The Case of No. 11 Bus

2007/05/22

When it comes to traditions and superstitions, China loves the basics: colours and numbers. In the West, superstitions are as rare as Friday the 13th. How often do black cats cross your path? How many times have you seen a shooting star? Not often. But some Chinese take superstitions in mind when they dress, when they decide what floor to live on or what bus (gonggong qiche) to take to work everyday.

We all know that red (hongse) is good luck in China, and gold (huangjin) is the colour of royalty. Colours like jinse and others are often talked about with outsiders, but numbers are a deeper secret.

Take the number 11 for example. Have you ever heard of the secret No. 11 gonggong qiche? As I am lazy (lan) and hate to walk, I was very interested in finding out about the secret of the No. 11 gonggong qiche.

Of course, as a clown I found out early that gonggong qiche No. 250 (erbaiwu) is the bus for fools. (250 means foolish). If you ever want to make a Chinese friend laugh (xiao), just tell them you bought something for erbaiwu kuai. They may xiao so hard that they fall down. If they are in real need of a serious xiao, then point at a picture of the Laowai P.I., or any laowai for that matter, and ask, shi bu shi, ta shi erbaiwu?

As a lover of money, my Shanghai GF, and all the jinse number 8’s she wore, told me 8 stands for wealth (fu). She wanted 8 new red (hongse) dresses and 8 huangjin jewels to improve my fu. So I tried to use number 8 to my advantage by telling her “to get fu I need 8 girlfriends,” but she just gave me 8 swift kicks in a not so fu place. My face turned hongse with pain! That was very Unlucky!

In her fit of rage my now ex-GF asked me to take the No. 4 gonggong qiche straight to hell; so it was that I learned that 4 means death (si) because the two words have the same pronunciation. I never did get any of my huangjin jewellery back! And I still walk funny!!

I also know the number 9 has a similar pronunciation to alcohol (jiu), so the No. 9 bus might mean the get drunk gonggong qiche. But, actually, like huangjin, and the number jiu belongs to the emperor. There are 999 rooms in the Forbidden City, and each set of its stairs has 9 steps. And amazingly there are jiu dragons on the illustrious Nine Dragon Wall (Jiulongbi).

But what about the No. 11 bus? I had heard whispers of the 11 gonggong qiche and knew it had a special meaning. I researched many more numbers. I found out that 6 is culturally lucky, but the number 11 has no traditional meaning. I was no closer to uncovering the secret…can you guess what taking the No. 11 bus means?

When I finally found the answer, it gave me a new look at Chinese humour. I found out the hard way. One night, after a long party, all the friends got back into the party van, but it was overfull.

My “ex,” in one of the hongse dresses I had bought her, suggested I be a gentleman and give up my seat, so I did. But I added, “I am lan and hate to walk. Is there a gonggong qiche? And I don’t want a No. 4 death gonggong qiche!”

The driver said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Lan, you can take the No. 11 bus home!”

I waited for a gonggong qiche for an hour. Finally the sun came up and a wise old man walked by in jinse pants. I asked him, “pardon me sir, do you know about the No. 11 gonggong qiche?

After a long xiao, he said, “The No. 11 gonggong qiche keeps me fu.” He then flaunted his jinse pants.

I begged: “Where can I catch the No. 11 gonggong qiche?”

“I am on it right now,” the wise one began, “Taking the No. 11 bus means to walk! The 11 represents your legs.”

Man did I feel like a real erbaiwu! I hoped my ex was on the No. 4 bus going nowhere! I can xiao about it now, but I will never forget about the No. 11 bus.

So the next time your friend is being lan, and the weather is nice, just say, “forget the cab, let’s take the No. 11 gonggong qiche!”

And watch out for Shanghai girls!



	Article featured in Beijing This Month, June 2007 Publication sponsored by Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism