Lucky Number 666

I'm not religious, but the number 666 still makes me do a double take when I see or hear it... which is quite often now that I live in China. It's everywhere. People pay extra money to have a phone number ending in 666. I've even seen a fair share of vanity plates sporting the number too.

Well, it turns out that Chinese people like the way the number is pronounced. To the Chinese, the number liu 六， sounds our words zip! or zoom! or something of the like. It has lent itself to the popular Chinese saying liu liu da shun 六六大顺 which literally means "6 6 big lucky" but carries the connotation of "zipping right along" or "easy going"... or as my favorite student likes to say "easy peasy lemon squeezy".  It essentially means that things are gonna go your way. As for the triple sixes? When it comes to lucky numbers, the more the better!

Last week, I asked Jason how much money to give his sister for Spring Festival and without thinking he said, "Six hundred and sixty six, of course." Just yesterday, my roommate came home with a gift of the same amount.

So what's up with gifts of 666 RMB? Interestingly, six is the first significant lucky number. (Numbers 0-5 aren't really auspicious.) With that being said, you can't give 66 RMB. That won't even buy you a pizza. 6,666 RMB is more than a month's rent so 666 wins out as the cheapest yet meaningful amount for gifting. Other popular amounts are 888 and 999. We'll get to those numbers another day!