Chinese View

When the Spring Festival comes, China is always covered in red, from top to bottom, inside and out. This is because red (hong) is the most auspicious colour in the Chinese traditions.

This is just the opposite of the perception in English-language cultures, where red is often associated with blood, fire, or even violence and loss. But red is not the only colour for which exceptions exist in the perception of colours between Chinese and foreigners; and the Chinese certainly have their own unique definitions for colours as codes.

Before discovering that colour is a phenomenon of light, the Chinese viewed colours as something very mysterious, which was expressed in philosophy, politics and other sciences, and this is why a single colour could be viewed, sometimes, as distinct codes. The following sections will illustrate the symbolic meanings of several major colours and explore the formation of such coding systems.

The number five (wu) is a preference for ancient Chinese, so you can find some ancient Chinese conceptions connected with "five," such as the five elements (wu-xing), five orientations (wufang, sometimes translated into five directions and five positions) and five organs (wuzang). The five-colours (wuse) are also among them.

The five colours refer to the green (blue), yellow, red, white and black and play a major role in China's colour system. The five-colours have a close connection with the five elements and five orientations but have experienced a long and independent development as well.

The five elements theory was evolved from the yinyang conception of opposites, a foundation of Chinese philosophy. The well-known yinyang symbol or taijitu diagram of the universe are composed of black (hei) and white (bai) indicating the two sides of everything in the universe. The two colours put together stands for extreme harmony.

Black is also the colour of sky for ancient Chinese, since they saw that the sky in the north was always black. They thought the space around Polaris or the North Star was where the God of Heaven resided, hence black is considered mysterious and solemn. In Peking Operas, figures symbolizing justice, such as Bao Zheng, Zhang Fei and Li Kui, all have black facial make-up. In the five orientations, centre, east, west, south and north, black is also the colour for north.

Taoism also chose black as its symbol, indicating nature or origin. Taoists believed that black was supreme among all the colours and they worshiped the spontaneous development of colours. China's ink painting best exemplifies such worship. It reveals the diverse levels of black via the painters' skilful handling of ink.

Black is a colour much influenced by the West. In many Chinese phrases, black means evil and insidious. Mafia is translated as heishoudang (black-hand party); wicked and low-down is heimu; illegal trade is heishi; money gained by evil means is heiqian.

 

White, in most case, is the opposite colour of red, thus the colour of taboos. In ancient times, when humans could not protect themselves from the wild, Chinese thought they were exposed to beasts in the daytime. They were scared by such a white. In addition, the moon showed as extremely white when the mid-autumn festival came, so white was connected with a bleak autumn. Autumn was also the season to crusade and to execute criminals. White is the colour for the west among the five orientations, while the god of west was in charge of punishment. These examples, perhaps, explain why white has been the dominant colour for Chinese-style funerals.

On most occasions, white is associated with negative meanings in the modern Chinese language; for example, baiqi means surrender; baichi, an idiot, baimang, in vain; and baiding, not educated.

As mentioned above, a single colour may represent different symbols. White is one. The five elements theory regards white as the symbol of brightness and purity. The best examples of this explanation can be found in China's religious pagodas, such as the White Dagoba in Beihai Park. The colour white here implies the purity of Buddhism.

As the opposite colour of black in yinyang symbolism, white is also vital in traditional aesthetics. The famous gardens in Suzhou adopted black and white as the theme colours, mimicking Chinese ink paintings.

The significance of the colour red-the most positive colour-originated from the Chinese people's worship of the sun. The sun boosts the growth of everything, so red means boosting, auspicious and successful. The Forbidden City has red walls everywhere, indicating good wishes from the owners of this grand palace.

The other colour that dominates this palace is yellow (huang), the code for supreme rights and sublimity. Yellow is the colour of the earth-one of the five elements-and the centre of the five orientations, so it symbolized regime and territory. Since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), yellow has been allowed for use by the royal family only.

Yellow is now also synonymous with sex. It is a mixture of Chinese conventions and western influences, like yellow journalism.

The last of the five colours, green (qing), bear similar connotations as a symbol in both the Chinese and western cultures. Strictly speaking, the Chinese character qing refers to a shade of colour between green and blue. For readers' convenience, green is often used as the translation for qing in English. However, green means vibrant springs. So the eaves of the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven are constructed with green glazed tiles.