In the Chinese calendar, today, is the most auspicious day of this year. So I decided to take the day off, and enjoy it in all its glory. A bit of information on the number 8 - for all those who are curious.....
The word for "eight" (八，捌) in Mandarin (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth" (发 - short for "发财", Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, eg Cantonese "baat" and "faat".
There is also a resemblance between two digits, "88", and the shuang xi ('double joy'), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (xi, 'joy', 'happiness').
Telephone number 8888-8888 was sold for USD$270,723 in Chengdu, China.
The Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to open on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08pm
A man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for RMB 1.12 million.
Dragon Fish Industry in Singapore, a breeder of rare Asian Arowanas (which are "lucky fish" themselves, and, being a rare species, are required to be microchipped), makes sure to use numbers with plenty of eights in their microchip tag numbers, and appears to reserve particular numbers especially rich in eights and sixes (e.g. 702088880006688) for particularly valuable specimens.
Spiritually, eight is the goal of the initiate, having gone through the seven stages. Eight is Infinity - Paradise regained.
Eight is solidarity as the first cube and it denotes perfection by virtue of it's six surfaces. There are eight winds and intermediate directions of space. Eight represents the pairs of opposites. The octagon is the beginning of the transformation of the square into a circle and vice versa.
Buddhist tradition: eight is completion, all possibilities. There are eight symbols of good augury.
Chinese system of belief eight represents the whole. It is all possibilities in manifestation. Eight is seen as a good luck number. The PAKUA is the design depicting the eight trigrams and pairs of opposites, usually in a circle, the circumference of which symbolizes time and space. There are eight delights of human existence.
May peace, good health, happiness and fortune be with you today and always.
Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in_Chinese_culture
http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=list&lid=132436
2 comments:
hi bean :)
Great couple of posts about China and the Olympic Games! I was meaning to write something similar to both, but probably not as detailed for Gig's blog. I'm glad I dropped by.
What did you think of the opening ceremonies?
Hey metoo! Honestly, the Opening Ceremonies blew me away! Although, I don't know why that surprised me. After all, that country has so much pride, they had put effort into ensuring that the event would be spectacular. With its history and technology - the combination made for a great event today! :) Nice to hear from you!
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