Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Classic Trio ~ With a Classic Green Twist

Do you know that the three monkeys with the classic poses "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" originated from Japan? Well i just found out.

The source that popularized this pictorial maxim is a 17th century carving over a door of the famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan. The maxim, however, probably originally came to Japan with a Tendai-Buddhist legend, from China in the 8th century (Nara Period).

In Chinese, a similar phrase exists in the Analects of Confucius: "Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety" (非禮勿視, 非禮勿聽,非禮勿言, 非禮勿動). It may be that this phrase was shortened and simplified after it was brought into Japan.



Well, i like the poses but gave it a greenish twist. It can be customised and packaging is available.


Info source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys

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