What things in ancient China have nine numbers?

Since nine is the largest single-digit number, it is considered in China to be an imaginary number and a polar number to the sun. It often means the most and countless meanings, such as: Jiutian/Jiuchongxiao/Jiuchongtian( It describes the sky being very high), Jiupan (describing a winding road), Jiuyou (describing a very remote and deep place), a drop in the bucket, a narrow escape, etc.

In addition, nine has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character "jiu", so nine is regarded as a number that represents longevity. According to Chinese wedding customs in some areas, when the groom is going to his spouse's home to marry the bride, he must give a red envelope, usually worth 99,999 yuan (or more "9"), to the bride's family, relatives and friends to express his long-lasting love. , you can enter the bride’s house from the rear.

In ancient Chinese myths and legends, there is a goddess called Jiutian Xuannv, also known as Jiutian Xuannv Empress. He has the head of a human and the body of a bird. He is a disciple of the Holy Mother Yuanjun and the teacher of the Yellow Emperor. During the battle between Huangdi and Chiyou at Zhuolu, the Nine Heavens Xuannv empress descended to earth and awarded the Yellow Emperor with Liuren, Dunjia, military talismans, plans, seals and swords, etc. She also made eighty-faced Kui Niu drums for the Yellow Emperor, thus defeating Chiyou. The statue of Jiutian Xuannv was believed in by Taoism in later generations.

According to legend, Yu of the Xia Dynasty cast nine large tripods after controlling floods, and divided the country into nine states: Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Liangzhou, and Yongzhou. Each large tripod symbolizes a state. The Shang, Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou dynasties regarded it as the treasure of Fu Pu. Qin attacked King Nan of Zhou and obtained nine tripods. One of the tripods sank in Sishui, and the remaining eight tripods could not be verified by later generations. It's just a metaphor for the weight of Jiuding. Later generations compared important figures to Jiuding Dalu, and words with great influence were compared to Yiyan Jiuding.

In Chinese Yin-Yang theory, "Nine" is a number that represents "Yang" (Yin-Yang theory regards odd numbers as Yang and even numbers as Yin). September 9th is the day when both the month and the sun coincide with the ninth day, so it is commonly known as the "Double Ninth Festival" among the people. "Nine" is also homophonic to "Jiu". The ancients valued "Jiu", so there was a custom of celebrating the Double Ninth Day. This custom originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to Dai (Xu Zhai Xie Ji), Huan Jing, a native of Runan in the Later Han Dynasty, heard from the alchemist Fei Changfang that a great disaster would befall his family on September 9th. He should lead his family to wear dogwood and go out to ascend the throne and drink chrysanthemum wine. Avoid disaster. Later it became a trend. In September, autumn is high and the air is crisp, so it is advisable to climb high and look far away. The strong fragrance of Cornus officinalis can repel insects, remove dampness, drive away wind evil, cure cold and ripeness, benefit the five internal organs, and eliminate food accumulation. Therefore, it is also a common custom to wear dogwood on the Double Ninth Festival. Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, has a famous poem that says: "I am a stranger in a foreign land, and I miss my relatives even more during the festive season. I know that my brothers have climbed to the heights, and there is only one less person planted with dogwood trees."

There are nine branches of Chinese Confucianism. The classics are listed as "Nine Classics". Due to different eras, the names of the Nine Classics are also different. In the Tang Dynasty, "Zhou Rites", "Rituals", "Book of Rites" (referred to as "Three Rites"), "Zuo Fu", "Gongyang Fu", "Keliang Fu" (referred to as "Three Fu"), "Yi", "Books" and "Poems" are collectively referred to as the Nine Classics. In the Song Dynasty, "Yi", "Book", "Poetry", "Zuo Fu", "Book of Rites", "Zhou Rites", "Xiao Jing", "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" were the nine classics. In the Ming Dynasty, "Yi", "Book", "Poetry", "Spring and Autumn", "Book of Rites", "Ritual", "Zhou Rites", "The Analects" and "Mencius" were the nine classics. In the Qing Dynasty, the "Yi", "Book", "Poetry", "Spring and Autumn", "Three Rites", "Filial Piety", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "Four Books" were the nine classics.

