Why did the ancients advocate the number "nine"

The ancients preferred "Nine" because they were full of illusions about distant places and had richer spiritual projections. In the eyes of the ancients, "Nine" is not only the end of infinity, but also the beginning of infinity. The words above nine days, below the grave, and the land of nine days and nine secluded places all use "nine" to express infinite sublimity and unfathomable.

The ancients were often willing to use "nine" to show that the number was extremely large, so as to show off what they wanted to express, such as idioms such as "Jiuqu Yellow River", "Jiuniu Yi Mao" and "narrow escape", among which "nine" all meant "extremely large".

In addition, "nine" has the advantage of homophonic "long". Through the emphasis and repetition of "nine" in quantity, it also has the meaning of "long", which is more loved by the ancients.

Extended data:

The ancients pursued perfection, and the number "ten" stands for "perfection", but the ancients thought that a full moon would lead to a loss, and the extremes of things would be reversed and the extremes of things would decline. Relatively speaking, "nine" is just on the rise, and it has risen to an extreme and extremely limited, so "nine" is regarded as "the supreme number".

This "supreme" status is often mixed with mystery and sacredness, such as the "Nine Songs" related to primitive beliefs in ancient times. In addition, both Buddhism and Taoism regard "Nine" as an important number of practice.

For example, Buddhism has nine truths, nine Zen and nine monks, and Taoism has nine elixirs, which is said to make you live forever. Taoist fairy societies, such as the Nine Immortals, the Nine Truths and the Nine Saints, all have nine places.

There are also traces of "Nine" belief in literature. For example, in The Water Margin, it is said that Xuan Nv saved Song Jiang in nine days and gave him a sealed book, calling him "to do justice for heaven".

Taoism believes that the Beidou constellation has thirty-six plough gods and seventy-two demons. In the Water Margin, it is said that Tai Wei-hong mistakenly released thirty-six days of the highest star, seventy-two demons, and reincarnated as one hundred single and eight heroes, all of which are multiples of nine.

The incantations in Journey to the West include "36 changes", "72 changes", a somersault "108,000 Li", and "99 returns to the truth" and "81 difficulties", all of which are multiples of 9. It can be seen that "Nine" plays an important role in Buddhism, Taoism and folk beliefs.

Xinhuanet-Chongyang said the magic number in the eyes of the ancients.