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Chinese culture attaches certain values tocolors,[1] such as considering some to be auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利). The Chinese word for 'color' isyánsè (顏色). InLiterary Chinese, the character色 more literally corresponds to 'color in the face' or 'emotion'. It was generally used alone and often implied sexual desire or desirability. During theTang dynasty (618–907), the wordyánsè came to mean 'all color'. A Chinese idiom meaning 'multi-colored',Wǔyánliùsè (五顏六色), can also refer to 'colors' in general.
InChinese mythology, the goddessNüwa is said to havemended the Heavens after a disaster destroyed the original pillars that held up the skies, using five colored stones in the five auspicious colors to patch up the crumbling heavens, accounting for the many colors that the skies can take on.
Traditionally, these colors are considered "cardinal colors"[2]in Chinese culture: cyan (青;qīng, conventionally translated to "cyan", but can range from green to blue),[3] red, yellow, white, and black. Respectively, these correspond to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, which comprise the 'five elements' (wuxing) of traditional Chinese metaphysics.[4] Throughout the Shang, Tang, Zhou and Qin dynasties, China's emperors used theTheory of the Five Elements to select colors. Other colors were considered byConfucius to be "inferior".[5][better source needed]
Element Qualities | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Cyan | Red | Yellow | White | Black |
| Direction | east | south | center | west | north |
| Planet | Jupiter | Mars | Saturn | Venus | Mercury |
| Heavenly creature | Azure Dragon | Vermilion Bird | Yellow Dragon | White Tiger | Black Turtle-Snake |
| Heavenly Stems | 甲,乙 | 丙,丁 | 戊,己 | 庚,辛 | 壬,癸 |
| Wufang Shangdi | Cāngdì | Chide | Huangdi | Baidi | Heidi |
| Phase | New Yang | Full Yang | Balance | New Yin | Full Yin |
| Energy | Generative | Expansive | Stabilizing | Contracting | Conserving |
| Season | Spring | Summer | Change of seasons (Every third month) | Autumn | Winter |
| Climate | Windy | Hot | Damp | Dry | Cold |
| Development | Sprouting | Blooming | Ripening | Withering | Dormant |
| Livestock | dog | sheep, goat | cattle | chicken | pig |
| Fruit | Chinese plum | apricot | jujube | peach | Chinese chestnut |
| Grain | wheat | legume | rice | hemp | pearl millet |
Yellow is considered the most beautiful and prestigious color.[6] TheChinese conception of yellow (黃huáng) is inclusive of many shades consideredtan orbrown in English, and its primary association is with theearth rather than the sun. It was formerly inclusive of manyoranges,[7][8] although speakers of modernStandard Mandarin increasingly map their use ofhuáng to shades corresponding to English yellow.[9] The Chinese saying "Yellow generates yin and yang" implies that yellow is the center of everything. Associated with but ranked above brown, yellow signifies neutrality and good luck. Yellow is sometimes paired with red in place of gold.[citation needed]
TheYellow River is the cradle of Chinese civilization. In imperial China, yellow was the color of the emperor, and is held as the symbolic color of the five legendary emperors of ancient China, such as theYellow Emperor. TheYellow Dragon is the zoomorphic incarnation of the Yellow Emperor of the center of the universe in Chinese religion and mythology. Theflag of the Qing dynasty featured golden yellow as the background. ThePlain Yellow Banner and theBordered Yellow Banner were two of the upper three banners ofLater Jin andQing dynasty.
Yellow often decorates royal palaces, altars and temples, and the color was used in thedragon robes and attire of the emperors.[6] It was a rare honor to receive theimperial yellow jacket.
Yellow also represents freedom from worldly cares and is thus esteemed in Buddhism. Monks' garments are yellow, as are elements of Buddhist temples. Yellow is also used as a mourning color for Chinese Buddhists.
Yellow is also symbolic of heroism, as opposed to the Western association of the color with cowardice.[10]
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Black (黑hēi), corresponding to water, is generally understood as a neutral color, though it appears in many negative contexts inchengyu and common names. "Black cult"(黑幫hēibāng) is the usual name forChinese organized crime and theThick Black Theory of the late QingintellectualLi Zongwu [zh] (李宗吾, 1879–1943) is an exhortation toopportunism. In modern China, black is used in clothing, especially in professional contexts. Black has less association withmourning than white in traditional Chinese culture. Formal black jackets and slacks have become associated with international professionalism.
TheI Ching regards black as Heaven's color. The saying "heaven and earth are black" was rooted in the observation that the northern sky was black. Ancient Chinese people believedTiandi resided in theNorth Star. Thetaijitu uses black and white or red to represent the unity ofyin and yang. Ancient Chinese people regarded black as the king of colors and honored black more consistently than any other color.Laozi said "know the white, keep the black", and Taoists believe black is the color of theTao.[citation needed]
White (白,bái) corresponds with metal among thewuxing and represents, transparency through to gold.[dubious –discuss] It symbolizes brightness, purity, and clarity.[citation needed]
White is also the traditional color ofmourning.[10]Death rituals are "white affairs" (Baishi 白事).[11]: 172 White is the color ofyin force and traditionally associated withghosts.[11]: 172
Ever since thereform and opening up and influx of Western cultural values, whitewedding gowns have become more popular.
Red (紅;红hóng),vermilion (丹dān), andscarlet (赤chì)[12] are associated withmasculine yangenergy,fire, good fortune and joy. Red is the traditional color used duringChinese New Year and other celebrations, includingweddings andwedding gowns. Chinese reds are traditionally inclusive of shades that may be considered asorange or warmbrown in English.
Writing in red ink was traditionally exclusive to an emperor's comments added to memorials.[13] Writing someone's name in red ink is a traditional taboo.[13]
Ahongbao, a red envelope stuffed with money, now frequently red100 RMB notes, is the usual gift in Chinese communities forChinese New Year, birthdays,marriages,bribes, and other special occasions. The red color of the packet symbolizes good luck. Red is strictly forbidden atfunerals as it is traditionally symbolic of happiness.[14]
In thePeople's Republic of China, red remains a very popular color and isaffiliated with and used by theCommunist Party and thegovernment.
Old Chinese did not make ablue-green distinction, having asingle verdant color (青,qīng) that encompassed both. The blue sky and green vegetables were considered shades of a single color which could even include black as its darkest hue in some contexts. ModernStandard Mandarin makes the blue-green distinction usinglǜ (綠;绿 'leafy') for green andlán (藍;蓝 'indigo') for blue.
Qīng was associated with health, prosperity, and harmony. It was used for the roof tiles and ornate interior of theTemple of Heaven and in other structures to representHeaven.[citation needed] It is also the color of mostjade as well as thegreenwarepottery that was developed to imitate it.
Separately, green hats are associated withinfidelity and used as an idiom for acuckold.[15]In modern scientific contexts,qīng refers tocyan as a narrow range of color in between blue and green, and the modern color names are used when referring to other shades of blue or of green.
The five intermediary colors (五間色wǔjiànsè) are formed as combinations of the five elemental colors. These are:[16]
"The East is called qing (green/blue), the South is chi (red), the West is bai (white), the North is hei (black), and the Center is huang (yellow)."
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