Numerical Linguistics (II)
By SEBASTIEN ROUSSILLAT
LAST issue we explored the rich fabric of meaning behind the numbers one through five in traditional Chinese culture. This issue we look at six through 10, and find them popping up in Chinese idioms and expressions no less frequently than their five smaller siblings.
六 (liù), six, in Mandarin is pronounced similar to 流 (liú), fluid. Swift, running water and fluidity connote business success. In China, six also symbolizes luck, health and the family. Many idioms and sayings have the number six in them, such as the one relating to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) we encountered last month, 五脏六腑 (wǔ zàng liù fǔ). In Confucian ideology, 六亲 (liù qīn) indicates close familial ties, such as those between the father and the son, brothers, and spouses. Nowadays it has also come to imply happy relations between relatives. Some related idioms include 六亲不认 (liù qīn bú rèn), used complimentarily to mean a person who refuses to use his status to grant favors to relatives, and pejoratively to mean a person so cold as to even ignore his family members. 六亲无靠 (liù qīn wú kào) is another, used when someone has no one to turn to, not even his or her family.
眼观六路, 耳听八方 (yǎn guān liù lù, ěr tīng bā fāng) is an idiom describing an agile and capable person who makes well-rounded observations and analysis. 六路 (liù lù) in the expression represents six directions – left, right, up, down, front, and back.
In general, six relates to success and smooth progress in Chinese culture. While drinking alcohol, finishing off one’s glass in six sips follows the saying 六六大顺 (liù liù dà shùn) to wish all those sitting at your table a happy life, and is a practice seen in restaurants and bars across the country. Many Chinese choose to be married on June the sixth, as the double sixth is regarded as a very auspicious date. Those who land a six in their cell phone number or car license plate feel lucky. A triple six, far from symbolizing the devil as in the West, is a sign of good fortune.
To a Frenchman, the Chinese 七 (qī), seven, looks very much like a French ‘7’ written by hand and upside down. There are few idioms featuring this number, and the ones that do generally carry a negative meaning. 乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo) means a mess, i.e. when someone’s room is untidy. 七上八下 (qī shàng bā xià) is the equivalent of having butterflies in one’s stomach. Its literal meaning, “to be at sixes and sevens,” is very similar to the French expression indicating “no beginning and no end.”
One idiom with neutral connotations containing seven is 七情六欲 (qī qíng liù yù), a Buddhist expression in which 七情 (qī qíng) indicates the seven emotions that can prevent one from achieving enlightenment: happiness, anger, sadness, fear, love, hatred and desire.
One with positive connotations is 七星高照 (qī xīng gāo zhào), which is used as a greeting to wish people good luck and smooth progress in their endeavors. 七星 (qī xīng) expresses hope for the protection and care of the seven Gods, all of whom possess different auspicious qualities.
八 (bā), eight, is another popular number in Chinese culture. It is a near homophone for 发 (fā) meaning good fortune. Many Chinese people prefer to head down the aisle or start a business on dates that contain an eight. The eighth day of the first lunar month (the month of the Spring Festival) on the Chinese calendar is the day business resumes after the holiday period. It shows people’s hope to 发财 (fā cái) – make money.
In China there are 八大菜系 (bā dà cài xì) – eight grand cuisines, which refer to the Shandong, Sichuan, Cantonoese, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan and Anhui culinary traditions. A nutritious congee, or porridge, with eight ingredients, 腊八粥 (là bā zhōu) is eaten on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month by many Chinese people.
八卦图 (bā guà tú) is a well-known symbol of Taoist cosmology. The world knows it as 阴 (yīn) and 阳 (yáng). It contains the eight Taoist trigrams that represent the fundamental principles of reality according to the philosophy. 八卦 (bā guà) used by itself is derogative, and implies a person is a gossip and impolite.
九 (jiǔ), nine, is the next number in our sequence. A homophone, 久, means a long time, or eternity. Chinese like to use the two homophones to play word games.
Ancient China was once divided into nine territories, which together were known as the 九州 (jiǔ zhōu), or nine states. 九鼎 (jiǔ dǐng), or nine cauldrons, were cast to represent the nine lands. The owner of all cauldrons would be emperor of all the states.
一言九鼎 (yì yán jiǔ dǐng) indicates a decision maker with much influence. 九龙壁 (jiǔ lóng bì), or nine-dragon wall, represents a royal reign. The two most famous nine-dragon walls now stand in Beijing’s Beihai Park and in the Imperial Palace at the center of the capital. The Imperial Palace has 9,999 rooms. To the Chinese ear, four nines sounds like a never-ending cycle – eternity, repeating itself four times.
十 (shí) , ten, is a cross, and it is used pictographically in Chinese to represent, for instance, a 十字路口 (shí zì lù kǒu), or four-way intersection. The character 十 (shí) contains the two most basic strokes in Chinese calligraphy. It also represents the end of China’s basic integer set, and thus implies completeness. 十全十美 (shí quán shí měi), containing two 10s, denotes a perfect situation or state. 十拿九稳 (shí ná jiǔ wěn), containing one ten and one nine, means assured and confident. 十分 (shí fēn), ten parts, can be used as an adverb to indicate a very high level of achievement.
