七*转八起 get up and try for the 8th time

*In honor of the Beijing Olympics, I am including a single simplified character, 转, although I am a traditionalist (when it comes to characters). Simplified characters are generally ugly. Sigh. This particular one looks sort of cool, the slant reminding you of that new modern CCTV building (China Central Television, by Rem Koolhaas).

What, the building looks more like 八? Well, that, too. An elegant classic, this traditional character never needed to be tinkered with.

七 (seven) *转 (turn) 八 (eight) 起 (rise)
(轉, as in 天旋地轉, is the traditional version of *转.)

So you spin out seven times. Big deal.
Just do it well the eighth time, you hear, athletes?

Alternate versions:
七転八起 (Japanese) with 転 (same as 轉)
七顚八起 (Korean) with 顚 (fall)

Chinese preference for number 8 is legendary.

二零零八年八月八日八点八分 (2008. 08.08. 08:08)

Octabulous.