Psyche logo

The Culture of "3"

The stories behind our painting《The symbolism of three koi - The Culture of "3"》

By Dawnxisoul393Published 2 years ago 3 min read
Like
《The symbolism of three koi - The Culture of "3"》, painted by Dawnxisoul393

Three charming koi fishes, full of Asian traditional customs and arts, are swimming, emitting warm lights. They invite us to embrace the beautiful nature and look at the environment of the world we live in, it is full of new opportunities. They would like to lead us to a deeper and more spiritual level and lead us to open an endless source of thought exploration.

People pay great attention to the culture of "3" in Asia, through evolution, 3 is not only a simple digital concept but endowed with profound cultural connotation. In traditional culture, 3 mainly embodies the concepts of heaven, earth, and man. Heaven and earth are the space and environment of human life, and nature, 3 has become the general name of human and nature. 3 embodies people's thought of "harmony between man and nature", and is the source and basis of nature and harmony.

"Harmony between man and nature", illustrated by dawnxisoul393

Taoism stresses that "Tao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things", that is, 3 is the foundation and the beginning of all things. Buddhism is even more inseparable from 3. Buddhism has 3 treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and monk). All living beings live in 3 realms (desire realm, lust realm, and no lust realm). The basic studies that practitioners must practice are "3 learnings" (precepts, calmness, and wisdom). Because of its profound cultural connotation, 3 is endowed with the highest, the largest, and the widest meaning, representing the supreme, the highest, and the strongest. In traditional culture, 3 is regarded as the foundation of human society and the origin of all things, 3 often represents the meaning of stability, firmness, and harmony.

Three koi fishes represent diversity. In number 3, we can find many "Trinity": red、yellow, and blue, body、heart, and soul, they represent the development process of things: theory > opposition theory > comprehensive theory, beginning > middle > end, subject > predicate > object. All of these show the indivisibility and overall continuity of experience. When two opposite things are combined, new things are created. In Asia, the ancients used 3 to symbolize the sun, moon, and stars, and 3 to symbolize the sky, the earth, and the underground. The number 3 also represents the relationship, both negative and positive exist at the same time, but black and white cannot be directly related, so building a relationship requires a third force, it's like "1" for father, "2" for mother and "3" for the child.

"In Asia, the ancients used 3 to symbolize the sun, moon, and stars", illustrated by dawnxisoul393

The number 3 is an interesting number in many directions. If you turn the number 3 to another side, it's the letter E. If you put it down, it's W. Instead, it's M. It's interesting. Let us always keep a childlike innocence, be curious and interested in everything, and never miss the fun of learning new knowledge and skills. With great enthusiasm for life, we can absorb nutrients from past knowledge accumulation and life experience, learn and master certain skills or abilities with a young and positive attitude, and develop our unique thinking and creative expression with joy and love. In the process of continuous learning, let us be moved by all kinds of thoughts, ideas, and dreams, which will make us shine in an optimistic and dynamic world, and then affect the development of the world.

"The past, the present, and the future", illustrated by dawnxisoul393

The three koi fishes represent the past, the present, and the future. We already have a lot of previous life experiences, although we do not remember them, or can not remember them clearly, they are affecting our present and future lives. We have accumulated our wisdom and energy through our previous lives and experience in this life. We have learned from the past and developed some skills and abilities. All of this is helping us grow and make us great people. We also have the ability to awaken more abilities in previous lives, which will contribute to our development in this life. Cherish the present. Every moment of life is a gift from the universe. Be grateful and keep a positive attitude.

Original by dawnxisoul393

advice
Like

About the Creator

Dawnxisoul393

Couple from HK. Dr. Daniel K Lam has got his degrees in Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge(ARU has its origins in the Cambridge School of Art, which was opened in 1858 by John Ruskin), Doris H Lam has graduated from GFAA with MFA degree.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.