legends, literature, ect.); slang (slang is a kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.) etc.
Chinese idioms are composed of set phrases (成语), proverbs (谚语), slang expressions (俚语), allusions (典故) and two-part allegorical sayings (歇后语) and Antithetical couplets (对联). Set phrase are usually composed of four characters and they are forceful, terse and vivid in imagery.
In both Chinese and English, there are many numerical idioms related to such forms. 1）―Fifth column‖ means ―a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage, sabotage and other subversive activities within the defense lines or borders of a nation.‖(English set phrase)
2）―乱七八糟‖means ―At sixes and sevens‖(Chinese set phrase)
3)―A stitch in time saves nine‖ means ―小洞不补大洞吃苦‖ (English proverb) 4) ―说归说，做归做‖means ―To say is one thing; to do is another.‖(Chinese proverb) 5) ―Catch 22‖ means ―A situation in which a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain because of a set of inherently illogical rules or conditions‖( English allusion)
6) ―朝三慕四‖means ―someone who changes his mind frequently or contradict one’s own words‖ (Chinese allusion)
7) ―two-bit whores ‖ means ―臭婊子‖ ( English slang) 8) ―二百五‖ means ―A stupid person‖(Chinese slang)
9) ―一条绳上栓着的两只蚂蚱-谁也跑不了‖ means ―Two grasshoppers tied to one cord, neither can get away‖(two-part allegorical sayings)
10) ―三千里外一条水，十二时中两度潮‖ means ― there is a channel beyond four thousand li, and the channel is on the flow twice in a single day (Antithetical couplets) 4. Contrastive study of cultural connotation between English and Chinese numerical idioms
England and China have gone through thousands of years history, each country have formed its own culture. Cultural connotation is an indispensable factor in the study of English and Chinese numerical idioms
4.1 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to psychology
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In both English and Chinese cultures, from ancient times till now, ―word fetishism‖ has affected people’s sub-consciousness. It is believed that certain numbers contain magical or spiritual power which can bring people bad or good fortune. Therefore, numbers’ cultural connotation is inseparable from people’s psychology. Each culture over the ages has evolved and given to its members a unique ―psychological set‖ or orientation toward reality and this set actually determines how its member see and process information from the environment. Culture, in effect affects the ways in which the mind works. 4.1.1The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in psychology
China is one of the four ancient civilized countries in the world. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have firmly believed in the binary theory of Yin and Yang and thought that everything in the world is composed of Yin and Yang .Yin is the passive or the female element, while Yang is the active or the male element. Their interaction gives rise to the multiplicity of all things. Book of Changes(易经) claim that ―易有太极，是生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦‖. (At the beginning of ―Change‖ lies T’ai-chi that engenders Yin and Yang, which in turn give rise to the four forms hsiang that again engender the eight trigrams). That everything has two sides embodies Chinese dialectics and conforms to traditional aesthetic psychology of the Orientals. There exist dualities in everything and Chinese people tend to emphasize its positive aspects, exhibiting their nice and harmonious psychology.
In idioms, people use ―四平八稳‖（methodical and well-balanced）to describe proper ways to manage affairs;―四通八达‖(extend in all directions) to describe convenience of transportations;―六六大顺‖(everything is all right ) to depict that everything goes smoothly;―十拿九稳‖(practically certain) to depict something is as good as settled;―十全十美‖（be the acme of perfection）to express one’s satisfaction with something.
Chinese people love ―four‖ out of its connection with natural phenomena, e.g., four directions—east, west ,south and north; four seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter; four limbs-two hands plus two feet; etc. For Chinese who are active in exploring the relationship between man and universe and seek to obey the will of Heaven, these phenomena have rich meanings. In the eyes of Chinese people, ―six‖ is double ―three‖ and has similar pronunciation with ―禄‖（―禄‖ means official’s salary in feudal China and is usually used to refer to the source of wealth）.‖Eight ‖ is considered as an extremely lucky number in today’s market economy due to its similar pronunciation with ―发‖（―发‖means
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money-making in Chinese）. ―Ten‖, as a lucky number, is regarded as symbol of intactness and perfection. Chinese favor to use ―ten‖ as a standard measurement unit. Many place names contain number ―ten‖ such as ―Ten-Mile Chang’ an ‖in Beijing,‖ Ten-Mile QinHuai River‖ in Nanjing and ―Ten-Mile Yangchang (metropolis infested with foreign adventurists )‖ in Shanghai. It is still a tradition that every year media will select‖ Ten Film Stars of the Year‖, etc. In addition to these, other even numbers are also favored by Chinese people such as twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, seventy-two, etc.
