中国的数字文化-英语版

NumbersinChineseculture中国的数字文化BemadebySophiaInChineseculture,certainnumbersarebelievedbysometobeauspicious(吉利的)orinauspicious(不利的)basedontheChinesewordthatthenumbernamesoundssimilarto.

However,someChinesepeopleregardthesebeliefs(信仰)tobesuperstitions.

(迷信)SincethepronunciationandthevocabularymaybedifferentindifferentChinesedialects(乡土语言，方言

)

,therulesaregenerallynotapplicable(可应用的)forallcases.Luckiernumber:TowThenumber2(二or两,Pinyin:èrorliăng)isagoodnumberinChineseculture.ThereisaChinesesaying“goodthingscomeinpairs”.（好事成双）Itiscommontousedoublesymbolsinproductbrandnames（商标）.e.g.DoubleHappiness（双喜牌香烟）,DoubleCoin（双钱牌龟苓膏）,DoubleElephants（双象集团）etc.InCantonese,twoisahomophoneofthecharacterfor"easy"(易).Luckiernumber:ThreeThenumber3(三,Pinyin:sān)soundssimilartothecharacterfor"birth"(生,Pinyin:shēng),andisthusconsideredaluckynumber.Unluckiernumber:FourNumber4(四or肆;pinyinsì)isconsideredanunluckynumberinChinese,Korean,VietnameseandJapanesecultures.Becauseitisnearlyhomophonous(同音的)totheword“death”(死pinyinsǐ).Duetothat,manynumberedproductlinesskip（跳过）the"4“.e.g.Nokiacellphones(thereisnoseriesbeginningwitha4),CanonPowerShotG'sseries(afterG3goesG5),etc.InEastAsia,somebuildingsdonothavea4thfloor.(ComparewiththeAmericanpracticeofsomebuildingsnothavinga13thfloorbecause13isconsideredunlucky.)InHongKong,somehigh-riseresidentialbuildings（高层住宅楼宇）missALLfloornumberswith“4”.e.g.4,14,24,34andall40-49floors.Asaresult,abuildingwhosehighestfloorisnumber50mayactuallyhaveonly36floors.Unluckiernumber:FourNumber14isconsideredtobeoneoftheunluckiestnumbers.Because14isusuallysaidinMandarinas十四“shí

sì,”whichsoundslike“tendie”(十死)

,itcanalsobesaidas一四“yī

sì”or么四“yāo

sì”,literally(照字面地）

“onefour”,butitalsosoundslike"wanttodie"(要死pinyinyào

sǐ).InCantonese,14soundslike“certainlydie”(实死).

NotallChinesepeopleconsiderittobeanunluckynumberasthepronunciationdiffersamongthevariousdialects.InChiuChow(潮州）,4ispronouncedas"see"or"yes".ItcanbeseentobealuckynumberbecauseChinesepeoplelikethingsinpairs(fourwouldequaltwopairs).Luckiernumber:FiveThenumber5(五,Pinyin:wŭ)isassociated(关联）

withthefiveelements（元素）

(water,wood,fire,earthandmetal)inChinesephilosophy（哲学）,andinturnwashistorically（从历史上看）

associatedwiththeEmperor（皇帝）ofChina.Forexample,theTiananmengate（天安门城楼）,beingthemainthoroughfare（主要通道）

totheForbiddenCity（紫禁城）,hasfivearches（拱门）.Unluckiernumber:FiveAlthoughfive(五,pinyin:wǔ)canrepresent"me"(吾,pinyin:wú)inMandarin,itisusuallyassociatedwith"not"(Mandarin无/無,pinyinwú,andCantonese唔).Ifusedforthenegativeconnotation

(涵义)itcanbecomegoodbyusingitwithanegative.54being“notdie”or“nodeath”.528isawayofsaying“noeasyfortune(运气）forme".53inCantonesesoundslike"notlive".（唔生）LuckiernumbersorUnluckynumber:SixThenumber6representshappiness.InCantonese,thisnumberisahomophoneforblessings.6这个数字在广东话中，这个数字是幸福的意思（因为读音为祿lù,同禄，福分的意思）However,SixinCantonesewhichhasasimilarpronunciationtothatof"loù"(落,meaning"todrop,fall,ordecline")mayformunluckycombinations.Luckiernumber:SevenThenumber7(七,Pinyin:qī)symbolizes“togetherness“（相聚，和睦）.Itisaluckynumberforrelationships.ItisalsorecognizedastheluckiestnumberintheWest,andisoneoftherarenumbersthatisgreatinbothChineseandmanyWesterncultures.ItisaluckynumberinChineseculture,becauseitsoundsaliketotheChinesecharacter(汉字）”起”(Pinyin:qǐ)meaningarise.Luckiernumber:EightThewordfor“eight”

(八Pinyin:bā)

soundssimilartothewordwhichmeans“prosper”

（繁盛）or“wealth”

(发-shortfor“发财”,Pinyin:fā).

Becauseofthesupposedauspiciousness（吉兆）

ofcertainnumbers,somepeoplewilloftenchoose,attempttoobtain,orpaylargesumsfornumbersthatareconsideredtobeluckyfortheirphonenumbers,streetaddresses,residencefloor(inamulti-storybuilding多层建筑物),driver‘slicensenumber,vehiclelicenseplatenumber（车辆牌照，车牌号码),bankaccountnumber,etc.1.AtelephonenumberwithalldigitsbeingeightswassoldforUSD270,723inChengdu,China.3.AmaninHangzhouofferedtosellhislicenseplatereadingA88888forRMB1million(roughlyUSD164,000).Luckiernumber:Eight4.ThevalueofeightcouldalsobelinkedwithBuddhism（佛教）andthemeaningofLotusflower(eightpetals)（荷花）.5.An“auspicious”numbering（编号；编号方式）systemwasadoptedbythedevelopers（开发商）

of39ConduitRoadHongKong（香港新楼盘港岛-天匯39ConduitRoad）,wherethetopfloorwas“88”.ItmeansdoublefortuneLuckiernumber:EightLuckiernumber:NineThenumber9(九,Pinyin:jiŭ),beingthegreatestofsingle-digit（单位数）

numbers,washistoricallyassociatedwiththeEmperorofChina;theEmperor‘srobes（龙袍）

oftenhadninedragons,andChinesemythology（神话）heldthatthedragonhasninechildren.Moreover,thenumber9isahomophoneofthephrasefor“longlasting”(持久的),andassuchi