Numbers play an important part in feng shui, and the number of similar objects in a room may influence the kind of fortune they bring. The numbers game in the Chinese world comes fraught with superstitions and old wives’ tales.
There is not enough space in this book to deal with every single number in the world, here we examine the most common superstitions and charms, both for counting the objects in your home, and also for external influences like your home address. When it comes to large numbers, like your phone or bank account, it is the last few digits that contain the fortune, since you can’t change your area code without moving house.
There is only one World, and so one is a symbol of exclusivity and uniqueness. It represents the height of achievement, but in the gregarious and sociable Chinese worldview, it is not a number that can be encouraged or maintained for long. There is a loneliness to command, and while one represents achievement, it can also represent isolation. One item from a pair signifies that something has gone amiss; make sure that all single items are not supposed to have a friend to keep them company. A single chair does not invite company, but a single chair built for two invites companionship, and perhaps even flirtation. A single bed invites sleeping alone, whether you want to or not.
Every couple is made of two, an obvious observation but nevertheless an important reason behind the significance of Chinese gift-giving. At weddings especially, the gift of a pair of anything is apt to encourage romance and happiness. Pairs of pictures or statues are best balanced by a single object in between them, and the doubling of objects normally founded singly will increase their influence. This is one reason why mirrors are used, to symbolically "double" the amount of light, wealth, or happiness in a room. There is a downside – pairs of unsightly or inauspicious objects will bring double the bad luck. A house is unlikely to thrive and prosper.
In Chinese thought, the number three is associated with stability, because ancient tripods were considered the stables of objects. From stability, Chinese folklore has moved on to associate the number three with longevity, and with expansion. A line between two points is just a line, but connecting three it gains an extra dimension. For this reason, three can signify an extra point of view for added value. A patient only has a doctor’s word to believe in; the addition of a second opinion is in actuality the addition of a third party. The Chinese number three, which looks like III turned on its side, also resembles the strongest "yang" (positive) symbol from the Book of Changes.
Four should be a lucky number because it is composed of two pairs, and hence a doubling of a doubling. But the Chinese word four
"si" is the same as the Chinese word for death, and the number is avoided at all costs. Some Chinese buildings do not have fourth floors, but leap straight from three to five since nobody would ever install an office or apartment in such an inauspicious place. Some Chinese streets do not even have a house number four. The number four is as carefully avoided in the East as the number 13 is in the West, although it does occasionally appear in the complex numerological school of feng shui, for experts only.
Imperial dragons have five claws, because they require a thumb to write letters and turn the pages of books. There are five major points to the Chinese compass, because the four directions require a center to unite them. China also has five mountains considered sacred, all of which combine to make five a very lucky number indeed. Associated in feng shui with the power of the emperor, the magic of the dragon, and the strength and calm of the center, five and multiples of five are auspicious on phone numbers, houses, and floors of buildings. For the average family, five chairs around a table encourages guests and helpers to come round for dinner.
Thanks to a pun in Chinese which rhymes six
("liu") with the word for affluence, this is also a lucky number, even more so because it is twice three. There are six domestic animals in Chinese folklore (the horse, ox, sheep, hen, dog and pig), and the use of sixes in the E or SW sectors encourages calm and domesticity in the home. Chinese folklore does not share the Western, Christian obsession with 666 being the number of the Beast; it is in fact regarded as a very lucky number indeed.
There are seven stars in the Big Dipper, a constellation which has given birth to an entire spin-off school called Seven Star Feng Shui. Seven times seven, 49, is the number of days prescribed for an acceptable period of mourning, but this has not led to its association with death and sadness. Instead, it has become the number of reasonable effort, said to show loyalty and understanding, and a general respect for the spirits, making seven a very magical number.
Two separate religious traditions in China value eight, since there are eight Buddhist treasures and eight Taoist immortals. The octagon as a shape is the most powerful magical protector in the feng shui home and an eight-sided table is a particularly strong artifact. Quantities of eight are excellent things to wipe out weak sectors in your feng shui, be they actual collections of eight objects, pictures of them, or items with eight sides such as a vase or plate. Eight is also considered lucky because it is two times two times two, or two to the power of three, both combinations of even more lucky numbers. You really cannot go wrong with this number.
There are eight points on the compass, plus the center to make nine, the feng shui number associated with totality and wholeness. Whereas five is a number for strength and power, nine is three times three times three, and its Chinese word
("jiu") rhymes with the words for longevity and alcoholic drink. For this reason, nine is associated with a full and happy life, living to a ripe old age, and a career path and history that shows the occupant fulfilling each and every one of his or her wishes. Nine means completeness.