三
=
一
+
二
:
Mnemonic symbol: Cartesian coordinate system with three (三) axes. Socrates (s-) is performing in front of the anthill (-an1). He created an electrical flute by attaching a large capacitor (二) to the flute (一), so that he can get the attention of all the people. Moreover, he's balancing on a Cartesian coordinate system (三). Unfortunately, only three (三) people stop to watch the performance.
(old) first place in civil service examinations at three levels: provincial 解元[jie4 yuan2], metropolitan 會元|会元[hui4 yuan2] and palace 狀元|状元[zhuang4 yuan2]
currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan) / first / original / primary / fundamental / constituent / part / era (of a reign) / meta- (prefix) / (math.) argument / variable / (Tw) (geology) eon
元
=
二
+
儿
:
Sun Wu Kong offers Yu the Great a coin just inside the anthill's kitchen. As Yu the Great takes it, she's literally shocked: Sun Wu Kong hooked up a capacitor to it to play a bad joke on her, and he's laughing his ass off.