The Hong Kong government has proposed new guidelines for floor numberings of new buildings. Apart from the omission of 4, 13 and numbers ending with a 4, other forms of omissions or aliasing will not be allowed.
香港對樓宇層樓編號有新規管，不容許不合理的大幅跳層，但刪去4、13和尾數是4字的樓層還是可以的。
These guidelines may not make sense to most of non-Chinese readers, unless you happen to know that 4 is a homophone with death in Chinese, and 13 is supposed to be an unlucky number for Christians even though most Westerners don’t really care about it. Skipping certain floor numbers may make people feel better but doesn’t change the reality. Those living on the so-called 5th floor of a building which has omitted the 4th floor numbering are still living on the actual 4th storey of the building, although the residents can probably take comfort that they are not living on the death floor.
4字是中國人的忌諱，13雖說是對西人（或信耶穌的）不吉，但平常西人都甚少理會。跳樓層這個做法其實自欺欺人，沒有4樓的大廈，住在所謂的5樓其實即是第4樓，祇是聽覺上和心理上好過一點，但根本沒改變過住在樓宇本身的第4樓這個現實。
Superstitions such as the above should have subsided as a society progresses and its people become better educated and enlightened, but in Hong Kong (or even the wider Chinese communities) superstitious and supernatural beliefs are instead gaining a steadily stronger foothold. Hong Kong is probably the only place on Earth where fortune-telling books are such best sellers that they are counterfeited, and where programmes on feng shui and fortune-telling feature prominently on lifestyle TV channels. People consult Chinese calendar books routinely for the most auspicious dates for weddings, moving dwellings and many other important things in life. While the intention is good, it doesn’t really fit with people’s busy schedules these days. It seems such a waste of time to take leave during the working week for moving and doing other things when the weekend is really the best time for everyone concerned. Then there’s the problem of fighting for places and resources when everyone decides to do the same thing on the same day. Those who have tried to book marriage registrars and wedding banquets for the auspicious days should know better than I do how difficult it was.
隨着社會進步，民智本來應該愈見開明，大眾也應愈不迷信才是，但香港社會（又或說是中國人社會）對意頭和各種堪輿學說的重視卻變本加厲，觀乎全世界，相信祇有香港，才會出現運程書籍銷路好得會惹來翻版，電視台也容得下形形式式的堪輿命理節目。一般人結婚、搬家都非挑吉日不可，原意不是不好，卻忽略了現代人工作繁忙，時間寶貴，為了遷就吉日，在上班日而不是週末搬家或辦其他事，實在是浪費時間和假期，而且太多人挑同一天做同一樣事情，祇會帶來不必要的擠湧、阻礙，按吉日訂婚姻註冊處和結婚酒席的人一定經歷過。
Other ethnicities have their own superstitions and forms of fortune telling, but surely none would be as fervent as the Chinese. At least for a start Westerners aren’t too concerned about unlucky numbers or dates. The municipality where I live has installed in front of its office building a piece of art work which consisted of 20 to 30 thin red rods, and to the eyes of the Chinese they looked like the remnants of joss sticks! This municipality has a sizeable Chinese population, and someone must have pointed out that the art work looked like people are paying respect to the dead by burning joss sticks as per Chinese custom. But the municipality probably hasn’t been informed and isn’t too bothered by the implication of the art work that the red rods are still standing there.
外國人也雖然有他們的忌諱，也會看星座、占卜，但沒有中國人對堪輿那麼着迷，日常生活不會避忌甚麼數字、日子，更有甚者，我家所屬的區議會，其辦公樓正門擺放的藝術品是二三十餘根紅色幼柱，驟眼看不得不說其形似燒剩的香燭！其實本區中國人也不少，應該早就有人會指出那件藝術品就好像有人拜祭區議會一樣，但外國人不信邪，藝術品照擺可也，我們中國人揮春有句百無禁忌，為甚麼卻偏偏做不到？
Why do Chinese people willingly leave themselves tied by the powers of calendar books and mystic beliefs? Disregarding them may not be such a bad thing, and may in some cases be the best path to a peace of mind and good fortune. Over the past year, Hong Kong has seen some unusual high-profile cases involving fortune tellers and feng shui masters. In one case, a self-proclaimed fortune teller promised to improve the prospects of a 19-year-old female model by her offering to participate in sexual intercourse 9 times over a year. The case of a feng shui master fighting for his entitlement to a will against a charity established by the deceased has revealed that the feng shui master has already bagged HK$ 2 billion (approximately US$ 250 million, 180 million euros) from his previous feng shui services to the deceased, and now he has been accused of forging the will in question. Then there are smaller fries who got away with their scams by preying on people’s desire for a good fortune, as well as the property developer who manages to sell its flats for sky-high prices by cleverly labelling its floors with auspicious numbers in arguably its most well-known project. The 46-storey building now boasts of having the 88th floor as its top level and 68th floor on the one below, with both numbers considered favourable for good wealth by Chinese. Sadly, as long as people are still so firm in their many supernatural beliefs and superstitions, there will always be those ready to make more fortunes on them.
