three major stars of the Three Stars 參宿|参宿[Shen1 xiu4] Chinese constellation / the belt of Orion / three spirits 福[fu2], 祿|禄[lu4], and 壽|寿[shou4] associated with the Three Stars 參宿|参宿[Shen1 xiu4] Chinese constellation
lit. to make three visits to the thatched cottage (idiom) (allusion to an episode in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4] in which Liu Bei 劉備|刘备[Liu2 Bei4] recruits Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮|诸葛亮[Zhu1 ge3 Liang4] to his cause by visiting him three times) / fig. to make earnest and repeated requests of sb
(old) to rank first in the imperial examinations at the provincial capital, the national capital and the palace successively / (sports etc) to achieve three successes in a row (three matches in a row, three goals in a match etc)
the second of the three annual periods of hot weather (三伏[san1 fu2]), which begins in late July and lasts either 10 or 20 days, depending on the Chinese calendar in that year
Three Kingdoms period (220-280) in Chinese history / any of several Three Kingdoms periods in Korean history, esp. from 1st century AD to unification under Silla 新羅|新罗[Xin1luo2] in 658
the Three Represents, a set of three guiding principles for the CCP introduced by Jiang Zemin 江澤民|江泽民[Jiang1 Ze2 min2] in 2000 and enshrined in the Constitution in 2004
Zhuge Liang (181-234), military leader and prime minister of Shu Han 蜀漢|蜀汉[Shu3 Han4] during the Three Kingdoms period / the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1guo2 Yan3yi4], where he is portrayed as a sage and military genius / (fig.) a mastermind
a (large) bell (CL:架[jia4]) / clock (CL:座[zuo4]) / amount of time / o'clock (CL:點|点[dian3],分[fen1],秒[miao3]) (as in 三點鐘|三点钟[san1dian3zhong1] "three o'clock" or "three hours" or 五分鐘|五分钟[wu3fen1zhong1] "five minutes" etc)
three principles and five virtues (idiom) / the three rules (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and five constant virtues of Confucianism (benevolence 仁, righteousness 義|义, propriety 禮|礼, wisdom 智 and fidelity 信)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong 羅貫中|罗贯中[Luo2 Guan4 zhong1], one of the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature, a fictional account of the Three Kingdoms at the break-up of the Han around 200 AD, portraying Liu Bei's 劉備|刘备[Liu2 Bei4] Shu Han 蜀漢|蜀汉[Shu3 Han4] as heroes and Cao Cao's 曹操[Cao2 Cao1] Wei 魏[Wei4] as villains
History of Three Kingdoms (Korean: Samguk Sagi), the oldest extant Korean history, compiled under Kim Busik 金富軾|金富轼[Jin1 Fu4 shi4] in 1145. The three kingdoms are Goguryeo 高句麗|高句丽[Gao1 gou1 li2], Baekje 百濟|百济[Bai3 ji4], Silla 新羅|新罗[Xin1 luo2].
(lit.) village of three households / the Three Family Village, an essay column in a Beijing newspaper from 1961-1966, written by Deng Tuo 鄧拓|邓拓[Deng4 Tuo4], Wu Han 吳晗|吴晗[Wu2 Han2] and Liao Mosha 廖沫沙[Liao4 Mo4 sha1], criticized as anti-Party during the Cultural Revolution
the Three Caos (Cao Cao 曹操 and his sons Cao Pi 曹丕 and Cao Zhi 曹植), who established the Wei or Cao Wei dynasty 曹魏, and were all three noted poets and calligraphers
Three Parallel Rivers National Park, in mountainous northwest Yunnan World Heritage protected area: the three rivers are Nujiang 怒江[Nu4 jiang1] or Salween, Jinsha 金沙江[Jin1 sha1 jiang1] or upper reaches of Changjiang and Lancang 瀾滄江|澜沧江[Lan2 cang1 Jiang1] or Mekong
(idiom) a thing should not be attempted more than three times / don't repeat the same mistake again and again / (idiom) bad things don't happen more than three times
lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom) / fig. everybody's business is nobody's business / (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
the three imperishables, three ways to distinguish oneself that aren't forgotten by history: through one's virtue 立德[li4 de2], one's service 立功[li4 gong1] and one's writings 立言[li4 yan2] (from the Zuo Zhuan 左傳|左传[Zuo3 Zhuan4])
grass that has grown on a grave since last year / (fig.) grave / to have died long ago / fodder provided to animals for the night
The four tones
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