gōngfu – 功 夫

A Chinese expression… Often spelt ‘Kung Fu’
There are a number of ways to translate this expression. My personal favourite comes from taking the 2 ideas:

功 – cultivated skill
夫 – a person

These two ideas combine and point to an on-going path of self cultivation.

The term is used to describe any art expressed by someone who displays great skill, or seemingly natural ability. It is usually breath taking and impressive to behold.

“To put the world in order,
we must first put the nation in order;
to put the nation in order,
we must first put the family in order;
to put the family in order;
we must first cultivate our personal life;
we must first set our hearts right.”
– Confucius