Tattoo Ruminations…….Part One: He'h Qiao or my Chinese name

One quick glance at me makes glaringly obvious my infatuation for tattoos. Ever since I got my first tattoos in January 2010, I have had a strong affinity for them and the ability they allow me to express very deep held beliefs that strike straight to the core of my being. My tattoos are a source of self expression, love for artwork and something that I continue to be interested in, especially considering I still have a lot of blank canvas…... though my mother disagrees with that!

As a way for me to both share with others what my tattoos mean to me and also for myself to reflect on them and remember the things that I treasure and value in this life, I am going to be writing a series of blog posts about the meaning/story behind each of my tattoos, as well as the experience that led to me getting each one done. It seems natural for me to do this in chronological order, which will also likely prove to be an interesting practice in self reflection. I welcome any and all comments that my writing may elicit and hope it can provide some insight into why people like myself enjoy tattoos. Additionally, it is my sincere hope that they can be a source of inspiration due to the beliefs that live behind them.

He’h Qiao or my Chinese name

The beginning of the tattoos for me. When I got this one done, I took my travel notebook into the tattoo shop as I had a handwritten version of this in it from my time in China. I had met a Chinese land army soldier on a twenty four hour train journey from Guilin to Beijing and during our long talks during this journey he wrote this for me and we talked about its meaning. This was done in Minot, North Dakota by Devin Billings. 

The first tattoo I had done was in January 2010. At this time I was in my second year teaching on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in Northwest North Dakota and in a much different place, both geographically and developmentally, than life currently finds me in. Between my first and second years teaching there I had a life changing three week trip to China that very directly altered the course my life has taken. This trip was my first venture outside of North America and completely altered my worldview and idea of what life is about. While in China I discovered a love for experiencing new cultures; meeting people and sharing life experiences, stories and philosophies; learning and travel; and cultivated an intense love for life and its possibilities. I actually started looking for work in China while I was there and did not stop looking for work overseas until I was finally offered a job to teach in Sana’a, Yemen six months later, which I immediately accepted, and both started my life abroad as well as continued my adventures in travel and learning about different cultures, peoples and ways of living.

While in China I, like many other foreigners who visit that mystical land, was given a Chinese name that is phonetically based on my own name, Joseph (Joe) Harr. At the time I almost solely went by Joe, so the name that was phonetically translated was Joe Harr. Names in China, and other Far East cultures, however, are the opposite of names in the Western world in that they begin with one’s family name, thereby rendering my name Harr Joe, which phonetically translates to ‘He’h qiao (it is a very strong ‘H’ at the start and is followed by a slightly guttural sound; the ‘q’ is pronounced ‘ch’ and the ‘iao’ like ‘ow’). The word ‘He’h’ means celebration in Chinese, while ‘Qiao’ means bridge; therefore, when combined my Chinese name can be translated to ‘Bridge Celebration.’ For me this embodies my approach to how I choose to interact with fellow humans in this world in that I enjoy forging bridges between people of different cultural, ethnic, philosophical, etc. backgrounds and celebrating the diversity to be discovered within. It is this overall philosophy that my Chinese name creates that inspired me to get this permanently written onto my body and start an affaire de cœur for tattoo art.

Since having this written on my arms, I have met many other Chinese people who have not only confirmed for me the accuracy of its writing, but also insisted on calling me He'h Qiao. Recently I even hosted a couchsurfing couple from China who showed appreciation for it. Experiences like these, such as hosting travelers and continuing to roam this planet and interact with fellow earthlings have helped me reaffirm this philosophy for myself. At the actual time I had this done I was also living amongst a culture different from my own despite being in my home country, and it was this initial experience of living on an Indian Reservation that inspired me to live outside my comfort zone and embrace diversity more. Life just has too much diverse beauty to discover and, for me at least, it seems best experienced through direct interaction with different people and environments. It is also a constant reminder for me of the wonderful time I spent teaching on ‘the rez’ and the connections I made there.

The next installment in this will be the tattoo that followed this initial one, which was all of one week later. Anyone who knows me would not be surprised by the ‘addictive’ way in which I approached this newfound interest and have continued to do so……...