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f humans’ social and cultural behavior with their ability to conceptualize their outside world. So numbers are not merely mathematical tools, but extended as metaphors in the idiomatic usages with a series of connotations. Chinese people and English people show different appetites towards the numbers. So there exist different cultural connotations and extensions between Chinese and English numbers. This paper, from diverse cultural backgrounds of numbers in Chinese and English, discusses the discrepancy in the national psychology, religious belief, mythology and so on, and generalizes several methods of translation in numbers, especially in literary works, so as to facilitate intercultural or cross-cultural communication. 2. The cultural diversity between Chinese and English numbers All human beings use numbers so that the culture of numbers has come into being. Numbers penetrate into every aspect of human life [5]. Yet, numbers, which reflect the scales of the material world, have been endowed with rich cultural connotations due to the different cultural backgrounds. As far as Chinese culture is concerned, it bears some similarities to the world culture, but it has been laying more stress on the usages of idioms. There are numerous Chinese idioms and idiomatic usages with numbers, such as:说一不二，五湖四海，三教九流，一日不见，如隔三秋，三十六计走为上计，三句话不离本行，八九不离十，百战不殆，七零八落，九霄云外，九九归一，十万火急and so forth. In English-related culture, there are also a large quantity of idioms or idiomatic usages with numbers, such as three sheets in the wind, the upper ten, second to none, two-by-four, four-letter man, catch-22, two-left feet, and so on. Besides, odd numbers except13, are favored and adorned by western people. For instance, number “seven” with marked religious colour is used frequently in the Scriptures to signify completeness. Similarly, multiples of seven are also used in a similar sense of completeness [6]. But in Chinese, it is on the other way around. Although the discrepancy in the social tradition and the diversity in the numerical culture are universal, there exists a general cult of numbers in both Chinese and English. The following part will focus on the cultural sources of number cult or worship from three aspects, that is, national psychology, religion, and mythology. 2.1 Numbers and psychology of national culture In Chinese culture, heaven and earth produce everything by the interaction of two existential and powerful forces of the universe, yin and yang. “Since numbers were considered a mystical part of the universe, the ancient Chinese regarded odd numbers as yang or masculine and even numbers as yin or famine” [7]. “Nine”, as the largest single digit, took on the meaning of “ultimate masculinity” and implied the loftiest reverence for heaven. Therefore, the number “nine” symbolized the supreme sovereignty of the emperor who was the Son of Heaven. And the number “nine” (or its multiples) is often employed in the Chinese ancient architecture, particularly imperial buildings. Ancient palaces were usually designed as nine-section architectural complexes related to the number “nine” in the number or size. Take the Forbidden City, located in the center of Beijing for example. It has a total of 9,999 bays, and the Gate Tower of Tian’anmen has nine by nine bays. Thus number “nine” or its multiple is ubiquitous in the architecture of the sacrificial temple. And the Nine Dragon Screen near Beihai Park has also been connected with number nine. The Chinese people