The Role of Numbers in the Chinese Cyberculture

Digits in global Internet communication

Globalization and expansion of the English language, as the inseparable part of political and economic dominance, have manifested themselves in lexical unification, and in huge wave of Anglicisms into all modern languages, even oriental ones (Ye & Deng, 2020). However, each ethnic group of people has its unique culture code reflected in traditions, customs and deeper linguistic levels like intertextual relations, phraseology etc. (Malyuga et al., 2018). Therefore, it can be stated that we are subjected to the use of numbers and symbols meaningful for our culture.

Identifying global tendencies in numbers use, we can say that English has great potential for the formation of expressions with digital component. The first method is based on consonance or homonymy. Among such examples, the following are often found: “to” - 2, “for” - 4. Secondly, the number can indicate the number of letters in the words (143 - “I love you”). Thirdly, letters can be replaced by numbers according to their order in the alphabet. For example, 9nnovation is the same as innovation, where letter I is the 9th letter in the alphabet. This method is traditional for encryption. As the fourth tendency, we can highlight cases of replacing the letters of the alphabet sequence number. This method is highly frequent in the so-called leet speak (Did you 533 that? where the verb see is encoded with numbers 533). For the purposes of leet codifying special on-line engines are used, that makes it easier for those unfamiliar with these type of slang. Speaking about the fifth prominent tendency we must mention that the already known digital codes can be borrowed from languages of computer programmers: “information” – 411, “error” - 404 (Rubanova, 2021).

In Spanish we can face with the global trend of mixing the semantic codes when digits and even mathematical symbols are used instead of individual syllables or words, but still in combination with the alphabetic symbols (letters). For example, 100pre – siempre (always), a2 – adiós (bye) (Ivlieva, 2022).

In French, the use of letter and digit combination is based on the iconographic principle, so that users rely on similarity in the appearance between alphabetic characters and numbers. For instance, the digit 1 can be used to replace the indefinite article: un / une: 1peu loin; or can be used to replace nasal vowels: bien - bi1, b1. The other example when the digit can replace the letter combination is the use of the digit 8 instead of ui(t). For example, tout de suite - tt d s8t; bonne nuit-bn8 (Melikov, 2017).

In German a lot of borrowings from English can be observed, though some unique German number codes can be produced. For example, gn8 – Gute Nacht (Good night).

Many sounds of the Arabic language have no analogues in other languages, and it is quite difficult to accurately convey their pronunciation in Latin without using special characters. Thus, digits replace some Arabic letters that resemble them in shape. For example, the digit 7 is used as it resembles the Arabic letter "ha" (the 6th letter of the Arabic alphabet) and is now used as a graphical equivalent of voiceless fricative [h] (Blinov, 2013).

The Russian language is not so friendly for the adoption of the number code. The most popular ways to use numbers are those based on the principle of similar spelling and consonance. For example, the letter “ч” can be replaced with the number 4. Also the examples when a number replaces part of a word can be rare, for example, “опять” - o5 (again).

Considering that numbers and their combinations have penetrated into Internet communication in different cultures, the need for further research is evident. The findings confirm that in most cases digits are used to replace letters and sounds. Moreover, the meaning of these numbers can undergo changes. Give an example of English combination 411: originally singling out “information”, now it has obtained the meaning of talk, speech and gossip (The Online Slang Dictionary, 2022). Thus, the use of digits in each language demands comprehensive analysis and implementation of cultural approach.

Digits in Chinese culture

Due to the cultural and political peculiarities and differences of China digital codes received a wide popularity in on-line communication. Their first appearance is marked in the early years of the Internet in China, when people communicated via such a device as pager. This happened due to the fact that originally the gadgets and their soft were not adopted to the Chinese characters and used only letters and fonts of the European alphabets. The most part of the Chinese started searching for the similarity in sound of numbers and words. Later on, this type of writing was used as a secret code to escape moderation of the officials. That’s how the Martian language (火星文) appeared. The Martian language can include several elements and their combinations: traditional and simplified Chinese characters, with the possibility of both splitting characters into separate graphemes, and combining characters into one whole; pinyin; alphabets of other languages; numbers; symbols; punctuation marks.

Considering numbers, from ancient times till today there have been a tendency to assign meaning to them. On the one hand, symbolic concepts such as number meanings are fixed in culture. For example, according to Yin-yang philosophy, even numbers are feminine (阴数), whereas odd numbers are masculine (阳数). On the other hand, these concepts are inevitably found in the language. In the Chinese language digits appear in different contexts.

First, a considerable number of idioms (成语) or set expressions include numbers. This confirms that numbers play a crucial role in understanding and evaluating reality, as quite often the meanings of these expressions are not connected with quantity. Gurevich and Voitsekhovich (2020) state that: “one may get an impression that Eastern thinking, trying to rationalize and simplify statement, gives it a number designation to reach a certain sample” (p. 138). For example, digit 3 is included in such idioms as 三思而行 (sānsī ér xíng) – to think over many times; 三长两短 (sāncháng liǎngduǎn) – unforeseen disasters or accidents; unexpected misfortune, 不三不四 (bùsān bùsì) – neither fish nor fowl; 三番五次 (sānfān wǔcì) – time and again, many times; 一而再，再而三 (yī ér zài, zài ér sān) – again and again; 举一反三 (jǔ yī fǎn sān) – draw inferences about other cases from one instance; 一问三不知 (yī wèn sān bù zhī) – not knowing a thing.