Chinese strong psychology towards auspicious connotations of even numbers has also been reflected in their literary tradition. Spring festival scrolls are a special form of literary style of unique Chinese characteristics. Antithesis is a figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure. 4.1.2 The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in psychology
In contrast, in the English –speaking countries, people tend to consider odd numbers (except thirteen) as lucky numbers. In their eyes, the world is made up of three parts-the land, the sea and the sky; nature consists of three parts-animals, plants and minerals; human being is composed of flesh, spirit and soul. There are lots of sayings containing ―three‖ such as ―all good things go by threes‖, ―the third time is the charm‖ and ―number three is always fortunate‖. Pytagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, regarded ―three‖ as the symbol of God. In his opinion, everything in the world can be divided into different numbers and ―three‖ is the perfect one because it represents the three stages of a process: beginning, middle and completion. By contrast, he thought of ―two‖ as an unlucky number and treated it as the source of evil. In most English numerical idioms, ―two‖ contains the meaning of ―pimping, trivial‖ such as ―two by four‖ and ―two bits‖ (something worthless) 4.2 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to mythology
Mythology refers to a body or a collection of myths belong to a people and addressing their origin, history, deities, ancestors, and heroes. Myth means a traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the world view of people, such as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs or ideals of society, In general, the myths of a certain culture have extensive influence on its development. In both Chinese and English culture, there exist myths that are related to numbers and these numbers herein gain their special cultural connotations.
4.2.1 The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in mythology
In Chinese myths, immortals’ residence is usually far away from mortals and they
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often show little interest in mundane affairs. However, Gods in western myths are much more like human beings. Their dwelling place is reachable and they are allowed to get married to mortals. They also possess various human emotions and desires. The differences between Chinese and western myths lead to subsequent discrepancies of their cultural development. As far as the positive or negative aspect of numbers related to myths is concerned, western myths have more influence on westerners than that of Chinese myths upon the Chinese people.
In Chinese culture, the connotations of numbers have close relationship to Chinese ancient myths. In the 1970s, an unofficial book dating from the period of Warring Times was unearthed from a royal tomb of Western Han Dynasty in the outskirts of Changsha, Hunan Province. In the book, there record myths saying that God Huang has four faces with each face in charge of one direction. This is one of the reasons why ―四‖ has a good cultural connotation for Chinese people. There are various kinds of Chinese idioms containing ―四‖such as ―四面八方‖（all directions）and ―四通八达‖ in all directions). In Chinese myths, there exists another supernatural being, Nazha, who has three heads and six arms and is in charge of justice. He can transform himself into three bodies linked by their backs at will and possess unusual power. Therefore, Chinese people associate number―三‖with power and magic. Likewise, this is reflected in the idioms such as ―三皇五帝‖（three sage kings and five virtuous emperors: legendary rulers of antiquity in China）.
4.2.2 The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in mythology
English culture has been greatly influence by Greek and Roman myths. In Roman myths, the power of god Jupiter comes from his three-pronged thunder stick, the prowess of god Neptune lies in his three-pronged spear, while god Pluto is a mighty three-headed dog. These three gods are in charge of the world. Therefore, the propitious and powerful connotations of ―three‖ is well illustrated in western myths. ―Nine‖ is also endowed with rich connotations from ancient Greek myths. According to the myths, there are altogether twelve Muses and the water snake has as many as nine heads. Westerners get accustomed to using ―nine‖ to refer to a large number such as ―a stitch in time saves nine‖ and ―be dressed up to the nines‖.
4.3 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to religion
Religion, as the product of interactions between humans and nature, is a world-wide phenomenon. It refers to a certain people’s believe in and reverence for a supernatural
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power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. Religion occupies an important position in human society and has enormous influence upon people’s spiritual and physical life. As an integral part of culture, religion is also reflected in language. 4.3.1The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in religion
China is a country with various kinds of religions, among which Buddhism and Taoism are the two most important ones. Buddhism originated from ancient India and was introduced into China in the first year of the reign of Yuanshou, Western Han Dynasty. Buddhism reached its culmination during Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty and has long influenced Chinese people’s psychology. In Buddhist culture , number ― one hundred and eight‖ is the symbol of Buddha and is linked with daily life and grand events in Buddhism, e.g., one hundred and eight bodhisattvas in temple are incarnation of Buddha; the bell in the temple rings one hundred and eight times; a string of beads contains one hundred and eight bead; etc. In addition to these, some idioms have close connections with Buddhism such as ―五体投地‖（prostrate oneself on the ground in admiration）.―五体‖refers to a person’s head , two elbows and two knees. In Buddhism, when Buddhist pays his worship to Buddha, he is required to prostate his head, two elbows and two knees on the ground. This idiom is used to describe one’s admiration for another person. Another example is ―三生有幸‖（consider oneself most fortunate）.―三生‖means a person’s pre-life, this life and aftertime in Buddhism. This idiom is used to depict that a person is fortunate enough to make somebody’s acquaintances. ―四大皆空‖ which literally means regarding the four major elements (earth , water, fire and wind ) in the world as in vain and metaphorically denotes that one regard the physical world as illusory.
4.3.2The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in religion
Europe has been under the administration of Christianity for almost two thousand years and European culture is interspersed with unique Christian flavor. The English language is inevitably influence by Christianity. For a long time, people from the English-speaking countries have firmly believed that ―thirteen is an unlucky number‖. ―Thirteen‖ has become a ―number one‖ taboo due to the ominous stories from ancient myths and the Bible. According to the Bible, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, disclosed Jesus’s whereabouts to the chief priests and elders for thirty pieces of silver, which resulted in the crucifixion of Jesus. Before Jesus was arrested, it happened to be the Passsover. Jesus invited his twelve disciples to dinner together and at the dinner Judas sat in the thirteenth seat. Partly because of this, western people resent number ―thirteen‖ from
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