The Chinese concept of numerology is shared with other cultures and
is based on mystical as well as I-Ching traditions. The common premise
is that certain numbers are associated with good or evil.
The element that makes numbers good or bad in Cantonese is the
punning and word play possible in a many-tone language. For example,
the number two is fortunate, because it is similar to easy.
Three is associated with living or giving birth, eight with prosperity,
and nine with eternity or power. Combinations of numbers are also prized
for their punning references to good luck and prosperity, the two most
important issues in the minds of many Cantonese. This belief that
certain numbers bring good luck is often put into practice when naming
businesses and clubs that hope to attract customers.
People take what the numbers say very seriously, sometimes spending
quite a bit of money to make sure the numbers look favorably on them.
For example, in 1970 a Hong Kong businessman paid more than $60,000 for
a car license plate with the number six, because the words six and
longevity are tone variations of the same basic word.
In Hong Kong, the government is well aware of the importance numbers
play in its citizens lives, and so it auctions off auspicious car
license numbers. Between 1973 and 1980, these auctions raised more than
$3 million. This phenomena has traveled to the United States now as
well. Observe the number of personalized automobile license plates
ordered by Chinese with the numbers eight or nine, which of course
signal the dear symbols of longevity and prosperity for the owners.
The year 1988, the year of the Dragon, witnessed an incredible
interest in numerology. Throngs of Chinese women rushed to the hospital
on the final days of that year, requesting Caesarean deliveries so their
child would be born a Dragon child with double prosperity blessing. (The Western year also 2000 coincides with a Year of the Dragon!)
There are also numbers you want to avoid. Unfortunate numbers are
one (the lonely number), and four and seven, which represent the death
numbers. Some numbers are bad luck when they are combined with other
numbers. For example, Chin and Ng are both common Chinese surnames. Chin
can mean money and mg can mean no, or zero. Therefore, a man named Chin
would be ill-advised to marry a woman named Ng, because together they
would be Chin-Ng, or No-Money.
The possible omens associated with numbers and sounds of numbers by
the Chinese, and in particular the Cantonese, is inexhaustible. And so,
let us all count our good fortune that this years Chinese Summer
Festival falls in 1998, a date linked with longevity and prosperity. May
it bring both to us all!
By Lim Mar, reprinted from 1998 Chinese Summer Festival program.
The number "3" is used many times in Chinese culture. The only reason
that I can think of is because it is mentioned in the I Ching,
pronounced E Ching. It stands for Heaven, Earth and Man. When we bow to
offer incense, it is always done three times. In bonsai and ikebana, the
patterns follow an irregular triangle to represent the trinity of heaven,
earth and man.
By Don Gee