Color Symbolism in Chinese Culture – Yellow

November 22, 2009 – 5:25 pm

While the color red appears to have a primary association with China, the color yellow is arguably more intimately intertwined with Chinese history and culture.  The Yellow Emperor pacified warring tribes and created, for the first time in history, a unified China some 4,500 – 5,000 years ago; the Chinese nation traces its origin to the Yellow Earth (Loess) Plateau; and the Yellow River is the cradle of Chinese civilization.

It is believed that the color yellow attainted its exulted status because it is the color of earth.  Soil occupied a central role in people’s lives in ancient times.  Everything grew out of it and every living being depended on it.  Earth was the foundation of life.

Its color, yellow, came to represent centeredness and the all-encompassing powers of the sovereign.  In fact, yellow was once a color reserved exclusively for the imperial family and beyond the reach of commoners.

forbiddencity The Forbidden City at the center of Beijing is a classic example of Chinese yellow and red symbolisms.  Its red walls and gates and yellow glazed roof tiles, each enhancing the other’s brilliance, is symbolic of the harmony between heaven and earth and of the supremacy of imperial power.

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Color Symbolism in Chinese Culture – Red

November 7, 2009 – 7:24 pm

What colors come to mind when you think of China?  Chances are red and yellow (or gold) are among them.

The color red is associated with China in political as well as cultural contexts.  The political one has to do largely with the revolutionary movement that carried communists to power.  While not unique, this association does have some “Chinese characteristics”, so to speak.  The armed forces originated as the red army.  Mao Zedong was worshipped as the “red sun in people’s hearts”.  During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, red guards waiving Mao’s little red book inflicted much violence and destruction.

double happiness Political, and sometimes unfortunate or even tragic, symbolisms aside, the color red has an enduring place in Chinese culture.  The special status of the red color is thought to have its origin in ancient sun worship.  It was also believed the color red would drive away bad luck and diseases.  Over time, red has come to symbolize good fortune and happiness.  It is the color of choice for celebratory events, not only for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) decorations but also for auspicious occasions such as weddings and business openings.  (The graphic shows a double-happiness paper cut design.)

So red is for the most part a happy color.  One interesting observation: Stock market indexes in red indicates an up day for the markets in China, and just the opposite in the US.

The color yellow for another day.  So check back.

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Year of the Rooster???

October 14, 2009 – 1:31 pm

We here at SinoPaperArt occasionally field questions from customers about our products.  One that seems to recur is: how come the Year of the Rooster paper cut art in series 2, shown below, depicts a brooding hen (as opposed to a strutting rooster)?

Well, the quick answer is that in Chinese the word for the zodiac sign known in English as rooster is gender-neutral, and corresponds to “chicken”.  So both the rooster and the hen are depicted in Year of the Rooster-related items.  How the gender-neutral chicken morphed into the gender-specific rooster, though, is unclear.

This little anecdote in fact illustrates a prominent feature of the Chinese language – its lacks of linguistic gender markers.   In contrast to English, in Chinese a word is inherently gender-neutral; to make it gender-specific, one adds the root for male or female in front of it.  For instance, the Chinese word for “chicken” is “鸡” (ji).  To specify gender, one would say “公鸡” (gong ji) for rooster, or “母鸡” (mu ji) for hen.

The Chinese language’s lack of gender is apparently also the cause of a challenge experienced by many native Chinese speakers when communicating in English, especially when they are still gaining fluency.  They often find a conscious effort is required not to get “he” and “she” mixed up.

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Mid-Autumn Festival – October 3

September 28, 2009 – 10:55 am
red roofs under full moon batik wall hanging
Red roofs under full moon batik art
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Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), aka Moon Festival, is on October 3, only a few days away.  It is the second most important holiday in China, after Chinese New Year, and occurs on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese calendar (usually around late September to early October on the western Gregorian calendar).

This is an occasion to celebrate a bountiful fall harvest and togetherness, when family members gather from near and far.  Moon cakes are the signature dessert; in fact they are not seen at any other time of the year.  People also take a few moments to admirethe moon, now at its fullest and brightest.

Mid-Autumn Festival is thought to have its origin in moon worship, which dates back some 3,000 years to the Shang dynasty, and to ancient fall harvest rituals, when farmers gave thanks for an abundant season.

Jade rabbit on the moon’s surface

The most prominent symbol of this holiday is the moon cake.  It is a rich and dense round pastry with a thick filling.  Common fillings include lotus seed paste, red bean paste and jujube (date) paste.  Some also feature meats and egg yolk.  The crust is made of flour and is usually golden brown in appearance.  As with many other things in China, moon cakes also vary from region to region.

There are quite a few differing versions of the legend of Moon Festival (see Wikipedia’s collection).  Common elements among them are a great archer named Hou Yi, his wife Chang’e, and an elixir of life that enabled her to fly to the moon and made her immortal.  In Chinese mythology, Chang’e lives on the moon and is the moon goddess.  She is accompanied by the jade rabbit in folklore, which is identified by the markings on the moon’s surface.

Come 10/3, take a moment to admire the full moon, and see if you can find the jade bunny.

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Chinese symbolisms for autumn

August 29, 2009 – 12:28 am

Kids going back to school… A little briskness in the morning air… Signs abound of the fall season just around the corner.  A good time, then, to take a look at Chinese symbolisms for autumn.

chinese character for autumn

Chinese character for “autumn”

The Chinese character for summer is 秋, pronounced “qiu” in pinyin notation. It sounds something like “chio”, with a flat first tone. 

The chrysanthemum, known as the flower of autumn, appropriately symbolizes fall.  Together with the orchid, the bamboo and the plum blossom, it forms the four gentlemen plants in Chinese art.  The term “four gentlemen” compares the refined beauty of the plants to men of traditional Confucianist virtues.

Another symbol of autumn, perhaps somewhat obscure, is the White Tiger of the West. The white tiger is one of four symbols of Chinese constellations. It is associated with west and metal, one of the five basic elements (or five phases) of traditional Chinese philosophy.

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Chinese symbolisms for summer

June 30, 2009 – 5:30 am

Summer is here (although you’d hardly know it given the cool weather we’ve been having this year in northeastern United States).  So I thought it would be a good time to write about Chinese symbolisms for the season of summer.

chinese character for summer
Chinese character for “summer”

The Chinese character for summer is 夏, pronounced “xià” in pinyin notation. It sounds something like “shia”, with a falling fourth tone. (The “x” sound does not have an exact equivalent in English.)

There are a few symbols for summer in Chinese culture. One is the vermilion bird (also called red bird) of the south.  The vermilion bird is one of four symbols of Chinese constellations. It is associated with fire and the southern direction.  The connection with summer is obvious.

Another item representing summer is bamboo.  It is one of the so-called four gentlemen (sometimes also called noblemen) plants in Chinese art, the other three of which are orchid, chrysanthemum and plum blossom.  The term “four gentlemen” compares the plants to men of traditional Confucianist ideals.

The lotus flower, coming into full bloom during the hottest days, is yet another symbol for summer.  The lotus is also an emblem for purity, arising out of mud but not spoiled by it.


vermilion bird of the south 
bamboo
 lotus
Vermilion Bird of the South batik wall hanging Bamboo paper cut Lotus painting, source: Monterey Museum of Art
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