The number of "Liu Zhu" is generally 12, 24, 28, 32, 36, 81, 108, 365, etc., and different numbers also have different meanings.
12 represents the Twelve Thunder Gates, 24 represents the Twenty-four Qi, 28 represents the Twenty-eight Constellations, 32 represents the Thirty-two Heavenly Emperors, 36 represents the number of Tiangang, and 81 represents the Nine. The energy of nine pure yang also represents the eighty-one transformation of Laojun, 108 represents the number of stars in the sky, and 365 represents the degree of the stars.
Taoist rosary beads were first called "liu beads". "Tai Shang San Yuan Liu Zhu Jing" says: "Three hundred and sixty-five white pearls are used for reception, round and clear, as big as tung seeds, corresponding to the degree of the stars and the period when the sun and moon meet." Also, "Tai Shang San Yuan Liu Zhu Jing". "Xuanjin Suo Liuzhu Yin" says: "Day and night are fighting, the sky is endless, like the endless flow of water, the stars are round like beads, so it is called Liuzhu."
Let's take the common one hundred and zero. Take eight beads as an example: one hundred and eight represents the number of stars in the sky, and is also the total number of Tiangang and earth evils. The head bead represents the North Pole. The "Beidou Sutra" says: "The North Star hangs down like an image, while the stars arch over it." Therefore, when turning the rosary, the head bead cannot go over it, because the North Star does not move. Therefore, when turning the bead on your head, you should turn it over and continue to move it back. This is the meaning of the cycle of the sky. There is a gourd-shaped bead on the head bead with three levels on it, representing the three platforms.
It is said in "Yushu Jing": "Above Beichen, there are three platforms... stacked into three levels to cover Doukui." That's right, there is a Chinese knot under the three platforms, with six knots. The small beads represent the six stars of the South Dipper, and together with the head beads, they represent the seven stars of the Big Dipper. (Some beads are knotted with eight beads, and the head beads are nine stars.) Therefore, a string of beads covers the Taoist cosmology and many astronomical concepts, which shows the subtlety of Taoist teachings.
In addition, there are twelve, twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty-two, thirty-six, eighty-one and so on Taoist rosary beads. Twelve represent the twelve thunder gates, twenty-four represent the twenty-four qi, twenty-eight represent the twenty-eight constellations, thirty-two represent the thirty-two heavens that save people, and the thirty-six lessons represent the evil spirits produced by Tiangang. The number, eighty-one represents the eighty-one transformation of Laojun, and also represents the ninety-nine pure yang energy.