Most of the time, the Chinese tattoo designs that I see depict big, red dragons soaring
on clouds drawn along the back of men (nowadays even on women) and Chinese mafia or
gangs. You'd rarely see "good" Chinese guys sporting fierce tattoos. In the movies, it's
always the bad guy with that stiff upper lip and piercings on every pierce-able body part
who, before a big one-on-one fight with the good guy, takes off his shirt and then the
camera zooms in on his huge tattoo. The good guy gets distracted; bad guy grunts, and the
fight is on.
If you knew how the Chinese perceived tattoos, you'd understand why you only see Chinese
tattoo designs on the bad guys. See, way back during ancient Chinese times, Tattoos were
only seen on the bad guys. The Chinese word for tattoo is ci shen, which literally means
"to puncture the body" -an act contrary to Confucian ideas of filial piety that
discourages any kind of permanent bodily modification, making this offensive to the
parents, who gave the child his or her body. Criminals or exiles were marked with tattoos
on their faces. Taiwanese inhabitants who wore tattoos of snakes and insects during the
seventh century AD were also considered uncultured by the Chinese.
However, things have changed over the years, and Chinese tattoo designs have come to be
very symbolic for the Chinese and non-Chinese alike. Tattoos of animals, whether real or
mythical, are now considered art by a large population of the globe, so much so that
tattoo conventions are held yearly in different countries. These conventions show both
men and women who have transformed their bodies into canvases of indelible art, made by
the hands of the world-famous tattoo artists.
There are quite a number of Chinese-inspired tattoos, mostly of animals or flowers that
have meaning and relevance in Chinese culture. The more popular Chinese tattoo designs
are different versions of the dragon, which symbolizes the benevolent helper of mankind.
The dragon is a magical and enormous serpent, possessing spiritual and magical powers,
symbolizing the union of heaven and earth. One will not be surprised why this design is
the most popular of all.
Other designs include: the phoenix, a symbol of high virtue and grace; the koi fish (of
Chinese origin but now popular among the Japanese), a symbol of masculinity and positive
characteristics such as courage, the ability to reach high goals and overcoming the
difficulties of life; and Chinese cherry blossoms, which represent power, feminine beauty
and sexuality, female dominance, and love. The characters of the Chinese calendar each
represent a year, with those born in a specific year believed to posses the qualities of
the animal of that year.
Chinese tattoo designs are more often seen in non-Chinese, mostly in Westerners - the
former due to the dark history of tattooing among the ancient Chinese, and the latter due
to their attraction to things exotically beautiful. These popular designs reflect Chinese
culture as well as the result of the changing times.
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