Does anyone have a definitive answer to the origins of why the original Beijing security unit was designated as 8341?

I read two differing accounts.

1. Mao consulted a monk (or a fortune teller, depending on the version) and was given these 4 numbers.
Its real significance only became clear after he died at the age of 83, after 41 years of leadership (counting from 1935 Zunyi Conference).

2. It was a number engraved on Mao's favourite gun, and he used it as his personal security's designation (the equivalent of Ming's Brocade Guards).

BTW, I read though it has been redesignated to another number today (61889), its old designation remains in common use in non-official contexts.

See http://www.sinodefence.com/armedforces/org...uard-bureau.asp