在文学或者影视作品中，人们常常会听到一个词叫做“三足鼎立”，这个词是形容三方势力对峙的格局，而词本身的来源是宝鼎的三只鼎足。学过数学的一般都知道，三角形是几何图形中稳固的形状，所以古人将宝鼎的鼎足设计为三只也是为了稳固的想法。
In literature or film and television works, people often hear a word called "tripartite confrontation", which describes the pattern of tripartite confrontation, and the source of the word itself is Baoding's three tripods. It is generally known to those who have studied mathematics that triangles are solid shapes in geometry, so the ancient people designed the tripod as three for the sake of stability.
除了三足的宝鼎之外，四足的宝鼎是也是较为常见的。而四足的宝鼎在外形上又常常是方形的，这种宝鼎一般出现的时候都是较为庄重严肃的，所以常常会被用于气氛较为庄重的祭祀场合，也就是所谓的祭祀用具。
In addition to the tripod, the tripod is also common. The quadruped tripod is often square in shape, which is generally solemn when it appears, so it is often used in the solemn atmosphere of the sacrificial occasions, that is, the so-called sacrificial utensils.