W.ONE SPACE is honored to present the exhibition Han San, as our third and final instalment of the One, Two, Three exhibition series based on the concept of Dao.

The concept of "Han San" comes from the old saying "Dao stands in one, with one stand three,” meaning all things emerge from the origin. The original “chi” of Tai Chi is composed of three types of matter: heaven, earth and humanity.

In the ancient Chinese literary text “Book of Han” the most important three types of matter in the universe are heaven, earth and humanity. Dong Zhongshu (BC179-AD104) also considered these three types of matter to be the foundation of all things. The number three is a remarkably stable number and structural form, which also possesses a very sacred religious aura in the Western cannon. For example, the "Holy Trinity" in Christianity (tria sunt omnia) is closely related to a core belief in the sacredness of the number three. 

Tian: Heaven

Heaven is the highest embodiment of spiritual life in Chinese conceptual thought. Meanwhile, it is the supreme god of all natural gods and ancestral gods.

The pursuit of the  ultimate questions of life has been a long time activity in China and East Asia.  (Tian, also known as Haotian, is a spiritual pursuit in East Asia.) 

Di: The Earth

The earth is the foundation for the growth of all things, the central concept for harmonious existence with the natural world; earth art is the art of primordial growth, as well as being deeply embedded with and the core of East Asian agricultural rituals.

Di, or the earth, was perceived as the foundation for the growth of all things, and sacrifices to heaven and earth often took place simultaneously. The text Bai Hu Tong Yi also has sacrificial connotations: “the sky is as high as dignity, the earth as thick as virtue.” The concept of di, or earth, often carries a vast and benevolent connotation, and mixes with the deep East Asian agricultural cultivation of civilization and the courtesy at the core of harmony. The concept of the "sacrificial earth” in China has a long-standing tradition. The Book of Rites, Memorial Offerings, also recorded in great detail the idea of  "sacrificial earth.” The most typical and core embodiment of the symbol of heaven and earth is cong, a concrete image of the circle of the sky and the square of the earth. The core concept of harmonious coexistence with the natural world is born in art of di, or the earth. The environment is used as an art material and makes people think about the deep contact and breathing within the earth.

 "Hao Tian" represents a core belief in ancestors, and can be traced from Hongshan cultural sacrificial sites to feudal societies where the emperor was appointed in law, according to "the divine rights of the king.” During this time, sacrifices to heaven were overseen by the imperial power. Offering sacrifices to heaven was also respected as a "vital sacrifice" in Ji Li, and embodied a strong political sense of complex sacred rights that were granted by heaven. Jade objects that were used to communicate with heaven were common in China. In ancient times the Wu people believed they could talk with the gods through jade. So this was the most important bridge between heaven and man. Gothic cathedrals also represent a bridge of communication between man and the sky. The spires rise against the endless towering sky, yet the interior remains silent and infinitely solemn. The endless sky has always stimulated mankind to explore the far reaches of the unknown and seek mystery. Recent voyages of technology have expanded our ability for further discovery; the closer we approach to mystery, the more we experience our own ignorance.

Ren: Mankind

In ancient China, people believed that mankind could be a medium of communication between heaven and the earth. However, there has been an evolution of the concepts and definitions held by human beings in different periods. 

The decline of the power of gods led to the awakening of conceptions of human rights. The awareness of self based on human beings has never stopped.

In the Western perspective, religious rule was more powerful than individual rule during the Middle Ages, until the Black Death caused human beings to think more deeply about life, resulting in the brith of the Renaissance.  In modern thought, people have been able to reflect more deeply on themselves and they believe in photographic scientific statistics. These statistics are concepts of humanity based on long term observation. In the context of the development of human science and technology, what will mankind become in the near future? Since the evolution of technology creates  longing in people, and also makes us vigilant, a newly evolved system of ethics for the relationship between artificial intelligence, human brains and computers needs to be created. We need to consider whether or not the boundaries of humans will become dim and our orientation towards  the future. 

Records of the Grand Historian · Law: "Number begins with one, ends with ten, becomes in three.” Three is the number of achievements.

The sky, earth and man combine in one without being separated. It is the root of everything, and also the ultimate core of the pursuit (of knowledge?). "Three microcosms transform into one macrocosm,". "Three" is not three separate individuals, but a complete whole, with the three meanings of faith, hope and love. 

Three gives birth to everything. Therefore W.ONE SPACE begins the grand and romantic spawning of everything.