Famous People with Chinese Tattoos

Chinese tattoos have invaded the Western world and even celebrities are taking in the Chinese culture by sporting their very own Chinese tattoos. In China, despite being a part of their culture, there still exists a conservative attitude to body art because tattoos were associated as the mark of criminals in the past. Nevertheless, it is very much alive in the West and can be seen ubiquitously.

A lot of celebrities and sports icons have Chinese tattoos inked on their skins making it much of a thing to have at present. From being a symbol bearing design, it has translated into something very fashionable.

Chinese tattoos have been a craze in the NBA that about 35 percent of NBA stars have Chinese themed tattoos inked on their skins. It was Dennis Rodman who started the tattoo craze in the 90’s and ever since then getting a tattoo became a hip thing. As proof, Allen Iverson has the Chinese character for loyalty on his skin. Other NBA players who have Chinese themed tattoos include Marcus Camby who has the phrase “strive for the clan, the family” on his right arm, Chris Anderson with the characters for good and bad each on one arm, and Shawn Marion who has a tattoo on his leg to mean the Matrix.

Pop stars Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Nick Carter have their own Chinese themed tattoo. Justin has the character meaning song while Britney has a flower tattoo with the character meaning mystery. Nick, for his part, combined Chinese characters with Greek mythology when he went for a shark and the characters “hai shen” meaning Poseidon on his left bicep.

Chinese leader Mao Zedong has also inspired several celebrities including Matthew Fox, the lead actor in Lost, who got a four character poem written by Mao inked on him before filming began, and boxer Mike Tyson who actually tattooed the face of Mao on his skin after paying Mao’s mausoleum a visit.

In the 2008 Olympic Games, British archer Laurence Godfrey sported a Chinese dragon with his Olympic rings. David Beckham also inked one side of his torso with a Chinese saying expressing, “Death and life have determined appointments. Riches and honors depend upon heaven.”

Hollywood celebrities, like Angelina Jolie, are also big fans of Chinese tattoos. Angelina, for her part, has a dragon and tiger tattoo on her lower back. Other celebrities who have Chinese characters as tattoos include Mary J Blige who has the character for strength, Julia Roberts for strength of heart, Natalie Imbruglia for courage, and Kiefer Sutherland for undying love.

The West has truly embraced the Chinese culture through the tattoos they have on their skins. At times though, the meanings get lost in translation because the Chinese language is not as definite as English. Nevertheless, getting a Chinese tattoo is an indication that we now live in a world of alternatives. Celebrities are thought to popularize tattoos; however, this will not be the case if the public didn’t accept body art in the first place.