What does the emperor's ninth five-year plan represent?
A simple statement is that in ancient China, numbers were divided into positive numbers and negative numbers, with odd numbers being positive and even numbers being negative. Nine is the highest yang number, and five is the right one, so "nine" and "five" symbolize the authority of the emperor and are called "the respect of the ninth five-year plan". Another view is that the word "Ninth Five-Year Plan" comes from the Book of Changes. The version of the Book of Changes handed down now is said to be played by Zhou Wenwang, so it is also called the Book of Changes. The first of the sixty-four hexagrams in Zhouyi is the dry hexagram, which symbolizes the sky, so it has become a divinatory symbol representing the emperor. Gangua consists of six yang hexagrams, which are extremely yang and extremely prosperous. Counting from the bottom up, the fifth is called the Ninth Five-Year Plan, nine means that this plan is a positive plan, and five means the fifth plan. The Ninth Five-Year Plan is the best of the dry hexagrams, and the dry hexagrams are the first of the sixty-four hexagrams, so the Ninth Five-Year Plan is the first of the sixty-four hexagrams and three hundred and eighty-four hexagrams, and it has become the emperor's phase. The "nine" here is not a specific number, but a symbol to distinguish the yin and yang attributes of numbers. Later, people used "Nine" and "Five" as specific numbers, thinking that one was to fit the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" representing the emperor; Furthermore, the use of the numbers "nine" and "five" in architecture is also in line with aesthetic principles. The paraphrases in the Book of Changes include "The main roads change, and each of them has its own life, so it is beneficial to protect harmony and chastity". The origin of the name of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is said to come from this. Zhouyi is one of the oldest classics in China. It has always been regarded as the first of the Six Classics, which has a far-reaching influence on all fields of the Chinese nation. Therefore, it should be more credible that the word "Ninth Five-Year Plan" originated from Zhouyi.