And, Christianity, as the mainstream culture, has a strong influence in the cultural connotation of numbers in western countries. The religious tradition of the Christian Trinity, that is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has endowed a mysterious number “three” with divinity and perfection. [5] The widespread interest of number “three” still remains in the westerner’s mind or thinking today. Many things that are particularly complete are stamped with number “three” in the areas like physics, mathematics, philosophy and so forth. There are three completing time, that is, past, present and future. Similarly, number “seven”, a number with strong religious color, is used frequently in the Bible, indicating that God spent seven days in Creation. At times it has reference to bring a work toward completion, or it can refer to the complete cycle of things as established or allowed by God. There are plenty of idioms or idiomatic usages with “seven” in English culture, such as, the Seven Virtues, including Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance; the Seven Deadly Sins, saying, Pride, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth; the Seven champions of Christendom, the seven days of creation, the Seventh Heaven, and so on. And, according to the Bible, number “six” at times represents imperfection. The number of “the wild beast” is 666 and is called “a man’s number”(Re13:18), indicating that it has to do with imperfect, fallen man, and it seems to symbolize the imperfection of that which is represented by “the wild beast”. The number six being emphasized to a third degree (the six appearing in the position of units, tens, and hundreds) therefore highlights the imperfection and deficiency of that which the beast represents, or pictures [5].
Number “thirteen” is regarded as an evil number, standing for “unfortunate”. According to the Scripture, Judah, the thirteenth comer during the last supper, betrayed Jesus. Hence, people in western countries avoid “13” in many aspects of life. People avoid a room numbered 13, a seat in the 13th row of an airplane or renting a flat on the 13th floor [9]. And in a few instances periods of judgment or punishment seem to be associated with number “forty”. Nineveh was given forty days to repent. The world was flooded for forty days for people’s evil-doing. So forty is a number denoting bad luck to the westerners [5].
1. 4 The mythological differences between numbers in English and Chinese and their analysis
Mythology associated with numbers in both Chinese and English culture has deeply influenced the cultural connotations of numbers. In Chinese, the cultural connotations of numbers have connection with the ancient myth. For instance, four character words “三头六臂”originated from Chinese myth, narrating a supernatural being. Nezha, who takes charge of the justice, has three heads and six arms. He has vastly magic power to transform himself into three at random. Accordingly, number “three” is endowed with cultural connotations of magic and power.
And, English cultures have been more strongly affected by the Greek and Roman mythology, whose gods resemble the character of humans with feelings and desires, happiness and sadness. In Roman myth, god “Jupiter”, whose power stems from his trident or three-pronged thunder-stick in his hand, governs the others. Neptune, the god of the sea, relies on his three-pronged spear, and Pluto is a dog with three heads. Thus number “three” is lodged with extension of power and divinity. And the number “thirteen”, in accordance with the western myth, is an evil one, which has a similar connotation and symbolization to Christianity. It is said that twelve gods were present at a banquet held in heaven in honor of the soldiers sacrificed in the battle. During the dinner, the demoniac Rocky, an unexpected person, arrived and killed the son of the head god Austin to death. Hence, the westerners avoid number “thirteen” just like the plague [4].
All in all, the function of numbers is not limited in the calculation or mathematics. It is obvious that numbers have gradually evolved throughout the long history of humanity, in response to practical requirements for calculation, forming a special culture of numbers. From the analysis above, we know people show different attitudes and preference towards number. Thus, studying the diversity of number cults in English and Chinese not only helps us understand their specific cultures better, but also facilitates intercultural communication.
2 The analysis of pragmatic differences between numbers and their
connotations in English and Chinese
Idioms containing numbers are an important part of the Chinese and English idioms, where usage must be influenced and restrained by the Chinese culture and that of the English speaking countries.
2. 1 Analysis of the usage of idioms containing numbers with different historical and cultural connotation
Now, we will study how the usage of these idioms in English and Chinese are restrained by their history and culture.
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