Tattoo Gallery

Given the current popularity of Chinese tattoos you might be surprised to learn that for a long time tattooing in China was regarded as a 'bad' thing.

The reason for this is because it violates the body. In fact the literal translation of the chinese words for tattooing, "Ci Shen", is "to puncture the body”. Westerners may find it hard to understand this concept but it is very deep in our culture.

A very famous Chinese novel mentions tattooing in the story of outlaws from the Mount Liang area of China. The backdrop for the story is 12th century China and concerns 108 tribesmen from an illegal tribal leader whose name was Song Jiang. 3 of of the main characters apparently had tattoos which covered their entire bodies.Their is not doubt that the amongst the most famous Chinese tattoo is that of the legendary Chinese military leader, Yueh Fei. He lead armies during a period of Chinese history known as the South Song Dynasty. The reason why history records is exploits is that he was incredibly unlucky as during a battle with some soldiers from northern China, his second in command deserted him and defected to the enemies side bring great shame upon him. He could not bear it and quit the army traveled back home to his mother's house. I am not sure if he was expecting sympathy but he did not get it. His mother was very annoyed with him and told that his primary objective should be to protect China - even if other people let him down along the way. So that he would never forget this fact, she tattooed 4 Chinese characters (精忠报国) on his back with a needle that she used to sew and repair clothes. The Characters do not have a direct equivalent in English but their meaning would have been clear in ancient Chinese times. They means "Serve China and be loyal even in the face of death".

There is a darker side to Chinese Tattoos as well. At some points in Chinese history Chinese tattoos were also used to mark criminals. Often outlaws who had been found guilty of terrible crimes would have to have tattoos etched on their faces before being banished to a distant land. This meant that even if they made it back into society years later everyone would still know they were a bad guy as the tattoos were as permanent as they are today. This was called "Ci Pei" which literally translated means "Tattoo Banishment".