2. Odd numbers
The ancients divided numbers from "one" to "ten" into odd numbers and even numbers. Odd numbers symbolize heaven and masculine things. Although the number of ten Arabic numerals is small, the energy they produce in life is extraordinary. "Laozi" says: "Tao generates one, which generates two, two generates three, and three generates all things." Looking through the dictionary, there are as many as nine interpretations of "one". "A promise brings a thousand gold" "Historical Records, Biography of Ji Bu Luan Bu": "It is better to get a hundred gold than to get a promise from Ji Bu". Later, "a promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold" was used to describe the extremely high credibility of a promise. Qin Prime Minister Lu Buwei asked his disciples to write "Lu Shi Chun Qiu". After it was written, he issued a notice saying that anyone who could add or subtract a single word would be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold (see "Historical Records, Biography of Lu Buwei"). Later, he used the phrase "a word of a thousand pieces of gold" to praise the exquisiteness of the poem. . Among the people, for the sake of good luck, the mother-in-law's family gives 10,000 yuan to the daughter-in-law when their son gets engaged, which means "choose one in a million."
"Three" is also an auspicious number in the eyes of the Chinese. For example, heaven, earth, and human beings are the three talents or three spirits. When a person encounters a happy event, he will say, "This is my three-life blessing." "Three Lives" refers to the past life, this life, and the next life. The three relationships between monarch and minister, father and son, and husband and wife are the three cardinal principles.
Western countries regard "three" as a symbol of divinity, nobility and auspiciousness. Christianity has the Trinity, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Buddhism, there are three gods: heaven, earth and man.
"Seven" has a positive meaning in European and American countries. "Seven" is used as a victory in throwing, and the trademarks include "Mild Seven" and "7-up". The "7-up" drink is translated into Chinese as "Qixi". Christianity believes that God created everything in the world in seven days. The Virgin Mary has seven joys and seven sorrows, the "Seven Sages" of ancient Greece, the seven wonders of the world, and the Western fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", China There are seven fairies in the myth, and the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
"Nine" is the largest odd number, which means "many" and evolved from "infinite" to "sacred". Therefore, in order to show their nobility, ancient emperors tried their best to compare themselves with "Nine". For example, there are 9,999 houses in the Forbidden City; the front of the Tiananmen Gate Tower is nine rooms wide, and the door is equipped with nine door nails, that is, nine rows vertically and horizontally; it is said that there were nine administrative regions in ancient my country, so Nowadays, "Jiuzhou" is also used to represent China.
In Japan, gifts are always given in the odd number, with the exception of "9", because the pronunciation of "9" in Japanese is the same as "bitter".
Since the World Trade Center in the United States was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, Westerners have regarded "11" as an unfortunate number.
The most taboo number among Westerners is "Thirteen", so much so that "Thirteen" is avoided in hotels, floors, and room numbers. The reason is that in the Last Supper, Jesus was killed by his twelfth The disciple Judas betrayed him and the Romans crucified him on Friday the 13th. Some people also trace this taboo back to our ancestors, Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit on Friday the 13th.
Chinese people are not as taboo about the number 13 as Westerners, and it is even an auspicious number. For example, on July 13, 2001, Beijing successfully bid for the Olympic Games! This is an exciting, exciting and proud moment for the Chinese people.
3. Even numbers
Even numbers are even numbers. Chinese people like to do things in pairs, such as "double happiness", "win-win" and "double salary". When getting married, you should choose A "double day" to show "auspiciousness".
The number "four" is not an "unlucky" number in Chinese history. On the contrary, it is popular, such as the "Siheyuan" in old Beijing, Lao She's famous work "Four Generations Under One Roof", ancient books In the "Four Books" and "Sikuquanshu", people pay attention to giving four things when giving gifts, so that everything is stable.
However, after the reform and opening up, the value of the number "four" suddenly dropped sharply. Because of the pronunciation problem, people associated "four" with "death", so everyone was afraid of "four" in life. Less than that. There is no "fourteen" floor in high-rise buildings, and any number that matches "four" is not "auspicious", especially in telephone and mobile phone numbers, which were once popular.
The Japanese are also taboo about "four", which is very similar to the current thinking of the Chinese. They believe that "four" has the same pronunciation as "death", so there are no "four" wards and beds in Japanese hospitals.
Western nations have a special liking for the "four". They believe that the "four" is a symbol of strength, peace and justice.
Among the even numbers, "six" and "eight" are the most popular among Chinese people, because the homophony of these two numbers is very close to the meaning of "making a fortune". Whether people are doing business, opening a shop, or giving money, If there are numbers involved in car license plates, etc., you must choose "six" or "eight". For example, when opening a store, choose "5, 18", "8, 18", which means "I want to issue" and "issue one." . According to the news broadcast, there is a car owner in Guangzhou. His license plate number is "8888". He originally expected good luck and success, but unexpectedly his auspicious license plate brought him trouble. He often received blackmail letters, and someone asked him Asking for money, he had no choice but to choose an ordinary car number.
The number "eight" is no longer a simple numeral, it contains the cultural connotation of a nation. August 8, 1988, which happens once a century, is a grand and auspicious day. Chinese people all over the world celebrate the "8888" festival grandly. It is said that in some hotels, from 8:08 in the morning to 8:08 in the evening, customers can drink as much as they want within 88 minutes for only eight yuan and eighty-eight cents. The Beijing Olympic Games is scheduled to be held at 8 pm on August 8, 2008.
Ordinary people are like this, and some famous people are also very sensitive to numbers. Mao Zedong had a special liking for the number "twenty-eight". The traditional strokes of the three characters "Mao Zedong" add up to the number "Twenty-Eight", so he has a pen name called "Twenty-eight Painters". He happened to be "twenty-eight" years old when he attended the first year of the National High School. It was exactly "twenty-eight years" from the founding of the Communist Party of China to the birth of New China. At the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong proposed a "twenty-eight" gun salute. Other countries' salutes were "twenty-one" guns, with the exception of my country.
June 6, 2006 was a happy day. It was reported that young couples in Beijing queued up at the marriage registration office at 12 o'clock in the morning on the 6th in order to register on this day. Chinese people believe that three sixes added together are auspicious and smooth, which is in line with the meaning of "six-six great fortune". The same June 6, 2006, panicked many people in the United Kingdom and the United States. According to a report in the Beijing Legal Evening News on June 7, a pregnant woman in the United States asked the doctor to perform a caesarean section on June 5. She believed that it was unlucky for the child to be born on June 6 because of the last chapter of the New Testament. The number "666" mentioned in the Book of Revelation is related to the devil Satan. It’s no wonder why Westerners don’t like the number “666”.