Watch: David Beckham Shows Off Chinese Tattoo

The text reads: ‘Life and death are determined by fate, rank and riches decreed by heaven.”

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During a five-day trip to China, 38-year-old soccer star David Beckham lifted up his shirt to reveal Chinese characters inked on the left-hand side of his torso. The text reads: “Life and death are determined by fate, rank and riches decreed by heaven.”

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Beckham flashed the body art to a screaming crowd after a Chinese girl asked him to share stories of his tattoos. According to the Los Angeles Times, he got the string of Chinese characters inked on his body in 2008. Beckham reportedly traveled to Hong Kong to get the tattoo.

According to the Huffington Post, the footballer has a total of 15 tattoos, including three cherubs on his back, for his sons, and the word “Love” on his hand, in honor of his daughter, Harper Seven. Though the Chinese tattoo is visible in a recent H&M ad campaign, Beckham said he’d always kept it private.

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