Second, Chinese believe in lucky and unlucky numbers. Thus, digits 6 and 8 are quite often seen as lucky numbers. For example, number 6 is found in expression六六大顺 (liùliù dàshùn) – everything goes well, while number 8 (bā) is a homophone to character 发 (fā) from发财 (fācái) – to make a fortune. The other number 4 is associated with death, so that Chinese people try to avoid to live on floors with this number, or to have phone numbers with this digit.

Third, dates of the calendar can obtain some meaning due to numbers. For example, 11月11日 or the 11th of November is celebrated as 单人节 (bachelor’s day); 5月20日 or the 20th of May is a homophone to digital combination 520 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ) - I love you. That’s why on this date Chinese people celebrate 网络情人节 (Internet Valentine's Day).

Fourth, due to the spread of modern means of communication Chinese people have an opportunity to send digital “red envelopes” with a certain amount of money. This amount turns out to be very symbolic and even has acquired its own term, i.e. 红包吉利数字 (hóngbāo jílì shùzì) – red envelope auspicious numbers. For example, friends or relatives can send you a digital envelope with 1.68 RMB, 16.8 RMB or even 168RMB, and this sum will be interpreted as 一路发 (yīlù fā) – “fortune street”, due to the fact that the phrase is a homophone to digital combination 168. The sum may depend on a holiday date：for Christmas Chinese can send 12.25 RMB; for Qixi Festival (七夕节) 0,77 RMB or 7,77 RMB, as this traditional holiday is celebrated on 7th day of 7th month on the Chinese lunisolar calendar.

Finally, digits are widespread in the Internet communication, where users create semiotically complicated texts, and digits are regarded as a means of creolization. On the one hand, digits help to create emoticons: 6_6 – looking down; >3< 一to kiss; (*￣3￣) ╭ 一 to blow the air-kiss to someone. On the other hand, the number codes in Chinese known as 数字密码 or 数字谐音词语 are widely used. The creation of a numerical code in Chinese is based on consonance: 596 (我走了, wǒ zǒu le). Moreover, in Chinese it is also possible to find a combination of letters and numbers, characters and numbers: 啤酒 - P9. It is worth noting that the number is not tied to one character, its use may be due to various factors. For example, the number 5 can be used to replace 我 (587 我不介意 wǒ bù jièyì – I don’t mind) or it can be used to replace 福 (82475 被爱就是幸福 bèi ài jiù shì xìng fú – to be loved is happiness). Nowadays this cipher is widely employed in romantic correspondence, that is why the most part of numeric messages are about love. Let’s illustrate codes with some more examples: 02825 – 你爱不爱我? – Do you love me?;

04551一你是我唯一 – You're the only one I have; 0487 – 你是白痴 – you're an idiot; 1930 – 依旧想你 – miss you; 587 – 我抱歉 – forgive me; 70885 – 请你帮助我– help me, please; 729 – 去喝酒 – Come on, let's have a drink; 687 – 对不起 – I’m sorry. According to the Chinese researcher Fu Yifei, the digital code can be based not only on consonance with Putonghua, but also on consonance in dialects, which increases the number of digital codes (Fu Yifei, 2013).

Digital domain names

Since the birth of the Internet, English has been the main language. Then over time, the involvement of users from different countries and nations makes this space become more diverse. Historically, domain names have been named from Latin letters and numbers. But in China due to the uniqueness of the cyber space formed by the Great Chinese Firewall and hard moderation, this tendency was broken rather quickly.

Today, 9 million domain names are made up of numbers only. This is more than 3% of the total number of domains. This strategy has traditionally been used by many taxi companies, indicating a phone number. But if for many cultures the numbers represent exactly the marketing strategy, for China it is a way to demonstrate the main strategies of communication industry development plan, i.e. to develop character and digital domains.

A study on counting the number of digital domains and their analysis was conducted by Domains Index (Domain Index, URL). Here are some of the results of this study:

1) The number of digital domains detects an increase.

2) The number of digital domains in the new domain zones exceeds the number of digital domains in the old zones.

3) More digital domains are in the .COM zone.

4) In terms of the number of digital domains, .CN is the leader among national zones.

5) According to 2016 data, popular domains consist of 3-4 digits. The longest domains are 63 digits long.

Moreover, there exist different principles of decoding the meaning of digital domains. For example, in .RU zone there are such domains as https:// 66.ru (Yekaterinburg platform), https://161.ru (Rostov-na-Donu platform). To decode why exactly these numbers are used the user is supposed to know automobile codes of Russia regions. As for Chinese virtual space, the analysis data confirms one of the obvious tendencies of the Chinese Internet space – the appeal to characters and numbers. And if character domains are a phenomenon of the last few years, then digital domains have appeared a long time ago. This is due to several reasons. The figures are very close and understandable to the Chinese. Secondly, the Chinese put a certain meaning into the numbers. Decoding of domain names meaning relies mainly on homonymy. For example, the 哇咕哇咕 leather goods store is located on the website 51wagu.com, where 51 can be decoded as 我要 – “I want”. The same logic can be found with the domain name 51job.com that is decoded as “I want a job”. Another well-known example is Alibaba's Wholesale Purchasing Network at 1688.com. The numbers 1688 are accordant to the name of the company 阿里巴巴 (ā lǐ bā bā).