The Influence of Chinese Proverbs with Numbers 1-9 (一 - 九) in Chinese Language and Cultures

Abstract

From personal instruction experience, the researcher found that number-related vocabulary in the content of each subject is used to describe not only order and quantity but also appears in several 4-syllable idioms. Due to their direct and distinct meanings, Chinese major students are confused and they do not understand the exact meanings of the words, resulting in misinterpretation in communication and reading materials. The researcher, as a result, has considerable interest in the influence of idiomatic expressions involving the numbers 1-9 (一-九). The research, accordingly, aimed to study meanings of 4-syllable Chinese proverbs with numbers 1-9 (一-九) in Chinese language and cultures and aimed to collect and categorize the proverbs. The research sample was 4-syllable Chinese proverbs from a Chinese dictionary. The results revealed 422 words in 6 categories as follows: natural culture, material culture, systematic culture, behavioral culture, mental culture and other uncategorizable words. In addition, there was an interesting finding were proverbs with meanings expressing time, frequency, quantity, and distance which were not related to each aspect of the cultures mentioned above. It could be concluded that from the sample of 4-syllable Chinese proverbs with numbers 1-9 (一-九), there was the highest number of the proverbs and which is a reflection of Chinese people’s perspective, feelings, and habits, together with the influence of religions on Chinese cultures through Chinese proverbs involving numbers.