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Craving Lucky Numbers in Daily Life
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2006-05-21 11:02:00
China Daily
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Call it an obsession, infatuation or what you will. But for any newcomer to China it won't take long to find out how madly in love the people are with lucky numbers.
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Auction proceeds go to charities
"We received around HK$45 million from the auctions in 2004-05," said Raymond Yip, an officer for the fund. "Money raised from the auctions is spent in different areas, especially to buy furniture or carry out renovations at NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that provide welfare services. It also provides funding for youth programmes, especially pilot schemes that are innovative in nature."
In Guangzhou, the money from the GEMAS auction is used for public works projects and to secure aid for victims of traffic accidents.
"All of the money will be turned over to the Bureau of Finance, and (part) will be used to improve Guangzhou's traffic infrastructure," Li said.
That's not all. The craze for lucky numbers even extends to phone numbers. In 2002, Hong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority proposed a scheme to allow special mobile and other telephone numbers to be made available, at a cost, under its Special Number Arrangement.
The scheme is yet to take off, but operators were given permission to bid for specific number "blocks," which they could make available to the subscribers. And again, proceeds go to charity.
The Chinese mainland's 11-digit mobile phone numbers make grasping luck a little more difficult. Although some view multiple eights or nines as a must, to others it's all just a game.
'Just a game'
"I don't believe in these kind of things," said Penny Guo, who works as a trader for a large import-export company in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.
Guo, who says her friends are also "practical," believes "lucky numbers are for the old and rich or for very young girls. Even my parents don't believe in such things.
"Paying extra for a 'lucky' number is a waste (of money), and I do not believe numbers will bring luck. I am happy if I can get an eight or nine in my phone number, but I don't care if I don't. People think 888 or 999 at the end of the [phone] number will bring luck, but I will not pay for it.
"What I get does not depend on any number. It depends on my effort."
For Feng Xie, who lives and works in Shenzhen, it's more important to avoid unlucky numbers than to chase good ones.
Feng, a 26-year-old professional, says that although she doesn't have any faith in numbers specifically, she still avoids anything to do with the number four, and would not feel comfortable with that number in her mobile phone number or address. Most Chinese regard it unlucky because "four" sounds too close to "death" in Chinese.
It's unlikely that you'd find such scepticism in number-obsessed Hong Kong, where there is a whole host of activities where numbers are important, one social commentator says.
"Whether it is Chinese New Year, on wedding days, or any important event, there are numbers and dates that are important," said William Tan, a well-known fashion designer and one of the city's best-known cultural gurus.
The amount of money given on New Year or as a gift from a couple should always be even and distributed in pairs, he said.
On a couple's wedding day, the husband should give "sisters' money" to the sisters and bridesmaids of the bride, when he goes to pick the bride up. The amount given should be a multiple of three or eight, for example HK$8,888, he said.
For major events, such as graduation, moving houses or opening up a new business, Tan suggests using the Tung Shing or "lucky almanac" to see which date is suitable for the occasion.
"Lucky dates will include three, six, eight or nine," said Tan.
Those who still aren't convinced of the power of numbers might want to consider 9.9. That's the year-on-year percentage growth in China's gross domestic product in 2005, making the nation the world's best-performing economy for at least the past 10 years, and up from the growth recorded in 2004 which, needless to say, was 9 per cent.
via xinhuanet.com
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