| 4.2 Three
Besides “seven”,“three” is also a number preferred in both Chinese and Western culture. “Three”is regarded as the symbol of deity, honorableness and luck. The people inwestern countries regard singular numbers as lucky numbers, but “thirteen” isan exception. In Western culture, “three” is the symbol of omnipotence, powerand unity. In Roman mythology, three gods control the world.
“Three” isoften used in English. Many things are divided into three parts in daily life.For instance, the English alphabet is often called ABC, in some legends; thereare three brothers, three wishes, three mysterious things and three days’battle. In ancient Western culture, the world was regarded as an integral wholeof earth, ocean and sky. Thee are three main contents: animals, plants andmineral resources. In Christianity, there are three virtues: loyalty, hope andhumanity. All the examples indicate that “three” is endued with loftiness andgloriousness. Naturally, it is preferred in language and daily life.
In China, “three” is more conspicuous.There is one famous sentence: 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物. “Three” is evolved from “道、一、二”and all things of creation. It was also recorded in 《史记·律书》：数始于一，终于十，成于三。免费论文。There is an old saying “三才”（天、地、人）. According to statistics, “three” is used the mostfrequently of all numbers in 《易经》. “三岁贯女”was repeated for three times in 《魏风·硕鼠》of 《诗经》. In the Analects ofConfucius, there are many familiar sentences, for example, “三人行，必有我师焉”, and “吾日三省吾身”. In folk adage,there is “一个篱笆三个桩，一个好汉三个帮”. People regard pine, bamboo and plumblossom as “岁寒三友”. Season, name of place, official positionand moral principles were all connected with “three”, for example, 三秋，三晋，三公，三纲.
In China, “three”has its special implications in the culture of minorities. According to thetraditional Tibetan culture, when the guests come, the host should propose atoast, and the guests carry the wineglass, dip in the wine to flip three timeswith the third finger. There is one of the courtesies of Tibetan’sinterpersonal communication (Jv Jilan, 2003).
The basicimplications and emblem of “three” are unity, harmony and integrity. This isreflected in both Chinese and English culture, it is also shows that ourancestors underwent the same process of understanding the world. People in boththe East and the West all hope that the world could be united, harmonious andintegrated. Meanwhile it shows the important role and effect of “三”、“三因”、“三分”in natural world and human world, subjective world andobjective world, mental world and material world.
4.3 Nine
Besides “seven”and “three”, “nine” and “twelve” are also important in Chinese and Englishculture. “Nine” is regarded as the ultimate attainment of all the matters. Thisis reflected in language. In English, “be dressed to the nines” means bedressed the most beautiful, “to the nines” means perfect. In Chinese, “nine” is the largest unit,means various. For example, “天地之至数，始于一，终于九焉。免费论文。” “Nine” is also the symbol ofemperor. “九五，飞龙在天，利见大人”means to the summit, so the emperor wascalled “九五之尊”. “九天”、“九霄云外”areused to express the earth is unlimited. “九万里”means thedistance is rather far.
4.4 Twelve
“Twelve” is alsoattached importance. In English, from one to twelve, they are independentwords, but most numbers after twelve are derivatives. “Dozen” is a unit, and this wasintroduced to be used in Chinese (一打). But inChinese culture, “twelve” has itsspecial implications, and was frequently used in literary language. In 《红楼梦》, there is “金陵十二钗”, in《木兰辞》, there is “同行十二年，不知木兰是女郎。”Hereare some more examples: “巫山十二峰”、“十二生肖”、“一年十二月”、“一天十二个时辰”and “人体有十二经”, etc.
5 Conclusion
To summarize, the implications and characteristics of numbers are influenced bythe culture. From the expressions of quantity, specific things and proportionin Chinese and English, we can conclude the similarities and differences ofChinese and English culture. From the study of Mode Numbers “seven, three,nine, and twelve”, we can get a better understanding of Chinese and Englishcultural backgrounds. In a word, different religions, living places and viewsinfluence Chinese and English numerical cultures.
In order tounderstand and study the differences of various nationalities, firstly, weshould study the different cultural implications; make a comparative studybetween culture and national conditions. Secondly, in cross-culturalcommunication, we should understand the cultural background. Thirdly,experience with the person of another kind of culture, observe the question onthe other position, get one flexible attitude to respect the culturaldifferences and reduce the national prejudice that exists on culture.
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