Comparative Study of Number Cultures in East and West

【Abstract】Language， a special symbol is an important part of culture and language and culture are inseparable. Number which is given different social cultural connotation is a kind of special language symbol and every country has its own culture in the world. By analyzing popular numbers， everyone can understand cultural differences， reasons and avoid the conflict of intercultural communication.

【Key words】number Three; Nine; psychology

【作者簡介】許靜（1996-），女，漢族，山東煙臺人，魯東大學，在讀碩士，研究方向：學科教學（英語）。

1. Introduction

Language is a part of culture. At the most time， we can not feel the existence of culture because culture influence us in an invisible and subtle way. But the influence of culture also exist in our thoughts， feelings and behaviors which is very important. As we all know， number is a tool for people to communicate. According to the process of life and history， the meaning of numbers has changed because of nations， psychology basis and religions. The Number Three and Nine are popular in both east and west.We can analyze differences clearly and understand the reasons of cultural differences.

2. Comparative Study of the Meaning of Numbers

Western culture is affected by Christianity mainly while the eastern culture is influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism. In Chinese culture， the Number Three is all. The order of the process giving rice to the myriad things began with the Dao producing a kind of generative force. It means the number Three is the beginning of all things in the world.

Number Three in Western culture has perfect meaning. The number Three is regard as the combination of unity and difference.The Christine doctrine of the Trinity with which people fall in love defines Gods as three con-substantial persons

From Chinese aspects， Nine is regarded as a mysterious and important number. Chinese ancient emperor was regarded as the son of heaven and putting the symbol of Nine.In daily life， people also think highly of the Number of Nine. Because the homophone for the number Nine is “jiu”， which represents the meaning of perpetuity in Chinese.

However， it is noticeable that the Number nine is a divine number in the west. This number is also regarded as the end of bad things and the beginning of the new things. Rand nine pence.（完美無瑕）. In this idioms， people use the Number Nine to show the meaning of perfect and luck.

3. Reasons of Cultural Differences between the East and West

By comparing with living environment， Western people lay stress on sense. Numbers are regarded as symbol of calculating at the most time. Some eastern countries， people think that their living environment is safe. People often pursue meanings instead of shape. It freed from the bondage of language expression and made numbers have deep meanings. From the psychology of culture， Chinese culture attaches importance to ethics， light weapons. Chinese society value a kind of harmony And English culture attaches importance to materials， light ethics and take utilitarianism as a value orientation. For western people， the number is a kind of mysterious and elusive entity.

4. Conclusion

Thus it can be seen there are different religious beliefs， the way of thinking and cultural psychology， which lead to the different connotation and emotions between the east and west. Numbers are regarded as a specific cultural phenomenon. Numbers are no mysterious and power themselves. When numbers are given rich cultural connotations， we can feel the charm of numbers and experience the depth and development of digital culture. From this thesis， I choose some numbers which have rich meanings in both east and west. They can arouse peoples sympathy. When we learn and research their roots and differences， we can learn differences between the eastern and western culture and it is conducive to intercultural communication.

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