Did you mean: Bei Zhou Bo Noa ?

  

The Name Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Chinese / Japanese...

Buy a Bai Zhe Bu Nao calligraphy wall scroll here!

Customize & Order

Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks

Persistence to overcome all challenges
bǎi zhé bù náo
hyaku setsu su tou
백절불요
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll

This Chinese proverb means "Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks".

More directly-translated, it reads, "[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching". 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese, and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).

This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose the corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.

Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and the common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.

Near the end of his career, a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest he resigned his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.

His tombstone reads "Bai Zhe Bu Nao" which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strength will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.

My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as, "keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks", "be undaunted by repeated setbacks" and "be indomitable".

Our translator says it can mean, "never give up" in modern Chinese.

Although the first two characters are translated correctly as "repeated setbacks", the literal meaning is "100 setbacks" or "a rope that breaks 100 times". The last two characters can mean "do not yield" or "do not give up".
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.

See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence


The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks百折不撓
百折不挠		hyaku setsu su tou
hyakusetsusutou
hyaku setsu su to
hyakusetsusuto		bǎi zhé bù náo
bai3 zhe2 bu4 nao2
bai zhe bu nao
baizhebunao		pai che pu nao
paichepunao
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.
In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.


Many custom options...


Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Scroll


And formats...

Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Vertical Portrait
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Horizontal Wall Scroll
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks Vertical Portrait
Dictionary

Lookup Bai Zhe Bu Nao in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...

47 Ronin5 Tenets of Taekwondo9 Koi FishA Journey of a Thousand MilesA Moment of Time is as Precious as GoldAaliyahAbbiAbbyAbhishekAbundanceAbundance and ProsperityAcupunctureAdamAdelineAdhiAdnanAdvance Bravely Indomitable SpiritAdventureAftabAguilarAhmedAiki JujutsuAikidoAikoAishaAishuAjayAkariAkashAkita Dog Akitainu Akita InuAkshayAkumaAlanaAlessandraAlessandroAlexAlexanderAlexisAliaAlinaAlishaAliveAliyahAllegraAllyAllysaAlmightyAlone With Only Your Shadow for CompanyAlphonseAlways and ForeverAlways FaithfulAmalAmanAmanteAmarAmazing GraceAmbitionAmeliaAmidaAmitAnarchyAndieAngelAngelineAnilAnitaAnkitAnkitaAnnalynAnneAnnickAnnieAntonAnyaAphroditeAquarius Zodiac Symbol SignAquinoArchangelArcherAreebAriesArigatoArisaArissaArjunArloArmaanArmanArmandoArt of WarArturoArunAryanAshaAshantiAshokAsuraAuroraAustinAwakeningAxelAyakaAyanAzuraBaileyBajutsuBalanceBalanced LifeBambooBanzaiBarbieBe HappyBe True to YourselfBe Water My FriendBeauty of NatureBelovedBeloved OneBenevolent HeartBentleyBertBest Friends ForeverBethBettyBhavyaBlacksmithBlancaBless This HouseBlessed by GodBlessingBlessingsBlissBloodBloodless VictoryBlueBodhiBodhidharmaBody and MindBoldBondBoundlessBowmanBrave the WavesBrave the Wind and the WavesBrave WarriorBraveryBravery CourageBraydenBreannaBreatheBriannaBright FutureBrittneyBrodyBroken SoulBrotherhoodBrotherly LoveBrysonBuddhaBuddha BuddhismBuddha ShakyamuniBuddyBudoBuffaloBujinBurmaBushidoBushido CodeCafeCainCalebCallieCalmCalm SpiritCalvinCancer Zodiac Symbol SignCao CaoCapricornCaraCarinCarinaCarlaCarlinCarloCarolynCarpe DiemCassandraCastroChantalChaosCharlieCheersChelseaCherieCherry BlossomCherry Blossom ProverbCheyenneChi EnergyChienChosen 1

All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form of art alive.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.


Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.

Some people may refer to this entry as Bai Zhe Bu Nao Kanji, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Characters, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Mandarin Chinese, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Characters, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Chinese Writing, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Japanese Writing, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Asian Writing, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Ideograms, Chinese Bai Zhe Bu Nao symbols, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Hieroglyphics, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Glyphs, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Chinese Letters, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Hanzi, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Japanese Kanji, Bai Zhe Bu Nao Pictograms, Bai Zhe Bu Nao in the Chinese Written-Language, or Bai Zhe Bu Nao in the Japanese Written-Language.

17 people have searched for Bai Zhe Bu Nao in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Bai Zhe Bu Nao was last searched for by someone else on Oct 10th, 2021