"Nine Songs" and "Nine Chapters", "Nine Songs" were rewritten and processed into "Chu Ci". "Tai Yi", "Yun Zhong Jun", "Xiang Jun", "Mrs. Xiang", "Great Commander", "Young Commander", "Dong Jun", "He Bo", "Mountain Ghost", "National Sorrow", "Li" soul". And "Nine Chapters" is also the title of "Chu Ci" written by Qu Yuan, including "Xi Yong", "Sorrow", "Thinking", "Huaisha", "Thinking of Beauty", "Cherishing the Past", "Ode to Orange". ", "Sorrow Returns to the Wind" nine chapters.

There are "Nine Clans" among in-law families. There are two ways of classification. One way: the nine generations above the father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather and the following sons, grandsons, great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons are called "Nine Clan". The other type is divided by relatives with different surnames, with the father's family four, the mother's family three, and the wife's family two being the "nine tribes". "Jiuli" is a clan name from ancient times in southern China. There are nine tribes in the world. Each tribe has nine clans, of which Chi You is the leader.

Ancient literati painted the "Nine Nines" to relieve the cold. In the Chinese calendar, the eighty-one days after the summer solstice and the eighty-one days after the winter solstice are each divided into nine sections. , each section is divided into nine days, which are called "summer ninety-nine" and "winter ninety-nine" respectively. Usually, the so-called ninety-nine or nine-nine weather refers to winter ninety-nine. The "Nine-Nine Cold-Resisting Picture" is to draw a plain plum branch on the winter solstice and make eighty-one flower braids. Without coloring, one flower will be rendered day by day. The picture is completed and the Nine-Nine has come to an end. Among the Chinese idioms and sayings, there are "nine deaths and a lifetime", "nine cows and a hair", "ten sheep and nine herdings", "three kneels and nine knocks", "three chastity and nine righteousness" and so on. And because "nine" is the largest number, it has the meaning of "ji". Words such as "Nine Heavens", "Nine Heavens Beyond the Clouds", "Under the Nine Springs" and "Nine Gai Fields" are the products of this meaning. .

The emperor is called the "Nine-Five Lord", which comes from the "Book of Changes", nine, the Yang Yao; five, the fifth Yao. "Qian" hexagram in the "Book of Changes": "Nine-five, the flying dragon is in the sky, which is good for seeing adults." The flying dragon refers to the emperor, so "nine" has become a special number for the emperor, and even the utensils and buildings in the palace are also called "Nine-Dragon Cup", "Nine-Dragon Pillar", "Nine-Dragon Wall", "Nine-Peach Pot" and so on.

Since "nine" has a lofty status in the hearts of Zhongshu people, "nine" has become a "lucky number", and everything must be done with the word "nine". It is said that when Genghis Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, was born, the cradle was made of nine willow rings with nine lamb skins inside. When Genghis Khan succeeded to the throne, he celebrated for nine days, drank nine hundred jars of horse milk wine, and performed nine kowtows. , the nine-legged white flag was raised. In the past, when Han folk offered sacrifices to ghosts, they would sometimes hold a ritual of "turning over the nine floors", using tables stacked into nine layers. Taoists would climb up layer by layer from the bottom and perform various acrobatic movements at the top. . The word "nine" is closely linked here.

"Nine" also means magical and fickle. "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Nine: the change of Yang, like its flexion and exhaustion." Many strange animals with the word "Nine" often appear in ancient Chinese books, such as the man-eating nine-tailed fox, dripping The bloody nine-headed bird, the ferocious nine-headed dragon, the nine-headed phoenix and nine-year-old baby with a human face and a beast body, the mysterious nine-headed snake, the nine-tailed turtle, etc.

The rich cultural connotation of the word "Nine" was later expanded to other numbers related to "Nine", especially multiples of "Nine", such as Eighteen martial arts, Thirty-six strategies, Seven Twelve changes, eighty-one difficulties, one hundred and eight generals, three hundred and sixty lines, etc. As long as you are exposed to Chinese culture, you will find that the word "nine" is everywhere. Therefore, the meaning of "Nine" is extremely rich and complex. Even a well-educated person with extensive knowledge of the past and present may not be able to explain all the cultural connotations contained in the word "Nine" for a while.