This post is part of a series for AbsoluteWrite's January 2013 blog chain. The theme is "13" in honor of the new year.
In a recent episode of Elementary (the great new Sherlock Holmes series on CBS), Holmes deduces a man was a gambler with a penchant for mahjong because of his obsession with the number 13. He explains that the number 13, in Chinese culture, is considered a lucky number.
This was news to me. I've talked with students before about lucky and unlucky numbers in China. Of course, I've told them that 13 is unlucky in America, but they have never told me that, conversely, 13 was lucky in China. 3,6, and especially 8 are the numbers they always quote as lucky. So I did some research to find out more about this lucky number 13.
I actually found...very little. Most articles that claimed to be about the number 13 being lucky actually talked about the number 8. The number 8 is the most lucky in Chinese culture. Phone numbers with 8's in them are always snatched up quickly (phone companies always put out special signs when they get new phone numbers in that have an 8 in them) and dates with 8's in them (like 08-08-2008, the first day of the Beijing Olympics) are always considered auspicious. I was only to find a couple of references to 13 being lucky. Basically, "13" in Chinese sounds like the words for "assured growth" or "definitely vibrant." But, this seems to be the least of the lucky numbers, something you would only want if 3, 6, 8, or 9 were already taken.
But, more important, is knowing the unluckiest number in Chinese culture. The Chinese do avoid the number 4 like the plague. "4" sounds like "death," so any number or combination of numbers containing the number 4 are considered evil. Many high-end hotels in large cities will not have floors 13 or 14 to accommodate both Chinese and Western superstitions.
Other Blog Chain Participants:
orion_mk3 - http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
Ralph Pines - http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to post)
SRHowen - http://srhowen1.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
areteus - http://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
angyl78 - http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
randi.lee - http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
ConnieBDowell - http://bookechoes.com/ (link to post)
writingismypassion - http://charityfaye.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Araevno - http://www.simonpclark.com/ (link to post)
Briony-zisaya - http://fantasywriterwannabe.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Kewii - http://kellyneeson.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
katci13 - http://www.krystalsquared.net/ (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes: http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
HistorySleuth - http://historysleuth.org/ (link to post)
Very interesting! I lived in Japan for a few years, and they avoid four in the same way - Japanese, as in Chinese, uses similar words for 'death' and 'four'. You were meant to avoid giving gifts in groups of four, even if it meant opening up the package.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, when I took my driving test in England, I was given the option of waiting so I didn't have to use computer 13 if I didn't want to. Bah! I used it, and passed. So there.
That's really interesting. I knew about number 4, but I never knew why. Makes sense now. I saw a House Hunters where there was a four on the door and the girl freaked out and wouldn't even look inside.
ReplyDeleteI for one love the number 13. Not always, but after I turned 13 on the 13th (and seriously, even though I had a great day, I had a strange 24 hour cold accompanied with a headache - could have been a coincidence ^_^), I embraced it. And that was a great year. It was the age I started writing novels. ^_^
Very interesting to know! Guess they're on the other side of the world in more than one way :)
ReplyDeleteWow! A very educational post. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. But, I think I would be creeped out if I got on an elevator and saw missing floors. :O
ReplyDeleteLolz. True!
DeleteThat was interesting. I didn't know about the lucky or unlucky numbers in China. Makes you wonder where Elementary got their info huh? Personally, Friday the 13th is always lucky for me and I look forward to it. :)
ReplyDeleteI always knew about 8 being very lucky, but I'd never herd that 13 was lucky either.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that 8 was so lucky that everyone snatched up the phone numbers as quickly as possible. Do they still make phone numbers with 4 in them?
What if a phone number had an 8 and a 4?? Do they cancel each other out?
Very cool.
They do sell phone numbers with 4's in them, not sure if people intentionally avoid them, though.
DeleteI always thought it was funny when buildings claim not to have a floor 13, yet they have more than 12 floors. Wouldn't floor 14 really be the 13th floor?
ReplyDeleteI know. It's totally silly and pointless, but I'm not a superstitious person.
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