中国的数字文化观.doc

Numbers in Chinese culture Jump to: navigation, search In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利) based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. However some Chinese people regard these beliefs to be superstitions. Since the pronunciation and the vocabulary may be different in different Chinese dialects, the rules are generally not applicable for all cases. Because of the supposed auspiciousness of certain numbers, some people will often choose, attempt to obtain, or pay large sums for numbers that are considered to be lucky for their phone numbers, street addresses, residence floor (in a multi-story building), drivers license number, vehicle license plate number, bank account number, etc. Lucky numbers are based on Chinese words that sound similar to other Chinese words. The numbers 6, 8, and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names sound similar to words that have positive meanings. Contents 1 Luckier numbers 1.1 Two 1.2 Three 1.3 Five 1.4 Six 1.5 Seven 1.6 Eight 1.7 Nine 2 Unlucky numbers 2.1 Four 2.2 Five 2.3 Six 2.4 Seven 2.5 Combinations 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Luckier numbers Two The number 2 (二 or 两, Pinyin: èr or li?ng) is a good number in Chinese culture. There is a Chinese saying good things come in pairs. It is common to use double symbols in product brandnames, e.g. double happiness, double coin, double elephants etc. In Cantonese, two (jyutping: yi6) is a homophone of the character for easy (易). Three The number 3 (三, Pinyin: sān, jyutping: saam1) sounds similar to the character for birth (生, Pinyin: shēng, jyutping: saang1), and is thus considered a lucky number. Five The number 5 (五, Pinyin: w?) is associated with the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal) in Chinese philosophy, and in turn was historically associated with the Emperor of China. For example, the Tiananmen gate, being the main thoroughfare to the Forbidden C