See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

A Buddhist/Shinto proverb that some sources maintain is Japanese, while others maintain it is Chinese and attribute it to Confucius, because a similar concept is quoted in the Analects of Confucius, which date from the 4th or 2nd century BC, “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." The proverb only became known in the English-speaking world during the 18th century. As a proverb, it is linked to its graphic manifestation in the so-called Three Wise Monkeys, featuring both illustrations and figurines of monkeys shielding their eyes, ears and mouths with their paws. Such figurines made out of brass, copper and porcelain were very popular in Victorian times. The foregoing quotation from Confucius, however, mentions four improprieties, which has led to the mainly jocular speculation that there should be a fourth wise monkey shielding its genitalia, to signify ‘do no evil’.