百無禁忌其實有何不好，更可助人趨吉避凶，近—年接連出現騙色的「茅山師傅」、斂財的「風水師傅」、大大小小的祈福黨和其他神棍，還有借跳層發一筆的地產商，都是看準了事主迷信的心理而下手，這個篤信風水堪輿的社會，祇會造就更多人藉類似機會刮一筆財。
香港對樓宇層樓編號有新規管，不容許不合理的大幅跳層，但刪去4、13和尾數是4字的樓層還是可以的。
These guidelines may not make sense to most of non-Chinese readers, unless you happen to know that 4 is a homophone with death in Chinese, and 13 is supposed to be an unlucky number for Christians even though most Westerners don’t really care about it. Skipping certain floor numbers may make people feel better but doesn’t change the reality. Those living on the so-called 5th floor of a building which has omitted the 4th floor numbering are still living on the actual 4th storey of the building, although the residents can probably take comfort that they are not living on the death floor.
4字是中國人的忌諱，13雖說是對西人（或信耶穌的）不吉，但平常西人都甚少理會。跳樓層這個做法其實自欺欺人，沒有4樓的大廈，住在所謂的5樓其實即是第4樓，祇是聽覺上和心理上好過一點，但根本沒改變過住在樓宇本身的第4樓這個現實。
Superstitions such as the above should have subsided as a society progresses and its people become better educated and enlightened, but in Hong Kong (or even the wider Chinese communities) superstitious and supernatural beliefs are instead gaining a steadily stronger foothold. Hong Kong is probably the only place on Earth where fortune-telling books are such best sellers that they are counterfeited, and where programmes on feng shui and fortune-telling feature prominently on lifestyle TV channels. People consult Chinese calendar books routinely for the most auspicious dates for weddings, moving dwellings and many other important things in life. While the intention is good, it doesn’t really fit with people’s busy schedules these days. It seems such a waste of time to take leave during the working week for moving and doing other things when the weekend is really the best time for everyone concerned. Then there’s the problem of fighting for places and resources when everyone decides to do the same thing on the same day. Those who have tried to book marriage registrars and wedding banquets for the auspicious days should know better than I do how difficult it was.
隨着社會進步，民智本來應該愈見開明，大眾也應愈不迷信才是，但香港社會（又或說是中國人社會）對意頭和各種堪輿學說的重視卻變本加厲，觀乎全世界，相信祇有香港，才會出現運程書籍銷路好得會惹來翻版，電視台也容得下形形式式的堪輿命理節目。一般人結婚、搬家都非挑吉日不可，原意不是不好，卻忽略了現代人工作繁忙，時間寶貴，為了遷就吉日，在上班日而不是週末搬家或辦其他事，實在是浪費時間和假期，而且太多人挑同一天做同一樣事情，祇會帶來不必要的擠湧、阻礙，按吉日訂婚姻註冊處和結婚酒席的人一定經歷過。
Other ethnicities have their own superstitions and forms of fortune telling, but surely none would be as fervent as the Chinese. At least for a start Westerners aren’t too concerned about unlucky numbers or dates. The municipality where I live has installed in front of its office building a piece of art work which consisted of 20 to 30 thin red rods, and to the eyes of the Chinese they looked like the remnants of joss sticks! This municipality has a sizeable Chinese population, and someone must have pointed out that the art work looked like people are paying respect to the dead by burning joss sticks as per Chinese custom. But the municipality probably hasn’t been informed and isn’t too bothered by the implication of the art work that the red rods are still standing there.
外國人也雖然有他們的忌諱，也會看星座、占卜，但沒有中國人對堪輿那麼着迷，日常生活不會避忌甚麼數字、日子，更有甚者，我家所屬的區議會，其辦公樓正門擺放的藝術品是二三十餘根紅色幼柱，驟眼看不得不說其形似燒剩的香燭！其實本區中國人也不少，應該早就有人會指出那件藝術品就好像有人拜祭區議會一樣，但外國人不信邪，藝術品照擺可也，我們中國人揮春有句百無禁忌，為甚麼卻偏偏做不到？
Why do Chinese people willingly leave themselves tied by the powers of calendar books and mystic beliefs? Disregarding them may not be such a bad thing, and may in some cases be the best path to a peace of mind and good fortune. Over the past year, Hong Kong has seen some unusual high-profile cases involving fortune tellers and feng shui masters. In one case, a self-proclaimed fortune teller promised to improve the prospects of a 19-year-old female model by her offering to participate in sexual intercourse 9 times over a year. The case of a feng shui master fighting for his entitlement to a will against a charity established by the deceased has revealed that the feng shui master has already bagged HK$ 2 billion (approximately US$ 250 million, 180 million euros) from his previous feng shui services to the deceased, and now he has been accused of forging the will in question. Then there are smaller fries who got away with their scams by preying on people’s desire for a good fortune, as well as the property developer who manages to sell its flats for sky-high prices by cleverly labelling its floors with auspicious numbers in arguably its most well-known project. The 46-storey building now boasts of having the 88th floor as its top level and 68th floor on the one below, with both numbers considered favourable for good wealth by Chinese. Sadly, as long as people are still so firm in their many supernatural beliefs and superstitions, there will always be those ready to make more fortunes on them.
百無禁忌其實有何不好，更可助人趨吉避凶，近—年接連出現騙色的「茅山師傅」、斂財的「風水師傅」、大大小小的祈福黨和其他神棍，還有借跳層發一筆的地產商，都是看準了事主迷信的心理而下手，這個篤信風水堪輿的社會，祇會造就更多人藉類似機會刮一筆財。
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