adjective describing someone who is a redneck.

I just said cool and then walked away.


That sucks. Probably the tattoo artist didn't realize a longer or shorter base can totally change the meaning. It's just a plus sign with a foot either way, right?


Anyway I wonder how many people read the article and thought it was real. Probably most everyone here who read it.


Yep, it can make a huge, huge difference. Even the slightest error can completely change the meaning.
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Boodleheimer



Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.hanzismatter.com/

have you seen the episode of House where some guy has a tat saying 'and' in Chinese?
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htrain



Joined: 24 May 2007

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KWhitehead wrote:
http://www.hanzismatter.com/

have you seen the episode of House where some guy has a tat saying 'and' in Chinese?

Not yet, but I have seen that tattoo on some dude's tricep. Meaning number 6 or something in the dictionary is peace or harmony in old school Chinese.
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