Are you serious?

I feel that a lot of Americans think that Chinese characters are beautiful and want to get tattoos of Chinese characters, but PLEASE make sure you know the meaning of the characters, and consult with a native speaker, before you get a tattoo of it. As a result of some people’s poor choice of characters/words, I’ve seen some funny Chinese tattoos.

One day, while I was in a bus on the way to school, I saw this tattoo on a guy: Translated to English, this tattoo literally means “Friend = Family.” However, “家族” doesn’t just mean family member, it means your WHOLE family, including your aunts and uncles, your cousins, your nieces and nephews… everyone in your extended family. It just doesn’t look correct for people who understand Chinese. It’s like saying ‘a friend equals my entire family.’ I thought that was funny, but maybe it’s a cultural thing.

I saw this tattoo when I went to Disney World in Florida. Translated to English, this tattoo means, ”to rise from the dead”. In Chinese culture, we usually use this phrase to describe a doctor who treats his patients with excellent skill, but we seldom use this idiom. I posted this picture on my Facebook, and one of my friends left a comment saying,” Did you tell her she is a zombie?” Again, you have to understand Chinese culture to fully get why it’s so weird.

This tattoo means, “crazy diarrhea”. I laughed so hard when I saw this tattoo online!

Overall, if you want to get a tattoo of Chinese characters, it’s probably best that you really research those characters and phrases, and talk to someone who knows Chinese, before getting them. However, if you really want to get ‘crazy diarrhea’ as a tattoo, I will not stop you from doing so.

Every tattoo has a story?

I have five tattoos (so far, I might get more in the future). Someone once told me, “Getting a tattoo is like getting plastic surgery, you can’t stop yourself from getting more.” I found out that was the case for me. I’m always thinking about what my next tattoo should be. Does every tattoo have its own story? For me, not really. I got my first tattoo when I was 17; the reason why I wanted to get one was because my friend and I had a discussion about getting a tattoo when we were in school; both of us wanted to get a tattoo. I wanted to get a tattoo for the sake of having one. However, I actually got one, but she didn’t.

My first tattoo doesn’t have a significant meaning, I went to a tattoo shop and the tattoo artist designed a tribal one for me; that's it. My friend said it looked like a lizard.

The day after I got my first tattoo, I told my parents about it. I asked my dad and mom to sit on the sofa and showed them my tattoo. My mom got mad and started saying how bad I was (I’ve had my ears pierced, my navel pierced, and my tongue pierced as well). My dad just laughed and said, “ It’s OK if you like it. Do what you want to do, just don't regret it.”

Although tattoos represent an expression of art in American culture, in Chinese culture tattoos carry a negative tone, and signify that the person is bad, in a gang, or just a hoodlum especially for our parents’ generation.

I got my second tattoo when I was 18 and same as the first, it doesn’t have any special meaning. It’s a heart surrounded by thorns with a pair of devil’s wings on it. A year ago, I posted a picture of all my tattoos on Facebook and one of my friends commented saying, “I like the dragon one most.” But I don't have a dragon tattoo. Does it look like a dragon to you?

The third tattoo I got was a 20^th birthday gift to myself. It’s a fairy holding my first name in her hand. The tattoo is on the left side of my belly; I like it a lot, but it became bigger since I’ve gained 40 pounds over the years.

My fourth tattoo carries the most meaning for me; it’s because my ex-boyfriend and I have the same tattoos. We decided to get them together. It’s the first letters of our names, Y and T. Have you ever heard that couple break up after they get tattoos together? Well, my boyfriend and I broke up two months after we got the tattoos. I thought it was just a myth in Chinese culture, but my sister told me a tattoo artist in Texas told her the same thing when she got her tattoo there. Therefore, if you want to break up with your boyfriend/girlfriend, but don’t have a good reason, just get a tattoo together. (Just kidding).

I love the design and the shape of skulls in almost everything, and I especially like the different designs of sugar skulls. So I decided my fifth tattoo would be of a sugar skull. It was my first tattoo I got in the United States. I am still considering to color it in the future.

I haven’t regretted getting these tattoos so far, because every tattoo captures a point of time in my life, but I have to say to those who want to get a tattoo, “Think twice before you make your decision.” because a tattoo will be with you for the rest of your life.